Canadian Summer Trip: Alberta: Day 6 Calgary Zoo

 On Day 6 of our trip, we went to the Calgary Zoo.  I have heard nice things about the zoo, so we were looking forward to going there.  From downtown Calgary, it can be easily reached by train.  It was like only 10 minutes away from where we stayed.

African Hog

The zoo begins and ends with the Penquin area, so I will post the pictures at the end.  We headed to the dinosaur area first.  For the dinosaur fan kids, this zoo will entertain them.

Tiger and Magpie

Funny.  The magpies in Alberta were fearless.  They were not afraid of the tigers, and they will try to grab some crumbs from the tigers.  These Magpies were everywhere in Alberta.  They are like the crows in other cities but cuter (in my opinion...).  I wished that we had magpies here. haha

Monkey in Calgary Zoo

They have a rare bird area and a butterfly area.  We really enjoyed the exotic birds and butterflies!

The zebra liked to smell the Giraffe's butt...

Friendly Zebra in Calgary

Penguin Calgary

Penguins in Calgary Zoo

They have around 6 types of penguins in Calgary Zoo, and they are all so cute!!

My kids spent a long time staring and looking at them, swimming and standing.

Overall, I think it was an awesome zoo.  It was too bad that they had to return the Panda to China.  However, all Pandas have to be returned some day.  The zoo is good enough without them!

Canadian Summer Trip: Alberta: Day 5 Rocky Mountains, Banff and Lake Louise

 On Day 5 of our trip, we went to the Rockies, Banff and Lake Louise.  We took a bus that required reservations in the summer to the Rockies.  The fee is only 10 dollars per person, but there is a note that I would mention at the end.

The bus takes you directly from Calgary downtown to Banff, and it took a little more than 1 hour.

Banff downtown

Banff was busy during the summer despite it was in the middle of the pandemic.  People were eager to get out for domestic travel.  We were on the same boat.  

We took another bus that took us from Banff to Lake Louise.  I haven't been to Lake Louise for 20 years.  The weather was awesome, and it was absolutely beautiful!

Lake Louise

There is a trail for people to walk towards the other end of the lake.  (I never had the chance to do it with tour groups.)  This time, we walked the trail.

Other end of Lake Louise

It takes only 20 minutes to walk to the other end.

Canadian Rockies

The mountains and the surrounding areas are beautiful.  We did not have time to visit other lakes.  We should do that next time.

Canadian Rockies with Snow

On the way back, the bus company's bus broke down and we have to wait for another bus to come.  The cheap bus company probably does not maintain their buses as well.  We waited for the bus to go back to Calgary from 8pm to 10:25pm, and we did not get back to the hotel until almost 1 am at night.

If it weren't for the high cost of rental car, I would have kept my rental car for the entire trip.

Canadian Summer Trip: Alberta: Day 4 Royal Tyrell Museum (Dinosaur Museum)

 On day 4, we woke up super early and hit the road at 6 am to get to the Royal Tyrell Dinosaur Museum.  It is about 3 hour drive from Edmonton to the south.  On the way, we saw the vast flat land that Canada has.  We saw hundreds of beaver dams and lakes, but we did not see any beavers.  (too bad)

Royal Tyrell Dinosaur Museum

It has many live sized dinosaur models and skeletons:

I took so many pictures, but I should not spoil it for everyone.  There are way more skeletons then these for the people who love dinosaurs.

On the same day, it was the "community day" for Pokemon Go app.  For those who are familiar with Pokemons.  There are dinosaurs in the Pokemon world as well.  On that day, it was also the community day for "Deino", one of the dinosaurs in the Pokemon world.  

Perfect timing!  We were catching dinosaurs in the dinosaur museum!

Oh, there was the cute prairie dogs in Alberta.  These cute little things are everywhere:

Alberta prairie dog

After the museum, we were heading to Calgary on a 1 hour and 45 minute drive.

Canadian Summer Trip: Alberta Day 1: From Calgary Airport to Edmonton

 It has been 3 whole years without hopping on to the airplane and seeing different things.  I decided to bring my family to Alberta, a province close by.  We flew to Calgary from the Abbotsford Airport.  Because of Covid and short of staff, we were delayed both on the way there and back.  We picked up a rental car there.  Calgary Airport is surprisingly new and spacious.  The rental car is very expensive in this covid era, and there were a bunch of people waiting for rental cars.

The rental car was a red Kia Soul.  First, I thought it has a smaller trunk and gas tank, and it is not a mid size I asked for.  However, it was quiet and comfortable and was perfect for sitting for a long road trip.

I was glad that it is this car, but the trunk space is just too small.  (and you can't hide the stuff you buy)

We were heading to Edmonton first from Calgary Airport, and it was a 3 hour road trip.  The highways in Alberta are long, straight and almost traffic jam free.

