Category Archives: birds

With each osprey I have seen of late, I say: this has to be the last one of the year. Yet, today I saw another. Mind you, it was sitting in the rain under low skies which would have prevented … Continue reading →

Four Horned Grebes visited me yesterday. It really was a visit: they came within maybe ten meters and seemed unconcerned by my presence and the incessant clicking of my camera. A few postings ago, I noted that a grebe is … Continue reading →

Stunning! I had thought Harlequin Ducks were colourful. Yet, the Wood Duck (the woody) is, if anything, more so, even though the one, below, has yet to complete its moult to breeding plumage. For the past couple of weeks Derek Kite … Continue reading →

Those of you who read my account of the Castlegar hawk watch may have assumed that all raptors left the area in the fall. No, I was describing raptors from the north of here that flew over our area. Yet, … Continue reading →

There is a whimsical assessment of whether something is what it appears to be. Known as the duck test, it asserts: If it looks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, then it probably is … Continue reading →

The House Sparrow is a long-term Nelson resident as surely as are its people and their pets. Indeed, the House Sparrow is (on the whole) a strictly urban bird: I have not seen it in the more rural areas around … Continue reading →

In late September, the North empties of raptors. At this time of year, raptors from Alaska to northern Alberta flow down along the coastlines and mountain ranges of BC. Some pass through the West Kootenay and so present the astute … Continue reading →

Two days ago, I posted an artsy picture I described as a matutinal loon. At the time, I was struck more by the beauty of its pose than by its state of moult. Others challenged me on my assessment that … Continue reading →

In the early morning, I often see a loon wander by. Usually it is well offshore. Today it was a bit closer and I was able to watch it rise out of the water and shake its wings. It is … Continue reading →