Exploring Kootenay Lake

Surely my most unexpected observation of this year was made last evening when a Chipmunk crashed an outdoor dinner party.

When I was a child, I would often see chipmunks at the valley bottom around the Lake. However, for years now, I have only seen them higher in the mountains. I don’t know what is going on, but maybe the high elevations are their normal home and they only expand their altitude range during a temporary population explosion. Have there been more chipmunks seen this year?

During supper on the deck, an unexpected guest arrived: a Yellow-pine Chipmunk.

Wanting to be hospitable, we offered it popcorn, which it ate with enthusiasm.

It then availed itself of the water bowl set out for a canine visitor.

Maybe it is time to make some more popcorn.

I have made many postings about marmots, but all recent ones treated the Yellow-bellied Marmot. This one is about the Hoary Marmot.

Three species of marmot are found on the mainland of British Columbia — Yellow-bellied, Hoary, and Woodchuck — all of which are found around Kootenay Lake. Of those, I had only seen the first. Here is the second and largest of them. 

The presence of all three of these marmots here is somewhat accidental. Kootenay Lake is near the northern limit of the Yellow-bellied’s range, and near the southern limit for the other two. The first two are fairly common, but the Woodchuck seems a local rarity. Recent postings have favoured the Yellow-bellied because it inhabits the valleys while the Hoary favours subalpine mountain slopes.

The Hoary Marmot is named for the silver-gray fur on its shoulders and upper back. It spends nearly half its morning sunning itself on rocks.

The Hoary’s lower back and tail show hints of reddish-brown. This Hoary shared its talus with Pikas.

This is the time of year to see the pups.

“Maybe the time has come to roll over and sun the other side.”

Who has seen a Pika?

Although subalpine hikers sometimes hear its warning, eeep, spotting this potato-sized relative of the hare is difficult when it is at home in the talus, for it blends well. Pikas do make quick trips to the edges of the talus to collect vegetation to eat and store for the winter.

It would have been fun to watch a Pika do something interesting, such as foraging or eating, but in the end, I was just pleased to be close enough to take a few pictures.

A Pika peeks from its rocky cover to see if it is safe to forage.

It spots an intruder and quickly retreats to its hidden realm.

A Black Bear in a tree huffed at me.

The bear was about three metres above the ground feasting on bitter cherries when it decided that I had wandered too close. It let me know its feelings. While a huffing Black Bear sounds intimidating, it is actually bluster made by an apprehensive bear. Huffing does not lead to an attack. 

Even though I knew the bear was all bluster, this was the first time a bear had addressed me this way and the interaction prompted a mixture of delight and concern. I drifted away leaving the bear to continue trashing the tree.

A Black Bear in a tree expresses its apprehension towards me by huffing.

However, we parted amicably.