Airfreight

Posted on May 1, 2018 by Alistair

 

By being able to fly, birds have an unparalleled ability to move from place to place. But, can they carry luggage along with them?

Birds have few options: carry something with their feet; carry it in their bills or gullets. Alas, only some birds have bills or feet suitable for transporting things even a short distance. Raptors are perhaps the most versatile.

Yesterday I watched two different raptors fly material from one place to another.

This is a female Kestrel, and she is carrying a vole in her claws. She took it to a tree branch and ate it. On previous occasions, I have seen a Kestrel carry beetles and other birds in its bill when it was feeding its chicks.

This Osprey is doing double duty by carrying both a stick and a fish to its nest.

 

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April goulash

Posted on April 30, 2018 by Alistair

 

April has been a month of sparse postings, but not one of sparse observations.

This collection shows some of the sightings that did not have a posting of its own.

A male Pintail Duck wanders past.

The oversized bills of a mating pair of Northern Shovelers are evident.

There is tranquility in this scene of three Great Blue Herons.

This unfortunate Northern Flicker seems to have its head on backwards.

A Columbian Ground Squirrel pulls sentry duty.

Two Turkey Vultures soar over the lakeshore.

A pair of Wood Ducks (female, left; male, right) rests on a branch above the water. 

It is nest-building time and this Osprey is bring a stick to the task.

A real treat was watching a Marsh Wren burst forth in song. 

Now that the snow has vanished, fields have become the hunting ground of Mountain Bluebirds.

A Meadow Lark flies to meet a companion atop of a tree.

A Black-billed Magpie flies through the trees.

Defending itself after its arrest for defacing industrial property, this marmot feigned innumeracy.

The first Bumble Bee to be seen in any numbers is the Bombus bifarius. This one flew by on its way to collect pollen.

 

Posted in birds, bugs, mammals | 9 Comments

Bombylius major

Posted on April 27, 2018 by Alistair

 

Early most springs, I post pictures of Bombylius major, for it is only at this time that one sees this interesting fly in one’s garden.

Abruptly, spring has arrived, and so has bombylius. 

Although Bombylius major is a fly, it has the appearance of a bumble bee — a mimicry crafted to avoid being eaten by birds.

The reason bombylius only appears in the spring is that this is the time solitary bees temporarily leave their nests unprotected. Unlike the social bees, each solitary bee lays her own eggs and does so in a small tunnel she has provisioned with food such as nectar and pollen. She then seals the entrance.

However, for the short time it takes for a solitary bee to do this, the tunnel entrance is open and that is when the Bombylius fly enters and deposits its own eggs inside. When a bombylius larva emerges, it feeds on the provisions meant for the bee larvae. It then changes form and eats the bee larvae, themselves. Bombylius has only a short time in the spring to give its offspring this opportunity.

You have to do what you have to do.

The Bombylius fly looks like some fuzzy toy designed by a manufacturer of children’s toys. Its proboscis is long, and its wings are half black and half transparent.

When Bombylius major collects nectar, its long proboscis and its long legs allow it to avoid getting close to a flower — something that might contain a crab spider.

 

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Blue Jay

Posted on April 24, 2018 by Alistair

 

The Blue Jay is an uncommon resident around the Lake. Indeed, while others have seen one occasionally, today’s visitor to my home was the first one I have ever seen.

A Blue Jay stops by to help itself to seeds put out for a Steller’s Jay. It was skittish.

The Blue Jay then flew to a nearby tree and sat in the afternoon sunlight.

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Smoking mountain

Posted on April 21, 2018 by Alistair

 

A smoking mountain might seem an odd topic during a wet spring. However, the title does not refer to a wildfire, but to the name of a weather phenomenon.

Sometimes a cloud streaming off the lee of a mountain has the appearance of smoke from a wildfire. This is most likely to be seen when: the mountain has a fairly sharp ridge line; there is a brisk wind flowing across the mountaintop; the valley on the lee is deep and the air in it is moist.

The wind flowing across the mountain top does not follow the terrain. The sharp mountaintop causes air to separate from the surface and carry on high above the valley. However, this wind drags air in the valley with it causing it to flow in the same direction. This, in turn, causes air to flow up the lee of the mountain. As the moist air is lifted, a cloud forms, giving the impression of smoke pouring off the mountainside.

Streamlines have been added to the picture to illustrate the wind: the air above the mountain top is flowing from right to left; on the lee side of the mountain, a cloud forms as the moist air is lifted. The cloud has the appearance of smoke from a wildfire. To see the picture without the streamlines, roll the cursor over the image (computer), or tap on the image (mobile device).

Posted in weather | 4 Comments

Wood Duck

Posted on April 11, 2018 by Alistair

 

Posted in birds | 8 Comments

Still here

Posted on April 6, 2018 by Alistair

 

This is the fourth day that the wayward Snow Goose has been hanging around, always in the company of a few Canada Geese. Maybe when the weather improves, it will head out to find others of its own species.

The Snow Goose on my lawn. 

At one point the goose was joined by a visiting pair of Green-winged Teals.

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Snow Goose

Posted on April 3, 2018 by Alistair

 

At places along the Pacific Coast of British Columbia, the semi-annual migration of Snow Geese brings them in vast numbers. However, Kootenay Lake is far off their normal migratory route. Here, maybe a total of a half-dozen Snow Geese that have wandered far off course might be seen somewhere in this large area during the course of a year. So, it was unexpected to see one along the West Arm this morning.

A young Snow Goose has wandered far from its normal migratory route.

 

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March goulash

Posted on March 31, 2018 by Alistair

 

It has been a half-year since I offered a month’s-end goulash: a collection of images, none of which had had a posting of its own.

Starlings, an invasive and aggressive species, are not my favourite birds. Yet, when they collect in vast flocks, they are renowned for presenting coordinated and spectacular murmurations. Alas, the numbers here were insufficient for that; they merely offered chaotic flight.

It might be a surprise to some that the doe-eyed White-tailed Deer is demonized in some circles.

Why do owls, hawks, falcons, and woodpeckers appeal to some humans? I don’t know, but I have the condition also. Here is our tiniest woodpecker, the Downy.

Spring comes and we begin to see the Meadow Lark in our fields.

The Great Blue Heron is one of my favourites. Here one is flying into a local rookery. 

This is an uncommon view of the wings of one of our common birds: the Steller’s Jay.

Two female and two first-year male Hooded Mergansers choose a turtle’s loafing log for preening.

This ball of fur comprises two Yellow-bellied Marmots. First came nuzzling, now thrusting. 

Posted in birds, mammals | 2 Comments

Progress rejection

Posted on March 30, 2018 by Alistair

 

At first I was bothered by the way our culture of discardable shipping containers had sullied the talus.

Then I thought, maybe the marmots have merely installed lighting in their dens.

Finally, I was struck by the whimsy of wildlife having turned its back on what we see as progress.

American woodcock

Posted in commentary, mammals | 3 Comments