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Recent Posts
- Trumpeter courting
- Injured swan
- Confused teal
- Mallard mating
- Hairy not Downy
- Two interesting visitors
- Otters frolic
- Devil’s cormorant
- Harrier
- Wing-flap preening
- In the bill
- Barred Owl
- Cygnet
- Swan migration
- Apostrophe’s abrasion
- Buntings and finches
- Weasel
- Golden-Plover
- Cloudbow & glory
- White-tail suckling
- Exotropia in bears
- Grizzly & Kokanee
- Bears in Park
- A week late
- Uncommon harasses rare
- Eagle juvenile
- Chipmunk
- Juvenile ospreys
- Juveniles
- Juvenile herons
- Osprey & chick
- Faeces disposal
- Ghost plant
- Snowshoe hare
- Skunk kit feeds
- Feeding swallow chicks
- Heron & fish
- Turkey Vultures
- Starling chick
- Eye to eye
- Nesting material
- Columbia spotted frog
- Striped coralroot
- Bald Eagle nest
- Grizzly sow & cubs
- Mallard rape?
- Fairy slipper deception
- April goulash
- Pelicans
- Killdeer mating
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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
Posted in birds
7 Comments
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
Posted in birds
5 Comments
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
Posted in birds
8 Comments
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
Posted in birds
3 Comments
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
Posted in birds
12 Comments
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
Posted in birds, mammals
2 Comments
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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5 Comments
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
Posted in birds
5 Comments
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
Posted in birds
2 Comments
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
Posted in birds
3 Comments