Bear, fish again

Posted on September 9, 2026 by Alistair

 

Yesterday, I watched another black bear catch a Kokanee salmon to eat.

 

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Bear, fish, reprise

Posted on September 5, 2026 by Alistair

 

This is a repetition of yesterday’s posted image, plus a slightly earlier image which gives a little insight into the bear’s grip. 

This is the previously posted image of a black bear taking a Kokanee salmon off to eat. Note that the bear has gripped the fish from the underside between the head and fins.

Here is a slightly earlier shot of the bear just hauling the Kokanee from the creek. It is gripping it 0n the topside by the head. I lack intervening pictures so I just am not sure how it moved its grip, but presumably it put it back in the water and picked it up again.

 

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Bear catches fish

Posted on September 4, 2026 by Alistair

 

Today, a black bear caught a Kokanee salmon to eat.

 

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Mallard with bill feather

Posted on September 2, 2026 by Alistair

 

This female Mallard has a problem. It has a feather sitting on its bill. How does it get it off? After all, it does lack hands. The Mallard blows water from its bill in an attempt to blow the feather off.

This took a few trials, however, success occurred when the blown water caught the edge of the feather and whisked it away.

A Mallard attempts to squirt water to dislodge a feather sitting on its bill.

 

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Bear and fish

Posted on September 1, 2026 by Alistair

 

The spawning run of Kokanee salmon is rather small this year, as it often is every third year. Yet, if one watches with patience, one occasionally sees a foraging bear catch a fish. 

A black bear hunts in the creek.

Unlike some times, this bear had its back turned when it dragged its fish from the stream.

It then carried the Kokanee off into the woods to eat.

Even though the light was low, sometimes a good shot of eating emerged.

And today, another good view of a captured Kokanee was obtained.

 

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Walk at park

Posted on August 27, 2026 by Alistair

 

It was an interesting day for a walk in Kokanee Park. I saw: a heron, a woodpecker, and a black bear.

A Great Blue Heron in breeding feathers (unlike the pre-breeding plumage show earlier).

I have rarely managed a Pileated Woodpecker flying. This one is male.

The best observation was a fishing black bear in the spawning channel.

 

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Squirrel thief

Posted on August 23, 2026 by Alistair

 

Oh well, it was getting time to take down the hummingbird feeder anyway.

 

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Black bear in creek

Posted on August 22, 2026 by Alistair

 

Last night, as the light was fading, I visited the Kokanee Creek Spawning Channel. There were few fish there as yet, but that did not stop a black bear from finding and downing a big fish (before I came), and then looking for more. I watched it as it searched.

Perhaps the best picture I got is this one. In this, and many other shots, its lower body is festooned with water drops from the constant search in the water.

The bear was in the spawning channel and a few people were on a bridge inaccessible to each other. Yet the bear would occasionally look up at the people. I think it sought comfort in the inaccessibility.

At one point the bear stopped for a drink of water.

Finally, the black bear wandered off, probably frustrated by having found only one fish.

 

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Peromyscus, deermouse

Posted on August 20, 2026 by Alistair

 

Peromyscus is the scientific name given the genus, but it is more often written deermouse (with and without a space). Mind you, its only relation to deer is that it has the same sort of colouring. It is a group of rodents native to North America that is only distantly related to real mice. But it sort of looks like a mouse, and so gained the name. This genus is quite common, but it is easily missed because it is largely nocturnal. 

However, it is to be avoided, as some are said to carry the hantavirus. 

A western deermouse with its big ears and a two-tone body and tail looking for food.

 

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Osprey family

Posted on August 18, 2026 by Alistair

 

It was happenstance that I watched what had been a favourite osprey nest at an odd angle two days ago. This is the nest that in April I briefly observed the fresh osprey couple mating acrobatically for the first time. They now had two chicks, not just one as I had observed before. Furthermore, one chick had already fledged. The other was to fledge the next day.

Two chicks (white spotted wings) and an adult (dark wings) are present, and one chick has fledged.

The adults repeatedly tried to persuade the remaining chick to fledge by no longer feeding it, but they instead brought in nest material.

Finally, the last chick fledged.

 

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