Category Archives: birds

  I was watching a resident family of Northern Flickers flit between their favourite feeding areas, when to my absolute delight, another woodpecker flew over to join them.  In the West Kootenay, we have a half-dozen or more woodpeckers that … Continue reading →

  The cormorant is an interesting bird. It has a long history of interaction with humans, and most of this time the cormorant was presented as surprisingly bad. I encountered one this last weekend, but observations of it are not … Continue reading →

  I don’t see a Northern Harrier very often; the last time was five years ago. So when one visited today, I wondered what it was. This one appears to be a female, or perhaps a juvenile. The harrier was … Continue reading →

  Swans are now heading south to escape the ice, but last February they were heading north to breed. Consequently, twice a year they are feeding in our area as they pass through.  Last February, I posted about spread-winged trumpeters: … Continue reading →

  When not migrating or sleeping, a bird spends most of its time looking for food. Yet, of all the pictures taken of birds, it is relatively uncommon to see a bird with something eatable in its bill. There are … Continue reading →

  Only rarely do I see a Barred Owl, and often someone else spots one for me. And yet, this owl does not migrate with the seasons, but confines itself to a space of about 10 km on a side. … Continue reading →

  Nearly two weeks ago, Joanne Siderius, Kokanee Creek Park’s senior naturalist, published some pictures of a cygnet. Yesterday three of us saw what was apparently the same cygnet at close quarters, again at the park. I have seen a … Continue reading →

  Swans head south in the fall and north in the spring. Already there have been reports of the first swans coming through this region. Yesterday, when I went past a place of shallow water there was nothing to be … Continue reading →

  Six years ago, I wondered if “if birds named after people will be the apostrophe’s last bastion.” <blog.kootenay-lake.ca/?p=20350> I noted that we had lost the apostrophe in geographic names: “Around Kootenay Lake, Johnson’s Landing is officially Johnsons Landing and … Continue reading →