Category Archives: birds

  The Black-necked Stilt does not visit Kootenay Lake — or that is what the range maps of bird websites would have you believe. Indeed, I have not seen it here before. And the bird isn’t even listed in Cannings’ … Continue reading →

  Ospreys tend to return to the same nests year after year. However, often when they return, they find their last-year’s nest already occupied by geese. The osprey sometimes succeeds in driving the geese out, but sometimes the goose just … Continue reading →

  I saw a Great Blue Heron this morning. This might seem to be an inconsequential observation. One might see herons in every month of the year, so it isn’t as if they are like ospreys: gone in the cold … Continue reading →

  Mountain Bluebirds are arriving. They like open fields where they hunt insects from low perches. Once an insect is spotted, the bird dives on it, returns to a perch, and feasts. A splash of blue sits in the leafless … Continue reading →

  Three days ago, I watched an odd looking (female) House Finch: it had a beard.  These finches like seeds and initially I thought that it had one of those fluffy seeds such as those of a dandelion or a … Continue reading →

  During an open-air flight, a bird will use dangling legs and open claws as a threatening posture towards another bird. The first time I became aware of dangling legs with open claws being used in a bird attack was … Continue reading →

  Much of bird watching involves creature identification, along with tracking seasonal migration. However, this posting is about neither of these; rather, it treats obscure behaviours of a duck, the Hooded Merganser. The issue is that of the duck optimizing … Continue reading →

  We have Hooded Mergansers year round. And although this water bird is not as common as the mallard, there are ample opportunities to see them. Yet, only once before have I seen one stand on a solid surface: swim … Continue reading →