The land is infinite and far and flat.  This feels like, "oh, this is Canada".  I am from British Columbia, and the province is full of mountains.  The roads are not wide and straight like this.  We had music playing in the car which makes the 3 hour drive easier.  There was periodical thunder rain, but we managed to pull through.

We stayed in the hotel operated by the West Edmonton Mall, West Edmonton Mall Inn.  The room was okay, but the bed was saggy.  The old guy in the front was grumpy at night but the girl in the morning was helpful.

We went to check the mall and bought dinner, and planned to continue exploring the biggest mall in Canada the next day.

New Batch of Finch Babies...Parents Feeding Kids

The Finches has been quiet through spring this year.  (quiet April and May) 

I assumed that they are raising kids.

Few days ago, they started coming back with their babies!!

I think they breed twice a year, each time with 1 to 6 eggs.  This time, after they taught the kids how to fly, they brought them to my place.

The parents will feed the kids.

cute moment: finches feeding kids

I got to see lots of these cute moments.  Kids wanting food from parents even though they can fly and come eat their own food.  I guess we all want to be take care of! haha.

Baby Finch

The baby finch will have fresh white hair still popping out from the head.  They act just like babies...very cute.
 

Burnaby Lake: Chip and Dale Squirrels

 We saw these two cute squirrels near Burnaby Lake during the long weekend.

They are so cute and feels like they are the cartoon character, Chip and Dale.

They can move their fingers just like humans and are so agile.

They have such big eyes with a cute face.  So adorable!

One likes to pop his head out of their house on the tree and peek at the surroundings.

Burnaby Lake: Cedar Waxwing

 We also discover another bird for the first time while walking:  Cedar Waxwing

They have wispy crest on the head, black bandit mask on the face and red tips on inner wings.

My pictures are not too clear, but you can check the link below for more info:

https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Cedar_Waxwing/id

Burnaby Lake: Purple Finch

 We encounter purple finches far away in our sight while walking around Burnaby Lake.  

They are more pinkish then House Finch, and they sing a different tune.  (That is why I noticed them.)

Purple Finch in Burnaby Lake

I should get a clearer picture next time.

Burnaby Lake: Rufous Hummingbirds!

 As I mentioned, we have lots of Anna's Hummingbirds near our area, but I have yet to see a male Rufous Hummingbird.  So, for this May long weekend, we went to Burnaby Lake on a quest to find it.

...and...We found them!!

Rufous in Burnaby Lake

Rufous Hummingbirds are mostly orange in color.  The males are all in orange, but the females are mostly green with orange chests.  

They like to drink from flowers of berries and sit on branches when guarding their territories.  They have a different "humming" sound when moving.  It sounds like bugs singing.  This is very different than Anna's.  

Also, when guarding, they don't make the same kind of "tze-tze" sounds like Anna's Hummingbirds.

It is very interesting to see the variation in behaviors even among types of hummingbirds.

Chestnut-backed Chickadee

 During the snowy times, I guess the birds are trying to look for any food that they can find.

Not only the chickadees are friendly, there were a few "Chestnut-backed Chickadees" around.

They are very cute!

Their pattern is different than the common Black-capped Chickadees in Canada.

Cute Duck Eating Sunflower Seeds with Cute Squirrel in Burnaby Lake

 We went to Burnaby Lake to feed the birds and to see nature on the 2nd day of January, 2022.

It is a cold day with lots of snow still on the ground.  We found good parking spot because of this.

Right beside our parking spot, there are lots of birds and squirrels already trying to find food.

There was this cute duck following us and a few squirrels:

Look at them sharing the space?  So cute!!

My son made a table for them to eat seeds.

They both ate off the table.  The squirrel waited till the duck was gone.

Winter Birds in Burnaby Lake: Chickadees, Towhee, Junco, Golden Eagle

 The chickadees in the winter in Burnaby Lake are extra friendly because they know the only way to get food is from our hands:

So cute and soooo small.  They love sunflower seeds!

There are lots of dark eyed Juncos that day, more than summer.  They are not used to people and feed from the ground.

Song Sparrow are shy, and they feed from the ground.

Towhee:  They also eat from the ground, far away from humans.

This humongous golden eagle caught a poor inmature crow and ate it in front of us (up on a tall tree).

Kind of yucky but the bones kept falling down in front of us.  Animals can be cruel but it is the food chain, and they all have to survive.

Golden Eagle eating a inmature crow

More icicles from Cold Winter 2021 - 2022

 There has been a few days of snow during December 2021, and I saw more icicles, so I am uploading the pics:

I saw more icicles from my walk to the Korean grocery store nearby:

I saw a Robin in the snow, looking for fruits to eat.  Can you spot it below?