Category Archives: mammals

Catching up on May

Posted on May 31, 2014 by Alistair

  Sometimes a posting has the sole objective of catching one’s breath at the end of the month. The Lazuli Bunting is a small songbird that comes to this region to breed. A composite of a single Bullock’s Oriel landing in a … Continue reading →

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Doug’s grizzly

Posted on May 29, 2014 by Alistair

  A week ago, Doug Thorburn sent me some pictures of another grizzly bear he encountered in his wanderings in the mountains south of Nelson. There were many fine shots out of which I chose two. Alas, I did not … Continue reading →

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Polymorphistic bears

Posted on May 26, 2014 by Alistair

  Yesterday morning, I saw an example of polymorphism high in the south Selkirk Mountains. It took the form of different colour morphs within a family of Black Bears.  Colour morphs (also called phases or forms) are found in a number … Continue reading →

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Birds plus

Posted on May 16, 2014 by Alistair

  Herein are a few birds seen in the last few days, plus one mammal. What I thought was a White-throated Sparrow is actually a Savannah Sparrow.  Rough-winged Swallows are determined to evict a Kingfisher from its nesting cavity and have it … Continue reading →

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Mother’s Day

Posted on May 11, 2014 by Alistair

  A dozen pictures of local families serve to mark Mother’s Day. They are from my personal archives and were taken at various times through the year. A Bald Eagle watches over its chick in the nest. Goslings are well … Continue reading →

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Squirrel breakfast

Posted on May 6, 2014 by Alistair

  Sometimes the story, the composition, and the lighting just come together. A Red Squirrel starts its day by eating a Douglasfir cone.

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Grizzly trail

Posted on May 2, 2014 by Alistair

  Everyone appreciates a good road. Early roads often followed animal trails; now, animals often follow our roads. Here, three Grizzly Bear cubs wander up a mountain road above Nelson. The picture is courtesy of Doug Thorburn. When he took … Continue reading →

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Congeners

Posted on April 27, 2014 by Alistair

  No, the Lake has not been invaded by giant eels; that is the conger. I am discussing congeners: species that share a genus. The genus of interest here is the Odocoileus, what most people refer to as deer.  We have two species … Continue reading →

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Puffed blue

Posted on April 14, 2014 by Alistair

  For a few weeks, there have been Mountain Bluebirds around, but it wasn’t until this morning that I managed to get close enough for good pictures. A couple was perched on adjacent bushes from which they scanned for insects … Continue reading →

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Marmot tag

Posted on April 2, 2014 by Alistair

  What a playful animal is the marmot: Yesterday, I watched two of them playing tag. Apparently, the bigger (male) marmot was it, and was attempting to tag the smaller (female) marmot. The two of them coursed back and forth over the … Continue reading →

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