Canada #18 Grouse Mountain
Part Five
We made the most of our day on Grouse Mountain by taking part in every activity. As well as Breakfast with the Bears, we went to an Owl Interpretative Session, a Birds in Motion demonstration and a guided eco-walk.
Each time we discovered something new and, at the end of the day, we left with more than we came with. This is what we learned:
In the still of the night, a barn owl can hear the heartbeat of a frightened mouse as it tries to avoid detection.
A bald eagle reaches speeds of up to 160 km per hour when diving to snatch up its prey.
A turkey vulture uses its keen sense of smell to detect carrion more than a kilometre away.
Tiger swallowtails love to feast on the pretty purple flowers of the mustard plant.
Native azaleas and rhododendrons are much smaller and more delicate than their hybrid cousins.
Salamanders can live for up to 55 years in the still waters of Blue Grouse Lake.
Phil, our eco-walk guide, explained how the coastal First Nations peoples lived as one with nature. They brewed the bark and needles of the amabilis fir trees to make medicinal drinks.
Made from cedar, the traditional híwus Feasthouse on the shores of Blue Grouse Lake was a meeting place for family celebrations, gatherings and story telling through dance and music.
All of these new facts are fascinating, but what was the most important thing I learned?
I came away from Grouse Mountain knowing I never want to come face to face with a bear!
True that – about bears! For me the wow was reading your first fact – about owls hearing the frightened heartbeat of a mouse – isn’t that truly amazing. Animals are so much better designed than people really. Siddy can detect the scent of people he knows when we are more than thirty metres away and they are around a corner – it astonishes me every time it happens. Any way – back to your post – that most definitely sounds like a worthwhile guided tour to take!
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I was wondering how that owl was feeling if he could hear all our heartbeats. He must have had a headache! The walk we did with Phil was great. He was so knowledgeable and passionate about the mountain environment.
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Lots learned and great photos to illustrate the learning! I do feel quite nervous hiking in bear country – we have come across black bears on the path ahead a couple of times and beaten a hasty retreat.
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That was my one concern about going to Canada. We didn’t really go anywhere on our own where we might have met a bear and the only one we saw in the wild was that Mama grizzly at Whistler and thankfully we were up in the gondola then.
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We’ve seen quite a lot, but mostly at a safe distance. The ones on the trail didn’t seem to take any notice of us, but we preferred not to take any chances. A grizzly would be another matter!
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It sure would!
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That owl is handsome, and that is about as close as I’d want to get to a bear. 🙂
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Me too.
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Love this post 🙂
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Thank you. We loved learning about these animals we’d not seen before.
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Love these fun facts although I feel sorry for that frightened mouse! Great photo of the turkey vulture with wings outspread. I feel wistful for that sun these chilly days!
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We had glorious weather for our whole Canadian trip. Very lucky.
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Another very interesting post. This is definitely on my wish list for summer travel. Thanks for sharing this beautiful place.
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You could easily visit. I hope you get there.
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Goodness there are some amazing facts there Carol. The more we study nature, the more we realize we don’t know and the more awesome nature appears.
I wouldn’t stand around a bear long enough to see how my size matched up to his!
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If I saw a bear I’d be on my way, not waiting round for him to get up close and personal. 😳
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I like the size of the azaleas better than the size of the bears! Both are equally amazing though.
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Those tiny flowers were so pretty and I was amazed to learn what they were.
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I have great memories of Grouse Mountain. It wss th
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Oops. I have great memories of Grouse Mountain. It wss the very first place I ever saw snow.
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When you live in a place where it never snows it’s so exciting to see some.
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Living with nature and adapting to it must have its challenges, Carol. Something we’re not so good at in the modern world. Owls always fascinate me. Such beautiful creatures. 🙂 🙂 Wishing you much joy in exploring in 2019.
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The barn owl was so observant of her surroundings. I loved watching her. Best wishes to you and Mick for your first new year in your new home. 💚
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Excellent photos–thank you for sharing!
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Thanks 🙂
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You certainly packed a lot of learning into your day! Your photos are amazing, especially the owl one and the turkey vulture coming in to land.
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There was so much to do and see at Grouse Mountain. We spent more than 12 hours there. I am very pleased with my new camera. It takes great photos.
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Did you manage to do it all in the 12 hours do you think? My camera takes good photos too – I can rarely take the credit myself. 😀
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Yes we covered everything. It was great.
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You must have been worn out at the end of it.
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It was a big day.
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Wonderful post, which is full of information and stunning photos. Eagles speed is fantastic. When driving on a motor way, it could bypass my car. 🙂 In Finland we have brown bears.
Happy New Year.
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Lovely post. I love learning all those fascinating little facts. Imagine that – hearing a heartbeat.
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Stunning picture of the lake. Wow! The owl is magnificent, too. Can you imagine being hit by a 160 mile an hour bird? That might be worse than a bear. I walked on the other side of the road in Sequoia National Park from a black mama bear and her two cubs. I was all alone, and I have to admit, a little nervous until we had walked a while together. She wasn’t really interested in me.
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Phew, that was lucky.
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Probably more than lucky!
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A beautiful photo of the owl. How amazing their hearing is. I have seen bears in Yellowstone, but only in the woods and quite far from the car. I can’t imagine what it must be like to have them actually visit one’s backyard, as friends in North Carolina do.
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I wouldn’t like to have a close encounter with a bear.
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