It seems to me that the natural world is the greatest source of excitement…

~Sir David Attenborough

I was awakened this morning about 5:30 a.m. by an elk call that sounded close to the house. I said something and that woke up Melissa who looked out and spotted an alert elk at the base of the cliff behind our house. I walked into the bathroom and saw a gathering of black-billed magpies which is often a sign of a carcass. As I watched, magpies continued to fly in and perch at the top of the cliff. Melissa then spotted two mammals crawling along a ledge on the cliff face – raccoons! I have never seen a raccoon in the park but I had heard they are in town. Having seen many raccoons back east in the woods and along roadsides, it was indeed odd seeing them on the face of a cliff.

I went out on the deck, camera in hand and could only see one raccoon who quickly spotted me and started moving along the ledge. It then did an impressive scramble down the steep face and disappeared into a crevice in the cliff.

As for the magpies, they quickly dispersed. I suppose it was just them checking in on these two potential predators in their neighborhood. The magpie nest across the street has fledged its young (we counted 5 young the other day squawking noisily in the willows in front of the house).

The cow elk had turned around, still looking up and around and suddenly we knew the reason why…her calf appeared! This is only the second elk calf we have seen this season (more on the first encounter in the next post) and by far the closest.

You dare not get close to an elk calf as the mothers are very protective. Just last week we had hiked up that same path to the base of that cliff and put out two trail cameras. I think those will now remain unchecked for a couple more weeks. Mother elk stash their young in bushy areas or other hiding places where the calves remain until she comes back to nurse them. And you don’t want to be the thing that disturbs the calf if the cow is anywhere nearby.

We watched this cutie for several minutes as it maneuvered on the slippery slope. The cow was down in a depression but the youngster came up on a small ridge and gave us some great views before they both headed off behind the neighbor’s houses. I’ll be sure to let our neighbors know to be on the lookout and a bit cautious for the next week or so.

I must admit, that is a great way to start a day.