Category Archives: herptiles

July goulash

Posted on July 31, 2020 by Alistair

  This is a collection of images from this July that did not have postings of their own. The idiom, snake in the grass, implies treachery. In reality, our garter snake is harmless. This Cedar Waxwing seemed intent on expressing … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, herptiles, mammals | 2 Comments

April goulash

Posted on April 30, 2020 by Alistair

  This is a collection of images from April, each of which lacked a posting of its own. If a robin is swallowing worms, it must be spring. This is a female. The Varied Thrush is a close relative of … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, bugs, fish, herptiles | 10 Comments

Hawk & snake

Posted on April 19, 2020 by Alistair

  Sometimes one doesn’t know what one has until well after the observation. As I took the picture, I noticed nothing other than a perched Red-tailed Hawk. When I looked at it on the camera, I noticed that the hawk … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, herptiles | 3 Comments

August goulash

Posted on August 30, 2019 by Alistair

  This is a collection of images from August, none of which has had a posting of its own. An osprey flies by with a fish. Earlier I showed a Solitary Sandpiper. Here is another migrant: a Semipalmated Sandpiper. In … Continue reading →

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July goulash

Posted on July 30, 2019 by Alistair

  Nothing from this baker’s dozen of July images has had a posting of its own.  A few birds avoid the valleys and prefer the mountains. One of these is the White-crowned Sparrow. Wintering to the south, it breeds here … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, bugs, herptiles, mammals | 4 Comments

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 →

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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