Babies Babies Everywhere

I love this time of year on top of Grouse Mountain as all of the young birds and mammals are venturing out from their nests and dens.

The cute little guy in the picture is one of the fledgling American Robins from a nest on our very own Wildlife Centre. Robins can have up to three clutches each year if conditions are favourable. At the moment we are seeing the second clutch of young birds leaving the nest. When they first leave the nest they are unable to fly but they quickly exercise their muscles and within a day or two they are lifting off. Young Robins will be independent from their parents at around 4 weeks of age.

In addition to birds, we are seeing lots of young mammals on the mountain. The Black-Tailed Deer are leading their fawns around, young Douglas Squirrels can be seen in the trees and even the occasional mother Black Bear and cub have been spotted.

With our berry bloom just about to happen, birds and mammals alike will be out in full force, chowing down on the scrumptious summer foods.

Bears and Wolves Enjoying Summer!

Well for the past few weeks it's really started to feel like summer up here at Grouse Mountain. All of the berry bushes are in bloom and fledgling birds can be seen all over the mountain making their first attempts at flight. Grinder, Coola and our three Timber Wolves have also been enjoying the warmer weather. For the wolves it means a chance to sun themselves out in their open fields, but we have also seen them playing in their pond - a great way to cool down! Speaking of cooling down, the bears have excavated the rest of the snow from their ponds and can be seen playing in them most afternoons. Coola especially likes the water and for the past few days has had a favourite stump that he has been playing with. He tosses it into the air, catches it and then bobs it under water and watches it fly up into the air. Grinder usually just prefers to wrestle! More updates to come soon.