Category Archives: mammals

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 … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, bugs, mammals | 9 Comments

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 … Continue reading →

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 … Continue reading →

Posted in commentary, mammals | 3 Comments

Wondrous wander

Posted on March 23, 2018 by Alistair

  There are worse ways to spend the better part of a day than wandering through nature. Here are highlights of things seen two days ago. Turkey Vulture Vultures return to this area mid-March, but I would not have expected … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, mammals | 6 Comments

March marmot

Posted on March 19, 2018 by Alistair

  In the dying months of winter, I watch talus for the emergence of Yellow-bellied Marmots from their long hibernation. For many years, that first observation was in March, but then it began to shift until it was well into … Continue reading →

Posted in mammals | 1 Comment

Den failure

Posted on February 26, 2018 by Alistair

  I normally don’t post failures to my blog — there are just too many of them. And who wants to see a blurry picture where a coyote, say, has just left the frame?  However, this posting is about a … Continue reading →

Posted in commentary, mammals | 4 Comments

Two mammals

Posted on February 7, 2018 by Alistair

  A glance along the list of recent postings (to the right) might lead one to suspect that this blog is classist: biased towards Class Aves; discriminating against Class Mammalia. The list shows many postings about birds, but only a few … Continue reading →

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Speeding hare

Posted on January 17, 2018 by Alistair

  I did not realize how amazingly fast a hare can run. I watched two dogs chase a hare across a snow-covered field. The dogs were vastly outclassed. Now, I am not a fan of dogs running free in the … Continue reading →

Posted in commentary, mammals | 4 Comments

Winter grazing

Posted on January 9, 2018 by Alistair

  Grazing herbivores regularly battle snow, which limits their winter access to the grass below. They paw at the snow with hooves to open a hole and then stick their heads down and feed. I had not noticed White-tailed Deer … Continue reading →

Posted in mammals | 3 Comments

Otter visit

Posted on December 2, 2017 by Alistair

  Three River Otters visited early in this morning’s cerulean twilight. The otters promptly went through their usual routine of shaking water off of their fur, and then marking the dock as now belonging to them. Rather than illustrating those … Continue reading →

Posted in mammals | 7 Comments