Dabbling mallards stick their tails in the air as
their bills sweep the shallows for things to eat.
Waterfowl adopt one of two different foraging techniques: diving or dabbling.
Divers, such as loons, grebes, mergansers, might be seen anywhere on the Lake, but are often found far from shore.
Dabblers, such as mallards, geese, and swans, generally forage in the shallows close to shore so their bills can sweep the bottom for things to eat. Little pits are left where the bills have probed. These pits are revealed during the low water of late winter and early spring.
Dabble pits are revealed during low water.
Bank slump
Creeks are brimming with water after days of warm rain and snowmelt. A few have burst banks while others merely cut into a bank that will give way on another occasion.
When a creek takes a serpentine course, the outside of the bend erodes and that material is transported to the inside of the bend or forms islands in the middle.
Near the top right of this picture, Kokanee Creek flows into Kootenay Lake. Slightly upstream (on a line from the lower left to the middle) is a long bank that is collapsing as it is undercut by the creek. After awhile the undercut topsoil slumps into the creek. Ultimately, the creek will break right through and reach the lake along a new path.
Despite both the physical evidence of bank slump, and Park signs that warn people to stay clear of the edge, visitors often stand on spots about to collapse.
