Heather J Photography

I saw this young Black bear cub a few years ago as s/he was resting in a beautiful moss covered tree. Mom and a second cub were nearby feeding on dandelions. This cub seemed to be ready for a snooze as s/he could hardly keep her/his eyes open. But s/he had seen me in my car and was curious enough to glance in my direction just for a moment before nodding off again. I didn't want to disturb them so quickly took a couple of images from my car, then slowly drove on to lea...ve them all to rest and feed in peace. Image was taken with telephoto lens and has been cropped. . On the Coast we are very lucky to live so close to such wonderful wildlife but we need to live alongside nature responsibly. Bears are very active on the Coast right now so it's especially important to be Bear Aware when out on the trails and in our neighbourhoods. For ways to live safely alongside bears and other wildlife, checkout WildSafeBC See more

A few days ago I heard an American Robin singing his beautiful song for the first time this year, so spring is definitely just around the corner here on the Sunshine Coast. Their songs at dawn and dusk are some of the most evocative sounds of spring and summer all across N. America. This robin was hunting in our backyard in early spring a couple of years ago. Their technique is to run a few steps then to stop motionless to look and listen for worms, caterpillars and other inv...ertebrates. It's quite hilarious to see them grab onto the tip of a worm and then stretch and pull the worm to get it out of the ground. They are named after the European robin because of their red breast - but they are in fact members of the Thrush family and so have very little in common with the European robin! . . Nearly 3 billion birds have been lost from Canada and the US since 1970. American Robin populations are stable and even increasing in some areas. They feed on grassy areas and have taken full advantage of our fascination with lawns. However they are vulnerable to pesticide poisoning from lawn treatments and may suffer in areas where chemical overuse has reduced the numbers of worms and other invertebrates in the soil. Avoid the use of pesticides and other chemicals in your garden - they always affect more than you might be expecting. For ways to help other less adaptable species check @cornellbirds and their #bringbirdsback campaign. See more

And then of course Yellowstone N.P. has the bison! This male was digging in the snow for food but he was having real trouble keeping his eyes open and seemed to nod off quite often. Here he is just about keeping his eyes open though still looks pretty sleepy! Bison are ruminants so he was probably just thinking about ruminating on the food he had just eaten. Bison in Yellowstone are the Plains Bison subspecies and I love that their latin name is Bison bison bison, just to emp...hasize that ........ yes they are bison! The Bison herd in Yellowstone is very special. The herd is considered to be genetically pure as there is no evidence of any hybridization with cattle . They are directly descended from the survivors of the bison slaughter of the 18th and 19th centuries when numbers in N America were reduced from over 30 million to fewer than 400 animals. Just 25 individuals remained in Yellowstone in 1902 but with protection and selective reintroductions, numbers have increased to around 5,000 animals in the park today.

This is a Long tailed weasel, in beautiful white winter fur peeking out from the snow in Yellowstone National Park, WY. They are amazingly fast creatures and trying to photograph them is bit like playing a video game! They are very fast and after just a few steps dive into the snow, tunnelling under the surface in the hunt for their next meal. I was only able to capture this image when s/he paused for just a moment to decide on the direction for the next dash. . Weasels do not hibernate and must hunt every day to maintain their super charged metabolism. With a heart rate of up to 400 beats per minute, weasels must eat half their body weight daily. They only live for 1-2 years....... a short, fast and furious life indeed! .This guy/gal seemed to be doing just fine as s/he caught 2 huge voles while we were watching!

Wolves are probably the most iconic species in Yellowstone National Park, WY. But they are elusive and hard to see with most visitors never catching more than a glimpse of wolves across the valley floor. So on my recent trip I felt very lucky to see the Wapiti Lake pack as they travelled along a riverbank not far from the road. And then even more lucky when one pack member decided to cross the road very close to our vehicle. S/he paused for what seemed an eternity at the side... of the road before crossing and meeting up with the pack further along the river. While s/he was standing at the side of the road, I had a real sense of someone being there - s/he was looking around, weighing up the options and then making a decision on how to proceed. It was a truly magical encounter with such an iconic and elusive animal, . . Last month marked the 25th anniversary of the re-introduction of wolves to Yellowstone. Wolves were eliminated from the park in the 1920s following park predator control policies at the time. But with the wolves gone, the ecosystem quickly became unbalanced. Willows and aspens disappeared as they were grazed by a rapidly increasing elk population. Without trees, bird populations plummeted and beavers couldn't build dams resulting in eroding riverbanks. And with no shade from trees, river water temperatures were too high for cold-water fish. With the return of the wolves, the ecosystem started to recover and now many of the lost species have returned to the park. I have so much gratitude and respect for everyone that fought so hard for the return of the wolves to Yellowstone and to the many people around the world that are fighting for nature in their own backyards. See more

Moose are the most amazing looking creatures, especially bull moose with their huge antlers. Only the bulls have antlers. Antlers start to grow in April and May and are usually shed in November or December though this bull still had his when I visited Yellowstone NP in late January. He was striding through the deep snow browsing on willow stems as he travelled. Willow is one of their main foods in the winter. They have a prehensile upper lip that allows them to delicately grab individual stems. Their upper lip is also very sensitive allowing them to distinguish tender shoots from woody stems just by touch. . Moose are the largest living deer and range throughout the northern hemisphere. In Europe and Asia they are called Elk which can lead to some confusion as in N. America Elk refers to a totally different species of deer !