Category Archives: birds

In a contest for the most beautiful local bird, the Varied Thrush would certainly be among the finalists. The Varied Thrush, a bird of the western cordillera, is more common around the Lake in spring and summer than in fall … Continue reading →

Steller’s Jays held virtually an exclusive reign over my feeder until the temperature plummeted (see, Strictly Steller’s). The Jays are still around, but with this morning’s temperature of -15°C, two other species visited: a Varied Thrush and a Red-breasted Nuthatch … Continue reading →

Tweet, click; tweet, click. So went my duet with a Song Sparrow from one perch to the next in this morning’s early light. The bird finally flew away, apparently finding my endless clicking an inadequate counterpoint for its own beautiful … Continue reading →

I am sure that when a Bohemian Waxing encounters a genuine birder, it alights nearby and allows a closeup photograph. With me, waxwings always arrive in great numbers at the top of a distant tree, flutter about for a while, … Continue reading →

I am always impressed with the number and variety of species of waterfowl to be found at the Nelson’s waterfront. Why are the numbers and diversity so much greater there than elsewhere along the West Arm of the Lake? Of late … Continue reading →

Birders around the area are beginning to report a variety of birds at their feeders: nuthatches, chickadees, goldfinches, robins, flickers, finches, siskins, waxwings—the list goes on. Not me. My feeder has been taken over by local mobsters: Steller’s Jays. I … Continue reading →

I am sure it lives around here someplace. Many mornings through the winter I have heard its distinctive territorial gronk. Yet, I have been unable to find it. And it has been nearly three months since I saw it fishing … Continue reading →

A couple of days ago, Nelson resident, Marnie Lehr, took a wonderful picture of a Northern Pygmy Owl eating a robin. The owl ate the robin’s head first. Below that is a picture I took last August of an Osprey … Continue reading →

This is a detailed discussion of one of the dipper pictures posted on Jan. 3, 2011: the one showing it landing on the lake surface. Explored is the question of whether the dipper is planing (as distinct from floating); in colloquial terms, … Continue reading →

The dipper is the most aquatic of song birds. It hunts for comestibles by dipping its head into the waters of a creek or lakeshore while wading. Here are three views of a dipper seen on the lakeshore this afternoon. In … Continue reading →