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Monthly Archives: May 2025
Dipper and fish
Dippers eat mostly aquatic insects and insect larvae. However, they will occasionally take other invertebrates, as well as small fish or fish eggs. For the longest time, I had only ever seen it eat juvenile fish (alevin and fry) … Continue reading
Black bear cub
Come summer, I often see bears in my neighbourhood on the West Arm of Kootenay Lake. They are almost always black bears, and always look heathy, whether boar, sow, or cub. So far, this year has been unusual. I … Continue reading
Spring azure
Spring azures are small (22-35 mm wingspan) springtime butterflies. They were seen on a slightly darkened patch of a back-woods roadway where a large mammal had urinated. Many mainly male butterflies group there and sip nutrients, particularly salt, that … Continue reading
Posted in bugs
2 Comments
Black-chinned fought
I have been watching hummingbirds in an attempt to get pictures of the female Black-chinned and the female Calliope. It has been unsuccessful so far. However, I did spot an unusual feature on a Black-chinned male: evidence of a … Continue reading
Three hummingbird species
I mentioned earlier (blog.kootenay-lake.ca/?p=34474) that we get three hummingbirds: rufous, black-chinned and calliope. In the last few days I have seen males of each of these birds. They migrate here before the females do. The gorget (throat) of many … Continue reading
Posted in birds
3 Comments
Red squirrels mating
The North American red squirrel is our most common tree squirrel. It is generally a solitary creature. It will only be with other red squirrels when the female nurses pups or when it mates. The oestrus period for the … Continue reading
Posted in mammals
2 Comments
Grizzly cub
We certainly have grizzly bears in the West Kootenay. Yet we practically never see them on the West Arm of Kootenay Lake, which has a fair number of homes. Presumably, grizzlies just avoid people. Joanne Siderius, the Senior Naturalist … Continue reading
Squirrel with berry
A red squirrel found a reddish berry and hauled it away to eat. (But, I have been unable to determine what the species of berry it is. It seems that no reddish berries are yet in season here.) The … Continue reading
Posted in mammals
5 Comments
Bufflehead
The Bufflehead is our smallest diving duck and the two sexes look different. It is primarily a somewhat uncommon winter bird here for it breeds farther north. I got some pictures of the male flying. This is with wings … Continue reading
Posted in birds
2 Comments
Female rufous
Now after a few days of having a male Rufous Hummingbird, the female has arrived. On a good year, we also may expect to see male and female Black-chinned Hummingbirds and Calliope Hummingbirds. So, more may be coming. A … Continue reading
Posted in birds
3 Comments