Category Archives: birds

Non-pigment blue

  I like the Mountain Bluebird. Four days ago, I watched it fly against the blue sky. What is striking about this is that neither the bluebird, nor the sky gains its colour from a pigment. Now, the majority of … Continue reading

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Chickadee, merlin

  Seen this morning were two birds. a chickadee with its mouth full, and a merlin stretching. The Black-capped chickadee is excavating a nest for itself and its partner (which was on an adjacent bush). I have seen this two … Continue reading

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Two birds, black & blue

  In two sunny days, I saw a couple of birds: one black and white, the other blue and white. The magpie was gathering sticks for its nest. The mountain bluebird was at Kokanee Park searching for grubs to eat. … Continue reading

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Flickers mate in midair?

  Two Northern Flickers were courting by bobbing at one another on the top of a tall piling. They then flew off – or so I thought. I kept shooting, hoping to catch their initial flight. But, they didn’t fly; … Continue reading

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White-winged Crossbill

  The White-winged Crossbill is a wanderer. It looks for spruce and tamarack cone seeds which it opens with its unusual crisscrossed bill. Here is a male White-winged Crossbill at Taghum. Photo by Cynthia Fraser. One never knows when this … Continue reading

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Killdeer mid-Feb

  The earliest I had seen a Killdeer before today was in mid-March. Indeed, Hinterland Who’s Who states “Killdeer reach southern Canada as early as mid-March…”  So, why did Cynthia and I see one at Kokanee Creek Park today? Global … Continue reading

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Trumpeter Swans a plenty

  This is the season when we are visited by the largest waterfowl in the world: the Trumpeter Swan. In the last few days there have been about 30 of them in the waters south and west of Kokanee Creek … Continue reading

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Trumpeter family

  Trumpeter swans are coming by and a family of six (two parents, four youngsters) were seen for the last few days. The advantage of viewing them from Kokanee Creek Park is that the swans can be seen at eye … Continue reading

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Dippers fighting

  I am not used to seeing animals fighting. But, recently I watched two female white-tailed deer go at it. And now, dippers. Except during mating and raising their young, dippers are solitary. They defend their territories vigorously against intruders, … Continue reading

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Then there were two

  Two days ago, there was only one Trumpeter Swan swimming off of Kokanee Creek Park. Today there were two.  

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