// May 21st, 2010 // No Comments » // Beaudry Provincial Park, Mammals, Rodents
Welcome back to my website & thanks for visiting !
This photo is cropped closely to give you a good look at the woodchuck’s paws. Very hand-like with long claws for digging. In a previous post of a woodchuck the colour was more grey-dark brown while this one is clearly more a rusty brown colour. Woodchucks are also known as groundhogs. A very handsome woodchuck indeed!
Enjoy!
~Sharon
// March 14th, 2010 // No Comments » // Boreal Forest, Nopiming Provincial Park, Rodents, Whiteshell Provincial Park, beaver
If you ever have the opportunity and some time to spare sit quietly and watch some beavers. They are often out and about in the late afternoons before dark sets in. They spend a lot of time grooming their beautiful dense fur releasing oils which keep their bodies dry. Beavers are chatty, social in their family groups, graceful in the water, waddle on land and extremely industrious. They drag limbs of trees through water channels with ease, cut down large trees with expert precision and create small lakes which in turn create habitat for waterfowl by building strategically placed dams (unfortunately not always where people wish to have land flooded). The following photos were taken in Nopiming & Whiteshell Provincial Parks both of which have healthy populations of beavers. The mother and kit were very interesting to watch swimming together and diving down to get plant roots which they bring to the surface to dine on. Beavers played a major role in Canadian history being the subjects of the fur trade era.
Beavers spend a lot of time grooming their fur.
Their way the beaver uses its “hands” to grasp branches or food remind me of the racoon – very nimble.
Below: Beaver dam and lodge. The water level on the high side was about 4 feet higher than the low side . These beavers are master builders!
Enjoy!
~Sharon
// September 1st, 2009 // No Comments » // Beaudry Provincial Park, Rodents, Scenic, Squirrels / Ground Squirrels
Beaudry Park is a small Provincial Park on the Manitoba prairie just west of Winnipeg. The Assiniboine River rambles through here and this is a great place to go walking in the summer or cross-country skiing in the winter. The park supports many varieties of birds and small mammals. Beaver and muskrats can be seen swimming in the river. It’s a nice place to go if you just want to get out of the city for a while as it is only about 10 minutes from the perimiter. Today is another cute critter, the Thirteen Striped Ground Squirrel. This little fellow was busy stuffing his cheeks with fresh grass but never far away from one of his escape routes. There were numerous holes in the ground. The first photo shows the striping on the back of the squirrel.
Below: Ground Squirrel peeking out of burrow . . . Was I still there ?
Enjoy !
~Sharon
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