Category Archives: herptiles

Canada’s diversity

Posted on July 1, 2019 by Alistair

  Today, July 1st, marks Canada Day and the country’s 152nd birthday. Canadians value and celebrate diversity — by which they mean cultural diversity. However, some feel that the preservation of our species diversity merits a similar attention. This selection … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, bugs, commentary, fish, herptiles, mammals, weather | 7 Comments

Tadpoles aplenty

Posted on June 8, 2019 by Alistair

  A posting a month ago showed western toads in amplexus along with strings of eggs. It can hardly be a surprise to now see the fruits of that conjugation in the form of hundreds of tadpoles. In the shallows … Continue reading →

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Toad amplexus

Posted on May 10, 2019 by Alistair

  May is amplexus time for the western toad.  The male toad (the smaller of the two) climbs on the female’s back and grabs her under the armpits. This stimulates her to release eggs, which he then fertilizes. A male … Continue reading →

Posted in herptiles | 3 Comments

Amplexus consequences

Posted on June 25, 2018 by Alistair

  One month after taking pictures of Western Toads in amplexus, I returned to the same shoreline. The consequence of the earlier activity was impressive: thousands of tadpoles.  

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Party toads

Posted on May 23, 2018 by Alistair

  The Western Toad certainly knows how to throw an orgy. There were many dozen of them in the shallows mating promiscuously cheek by jowl. The mating technique of these toads is called amplexus. Amplexus (Latin for embrace) is a type … Continue reading →

Posted in herptiles | 4 Comments

Rapidity of May

Posted on May 22, 2018 by Alistair

  The rapidity of May is the speed of change that takes place as the region shifts from winter to summer. Events pile up on my camera. Here are a few of them. The rising waters of the Lake overflow … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, bugs, herptiles, mammals | 6 Comments

Owl, toad, rainbow

Posted on June 17, 2017 by Alistair

  Seen yesterday: a Great Horned Owl chick, a Western Toad, a double rainbow. A recent posting showed a Great Horned Owl parent and one of its chicks. Here is the other. Lest one be called a speciesist, we must … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, herptiles, weather | 5 Comments

Painted plastron

Posted on May 9, 2017 by Alistair

  Our only local turtle is the Painted Turtle, but why call it that? After all, a view of these creatures basking on a loafing log shows a carapace of gun-metal grey — hardly something that invites the appellation, painted. … Continue reading →

Posted in herptiles | 2 Comments

April goulash

Posted on April 30, 2017 by Alistair

  This is a month’s end collection of images, none of which has had a posting of its own. A Bald Eagle brings sticks to enlarge its nest. A Columbian Ground Squirrel does sentry duty beside its burrow. My hare … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, herptiles, mammals | 7 Comments

Tadpoles

Posted on August 12, 2016 by Alistair

  In late August, there is, what is called, a Toadfest at Summit Lake Park, southeast of Nakusp. The public gathers to help western toadlets cross the highway during their migration from lakeshore to uplands. The problem of vehicles squishing thousands … Continue reading →

Posted in herptiles | 1 Comment