-
Recent Posts
- Yard birds
- Fairy slipper
- Muskrat’s callisthenics
- Muskrat’s kiss
- Stotting mule deer
- Toad amplexus
- Loon’s whatsit
- Beavers’ lodge in bank
- Pileated two
- Osprey ruckus
- April goulash
- Mountain Bluebirds
- Cute fly
- Crossbill feeding chick
- Turkey Vultures
- Antler buds
- Geese: tender, combative
- First osprey
- Shrike strikes
- Downy foraging
- Chickadee nest building
- White line
- 1,500th posting
- Guttation of spring
- Three mammals
- Eagles don’t cooperate
- Lake ullage
- Magpie packing
- Flying with fish
- Muskrat of spring
- Geese, synchronized flapping
- Eagle’s nest
- Killdeer
- Wandering Grosbeak
- Attacked deer
- Displaying toms
- Western Bluebird
- Birds in the woods
- White stripes
- Bohemian flying
- February goulash
- Hawk alighting
- Flying orange
- Colourful crossbills
- Beaded skirt
- Small antlers
- Blowing snow
- Frazil
- Dipper underwater
- Squirrel
Archives
Categories
Subscribe/Unsubscribe
Category Archives: herptiles
Toad amplexus
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
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.
Posted in herptiles
2 Comments
Party toads
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
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
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
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
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
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
June goulash
This is an end-of-the-month collection of images, none of which has had a posting of its own. A cinnamon-coloured Black Bear eyes an intruder in its territory. For a female Osprey to be lifting her tail this late in … Continue reading
Posted in birds, bugs, herptiles, mammals, wildflowers
2 Comments
Wednesday’s roving
My typical posting features a species or a process. But, today it is merely a grab bag of things seen while roving around yesterday with Derek Kite. The odd thing is that, rather than seeing interesting birds, all the good stuff … Continue reading
Posted in herptiles, mammals, scenes
4 Comments