Category Archives: birds

  Why would a Heron stand half submerged in the water on one of the coldest days of the winter? Note the pupil sizes in each eye. The one facing the sun is smaller.

  The weather has turned cold and the temperature is expected to drop further. Yet, as the wind is gentle; walks are pleasant. What might one see along the lakeshore? My curiosity was peaked by the four birds shown here. … Continue reading →

  Irruption of a natural population: to undergo a sudden upsurge in numbers especially when natural ecological balances and checks are disturbed You may have heard the word irruption recently in connection with the Great Snowy Owl appearances in eastern … Continue reading →

  January draws to a close and I find unused images of miscellaneous birds on my computer. Many of them I shall ignore, but here are four I liked. European Collared Dove Belted Kingfisher Black-billed Magpie Wild Turkey

   Derek Derek Kite has often permitted me to include some of his local images within a posting I made. I have finally persuaded him to make his own posting. I hope this will be the first of many. Alistair … Continue reading →

  Flight is the sine qua non of birds. (A few non-local birds had, but lost, the capability.) So, why doesn’t this blog show more airborne birds? Unfortunately, they are more difficult to photograph. Every so often, it is fun to explore … Continue reading →

  How difficult can it be to identify a couple of local buteos? Buteos are the broad-winged hawks that hunt in open spaces. There are only two likely to be seen locally at this time of year: Red-tailed Hawk, Rough-legged Hawk. … Continue reading →

  Well actually, the Ruffed Grouse did not manage to cross the road. The grouse tried repeatedly, but it walked so slowly that during each attempt another vehicle would come along, and the grouse was forced to retreat. Finally, a … Continue reading →

  We have falcons around Kootenay Lake, but only two species are normally encountered: Merlin, Kestrel. Merlins have appeared in this blog, but my nicest shots of them are on the main website. Two postings about Kestrels have been: Kestrel … Continue reading →