Category Archives: herptiles

Columbia spotted frog

Posted on June 7, 2023 by Alistair

  I came for the amplexus of the western toad but stayed for a sighting of a Columbia spotted frog. The Columbia spotted frog seems to be only found in the smaller lakes at a much higher altitude than Kootenay … Continue reading →

Posted in herptiles | 1 Comment

April goulash

Posted on April 30, 2023 by Alistair

  This is a small collection of pictures taken this April which didn’t have a posting of their own. The Northern Shrike foraged in Kokanee Park for rodents for about three weeks this month before heading north. The shrike rarely … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, herptiles | 2 Comments

August’s goulash

Posted on August 31, 2022 by Alistair

  This is a collection of August’s pictures that lacked a posting of their own.  This strange looking bird is just a juvenile Robin. Wintering in the Amazon, this Red-eyed Vireo is near the limit of its summer range. The … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, bugs, herptiles, mammals, wildflowers | 5 Comments

June’s goulash

Posted on June 30, 2022 by Alistair

  This is a collection of June’s pictures that lacked a posting of their own.  June began with a dipper feeding a bug to one of it three chicks. This purple virgin’s-bower (Clematis occidentalis) is a western flower. If one … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, herptiles, weather, wildflowers | 4 Comments

Ravens and mice

Posted on January 23, 2022 by Alistair

  Ravens have intelligence. Indeed, lab studies demonstrate that ravens will cooperate on a project that requires two of them. If yesterday’s test is a measure, they regularly cooperate on a joint exercise in the wild. Mind you, it all … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, herptiles | 3 Comments

September goulash

Posted on September 30, 2021 by Alistair

  My usual claim for my monthly goulash is that it presents a collection of images that lacked postings of their own. Again true this month, it was also the case that previous postings this September were remarkably few — … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, bugs, herptiles, mammals, weather | 8 Comments

Western toadlets

Posted on July 18, 2021 by Alistair

  Locals have a thing for toadlets. There are even Toadfests where people help them move from a pond to adjacent woods so as to enable them to cross intervening roadways. But, many toadlets make it to the woods without … Continue reading →

Posted in herptiles | 3 Comments

June goulash

Posted on June 30, 2021 by Alistair

  This is a selection of June images none of which had a posting of its own. While not exclusively birds, there is certainly a preponderance of them. Two Bald Eagle chicks still in the nest are scrapping over a … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, bugs, herptiles | 7 Comments

Toad amplexus

Posted on June 1, 2021 by Alistair

  Toad amplexus ≡ toad sex Amplexus (Latin for embrace) is a type of mating exhibited by western toads (and other amphibians) in which there is physical contact, but fertilization is external to the body. During amplexus, a male uses … Continue reading →

Posted in herptiles | 2 Comments

April goulash

Posted on April 30, 2021 by Alistair

  This is a collection of April’s images, each of which lacked a posting of its own. A Tree Swallow couple prepares to do housekeeping. The Northern Pintail is most often seen in the spring and fall as it migrates … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, herptiles, mammals | 10 Comments