Category Archives: commentary

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

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