Category Archives: mammals

Beaver munching

Posted on January 20, 2015 by Alistair

  I keep returning to the spot where I saw the icebreaking beaver, but although there is often evidence of activity, the beaver has not been seen again—not seen, that is, until today. He was seen on a snow bank high above … Continue reading →

Posted in mammals | 3 Comments

Icebreaking beaver

Posted on January 17, 2015 by Alistair

  I have had insufficient opportunities to watch beavers for I have not seen one play icebreaker before. The beaver left its lodge in a bank and promptly encountered, what I think is called, grease ice. Grease ice is a later stage … Continue reading →

Posted in mammals, weather | 1 Comment

Shooting the messenger

Posted on January 15, 2015 by Alistair

  Margaret Atwood is among the many prominent authors and naturalists who recently sent an open letter to the Oxford University Press. The group expressed its profound alarm at the decline in a child’s awareness of the natural world. The petition … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, commentary, mammals | 10 Comments

Otters and ice

Posted on January 13, 2015 by Alistair

  A pair of River Otters ceaselessly patrolled the edge of border ice. Why? Were fish more plentiful there, possibly because ice forms where water is shallow, or because fish seek safe darkness under ice? Does anyone know? Whatever the reason, … Continue reading →

Posted in mammals | 2 Comments

Mammal reprise 2014

Posted on December 30, 2014 by Alistair

  Alas, my camera finds far fewer mammals for me than it does birds, so I must savour the few opportunities it gives me. Here are a few of the mammal shots I liked from 2014. There are two local species … Continue reading →

Posted in mammals | 2 Comments

Roadside sheep

Posted on December 16, 2014 by Alistair

  Two perquisites of rural living are the occasional presence of megafauna alongside a road, and the ease with which one can pull over to watch them. So it was that I was able to offer my compliments to some Bighorn Sheep.  Sometimes … Continue reading →

Posted in mammals | 6 Comments

Otter potty

Posted on November 10, 2014 by Alistair

  I suppose that we should be grateful that River Otters have a strange compulsion to use boat docks as potties. If it were not so, we would not see them nearly as often as we do. The otter swam to … Continue reading →

Posted in mammals | 4 Comments

Best grizzly ever

Posted on November 3, 2014 by Alistair

  It is the best, most evocative, shot of a Grizzly Bear I have ever seen (and I have seen and taken many grizzly pictures). It was taken by Jim Lawrence, a wildlife photographer (Kootenay Reflections) and friend.  The story … Continue reading →

Posted in commentary, mammals | 4 Comments

Bighorn mating

Posted on October 15, 2014 by Alistair

  When it comes to the mating of Bighorn Sheep, the sequence is well known. The first step is to establish dominance over competitors. A good head butting should do this. The second step is to pursue a fecund ewe. … Continue reading →

Posted in mammals | 2 Comments

Bighorn wooing

Posted on October 14, 2014 by Alistair

  For most of the year, adult bighorn rams and ewes live separately. This is obviously not conducive to species propagation, so in the fall, they come together and the wooing begins. Rams gather and jostle one another probably as … Continue reading →

Posted in mammals | 4 Comments