Category Archives: commentary

Female-duck mystery

Posted on March 12, 2021 by Alistair

It is a mystery to me why female ducks sit atop pilings in the early morning at the beginning of the breeding season. They don’t do this at other times. I have been watching female mallards do this for … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, commentary | 6 Comments

Dipper under ice

Posted on February 11, 2021 by Alistair

A dipper sometimes forages under ice. I believe I know when and why it does so. The odd thing about this, is that I have often watched a dipper stand on the border ice along a creek, dive into … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, commentary, weather | 4 Comments

Eats, fish & leaves

Posted on November 11, 2020 by Alistair

There is a classic joke that depends upon the sloppy employment of a comma: Eats, shoots and leaves. This is how Wikipedia tells it: A panda walks into a café. He orders a sandwich, eats it, then draws a … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, commentary, fish | 5 Comments

Wild Turkey presence

Posted on June 28, 2020 by Alistair

When I was a child on the shore of Kootenay Lake, there were no Wild Turkeys to be seen. Returning to the lakeshore in retirement, I was surprised to see a few. Since that time, the proliferation of turkeys … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, commentary | 3 Comments

Lucy has a new gosling

Posted on June 13, 2020 by Alistair

Lucy was hatched at least a decade ago. She is the only local Canada Goose that is a recognizable individual. Normally, when we wish to identify an individual animal, we have to mark it with something ranging from a … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, commentary | 4 Comments

Two courtship displays

Posted on May 23, 2020 by Alistair

I watched two courtship displays of birds this morning. One was obvious; the other was subtle. A courtship display is a behaviour in which an animal (often a male) attempts to attract a mate. The courtship display of the … Continue reading →

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March goulash

Posted on March 31, 2020 by Alistair

This is a collection of images from March, each of which lacked a posting of its own. Such observations of nature serve as a balm to my own increasing social isolation. These are creatures oblivious to our present angst. … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, commentary, mammals | 7 Comments

Stuck cat

Posted on February 16, 2020 by Alistair

This blog does not usually concern itself with domestic animals, but this seemed special: a stuck cat. It was beside the highway and high on some utility cables about a third of the way between the poles. Presumably it … Continue reading →

Posted in commentary, mammals | 11 Comments

Palindrome day

Posted on February 2, 2020 by Alistair

The primary reason for today’s posting is its unusual date: it forms a palindrome. A palindrome is an expression that reads the same forward or backward, and in the manner in which I date my pictures (year month day) … Continue reading →

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Curiosity of young raptors

Posted on November 25, 2019 by Alistair

Of late, I have become curious about the curiosity sometimes displayed by young raptors. When I wander past a perched raptor, it usually bolts to a more distant spot. Now and then the raptor will first regard me from … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, commentary | 7 Comments