Category Archives: commentary

Requiem for a snag

Posted on August 26, 2021 by Alistair

  I didn’t know the tree when it was alive and bore leaves. Indeed, I don’t even know what species it was. I had known it only as a large snag and a wildlife tree for the last four years. … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, commentary | 5 Comments

Flying fish

Posted on August 21, 2021 by Alistair

  Problem month: Unlike my usual ten or so postings a month, for the last thirty days, I made only one. The blog, itself, vanished, and even when it was restored, the subscriber emailer did not work. Add to this, … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, commentary, fish | 5 Comments

Female-duck mystery

Posted on March 12, 2021 by Alistair

  It is a mystery to me why female ducks sit atop pilings in the early morning at the beginning of the breeding season. They don’t do this at other times. I have been watching female mallards do this for … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, commentary | 6 Comments

Dipper under ice

Posted on February 11, 2021 by Alistair

  A dipper sometimes forages under ice.  I believe I know when and why it does so. The odd thing about this, is that I have often watched a dipper stand on the border ice along a creek, dive into … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, commentary, weather | 4 Comments

Eats, fish & leaves

Posted on November 11, 2020 by Alistair

  There is a classic joke that depends upon the sloppy employment of a comma: Eats, shoots and leaves. This is how Wikipedia tells it: A panda walks into a café. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, commentary, fish | 5 Comments

Wild Turkey presence

Posted on June 28, 2020 by Alistair

  When I was a child on the shore of Kootenay Lake, there were no Wild Turkeys to be seen. Returning to the lakeshore in retirement, I was surprised to see a few. Since that time, the proliferation of turkeys … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, commentary | 3 Comments

Lucy has a new gosling

Posted on June 13, 2020 by Alistair

  Lucy was hatched at least a decade ago. She is the only local Canada Goose that is a recognizable individual.  Normally, when we wish to identify an individual animal, we have to mark it with something ranging from a … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, commentary | 4 Comments

Two courtship displays

Posted on May 23, 2020 by Alistair

  I watched two courtship displays of birds this morning. One was obvious; the other was subtle. A courtship display is a behaviour in which an animal (often a male) attempts to attract a mate. The courtship display of the … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, commentary | 1 Comment

March goulash

Posted on March 31, 2020 by Alistair

  This is a collection of images from March, each of which lacked a posting of its own. Such observations of nature serve as a balm to my own increasing social isolation. These are creatures oblivious to our present angst. … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, commentary, mammals | 7 Comments

Stuck cat

Posted on February 16, 2020 by Alistair

  This blog does not usually concern itself with domestic animals, but this seemed special: a stuck cat. It was beside the highway and high on some utility cables about a third of the way between the poles. Presumably it … Continue reading →

Posted in commentary, mammals | 11 Comments