Category Archives: commentary

2,000th posting

Posted on November 23, 2024 by Alistair

  This is the 2,000th posting to this blog site, Exploring Kootenay Lake. For this occasion, I am showing some of my favourite pictures, by year, from the last 500 postings. After all, you already can see some of my … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, bugs, commentary, mammals, weather | 16 Comments

Partial lunar eclipse

Posted on September 18, 2024 by Alistair

  I have only rarely photographed a lunar eclipse. The last time was a total eclipse, a decade ago (blog.kootenay-lake.ca/?p=11796), and I spotted a bluish light that is rarely mentioned in the somewhat superficial stories offered by most websites. Last … Continue reading →

Posted in commentary, scenes, weather | 2 Comments

Bear ate wasps

Posted on August 29, 2024 by Alistair

  This posting started just as yesterday’s did: watching black bears hunt and sometimes catching Kokanee in a stream. At the end, it took an unexpected and speculative turn. At first the lone black bear was really high in a … Continue reading →

Posted in bugs, commentary, fish, mammals | 3 Comments

Wildlife mating

Posted on August 5, 2024 by Alistair

  For many years I presented wildlife talks for the summer speaker’s series in the Nature Centre of Kokanee Creek Park. Then, for several years we had a pandemic, so I did not present. This year I am again presenting, … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, bugs, commentary | 2 Comments

Eagle’s lost nest

Posted on May 19, 2024 by Alistair

  Thursday evening (May 16, 2024) a Bald Eagle’s huge nest came down when the top part of the tree blew off in high wind. The two chicks in the nest were killed in the fall to the ground far … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, commentary | 2 Comments

Nesting on wooden pilings

Posted on April 1, 2024 by Alistair

  Wooden pilings are used by a few species for breeding. Now that these pilings are on their way out, how will this change? Metal pilings are the new standard. This is the second of a two part series on … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, bugs, commentary | 5 Comments

Perching on wooden pilings

Posted on March 30, 2024 by Alistair

  Wooden pilings have been a welcome sanctuary for a variety of wildlife, but it will end. This is the first of two postings, the first being on perching, the second being on nesting. In both cases they are restricted … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, commentary | 3 Comments

Faeces disposal

Posted on July 25, 2023 by Alistair

  This posting about the disposal of a bird’s faeces was prompted by an observation of Cliff Swallows dealing with nestlings. That treatment will be left to the end. Incidentally, many of these pictures, although taken, were never used before. … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, commentary, mammals | 1 Comment

Decorative or functional?

Posted on April 22, 2022 by Alistair

  Almost all sites that treat the Great Blue Heron give a passing reference to the plumes that extend from the back of the head. When mentioning them, one site explicitly says they are decorative.  Here is a picture of … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, commentary | 4 Comments

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