Category Archives: birds

Trumpeter courting

  One of this winter’s sweet delights has been how many Trumpeter Swan families and larger groupings are frequenting the shallows, shores and creek mouths of Kootenay Lake. A week ago Saturday, I spent two hours quietly watching about 20 … Continue reading

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Injured swan

  I rarely see wildlife that is either injured or deformed. It may be that they are rare, or it may be that predators quickly dispatch them (or both). For the animal with an injury to persist, the injury would … Continue reading

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Confused teal

  The Green-winged Teal is a rather small dabbler that is neither rare nor common around here. It spends its winters to our south and its summers to our north. Twice a year it courses through here as it goes … Continue reading

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Mallard mating

  Birds mate quickly — in a matter of seconds. And while I had seen a mallard rape, I had not seen mallard consensual sex, at least until this afternoon.  From the time of rushing to the camera and picking … Continue reading

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Hairy not Downy

  I was watching a resident family of Northern Flickers flit between their favourite feeding areas, when to my absolute delight, another woodpecker flew over to join them.  In the West Kootenay, we have a half-dozen or more woodpeckers that … Continue reading

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Two interesting visitors

  The last week has been bitterly cold with bouts of steam fog and snow. Critters seemed few in number, but it has warmed, and recently there were interesting visitors. Two Trumpeter Swans came along the shore feeding midday. They … Continue reading

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Devil’s cormorant

  The cormorant is an interesting bird. It has a long history of interaction with humans, and most of this time the cormorant was presented as surprisingly bad. I encountered one this last weekend, but observations of it are not … Continue reading

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Harrier

  I don’t see a Northern Harrier very often; the last time was five years ago. So when one visited today, I wondered what it was. This one appears to be a female, or perhaps a juvenile. The harrier was … Continue reading

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Wing-flap preening

  Swans are now heading south to escape the ice, but last February they were heading north to breed. Consequently, twice a year they are feeding in our area as they pass through.  Last February, I posted about spread-winged trumpeters: … Continue reading

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In the bill

  When not migrating or sleeping, a bird spends most of its time looking for food. Yet, of all the pictures taken of birds, it is relatively uncommon to see a bird with something eatable in its bill. There are … Continue reading

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