On paper, spring started more than a month ago. Of course, Albertans know the official arrival of the equinox does not really mean anything in real life. Snow can come at any time this season — and indeed, weather forecasters are keen to remind us how this month is Alberta's second-snowiest of the year.
So it is no surprise that on photographer Mike Drew's countless sojourns across Southern Alberta over the years, many of the scenes he has captured in April have been carpeted with snow. Here are some of Mike's wintry spring vistas, plus a few of the creatures who call it home.
Snowy April Landscapes and Wildlife
Whitetail deer make their way through snow west of Calgary on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. Horses graze the blasting snow near Lyalta on Tuesday, April 30, 2019. A skunk hunts in the snow in Willow Valley, north of Pincher Creek, on April 19, 2011.
Geese in the snow in the Porcupine Hills south of Nanton on Wednesday, April 16, 2014. A robin listens for food below the snow east of Longview on that same day. A Canada goose sits in the falling snow by Sibbald Meadows Pond west of Calgary on Monday, April 12, 2021.
A hen pheasant runs across the snow in the blue evening light west of Standard on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. Fresh snow covers the foothills west of Cochrane on Monday, April 12, 2021. A meadowlark sings in spite of the snow west of Milo on April 6, 2011.
A whitetail deer walks through new snow in Sibbald Meadows west of Calgary on Monday, April 12, 2021. A red fox starting to shed its winter fur on a snow-covered field near Hussar on Tuesday, April 4, 2023. April snow in the high country at Chain Lakes south of Longview on Monday, April 10, 2017.
A great horned owl sits on its nest in the falling snow east of Longview on Wednesday, April 16, 2014. Snow surrounds a calm pond west of Calgary on Tuesday, April 30, 2024. Fresh snow covers Spray Lakes along Smith-Dorrien Trail west of Canmore on Monday, April 12, 2021.
Mike Drew will return. In the meantime, we will dive deep into his treasure trove of images to share some of our favourites — and even a few you might have never seen before.
