Exploring Kootenay Lake

Horned Grebe

Posted on April 6, 2012 by Alistair

The Horned Grebe is frequently seen on the Lake, except, alas, when it is in its spectacular breeding plumage. From May to September it heads farther north to breed.

Nevertheless, while it is here, it is fun to watch as it repeatedly dives for fish. It seems to have a rather low success rate. This morning, I watched one dive dozens of times as it swam back and forth along the lakeshore, and only once did it come up with a small morsel.

The Horned Greb dives.

On one occasion it surfaced with a small fish.

And then, seemingly, the grebe poses.

Posted in birds | 2 Comments

Drowned excavator

Posted on April 5, 2012 by Alistair

Another train wreck, at the Corra Linn (as seen Wednesday morning), has distracted the C.P.R. from lifting the excavator.

The C.P.R. has yet to remove the wrecked flatcar from the bank or the excavator from the Lake, each resulting from the train wreck at Atbara on Friday, March 30 (also Wreck, stage one √ and Wreck, Sunday).

I suppose they can be forgiven for this tardiness as four days later they were distracted by yet another train wreck adjacent to the Corra Linn Dam, about 35 kilometres downstream from the first one.

So, the flatcar and the excavator remain where they fell. Apparently the highest point of the excavator is less than a meter below the water’s surface.

Today, I saw a small boat hovering about the position of the drowned excavator. It turned out to be manned by Bruce Morrison, who this evening offered me his pictures of it. I post two of them.

This is a view looking into the water from above the surface. I have enhanced the picture (using the same software applied to the image of the pictograph) so that the water’s surface almost seems to vanish. One can see the treads of the up-side-down equipment on the middle left and the boom extending across to the right.

Then Bruce lowered a camera into the water and took this picture showing the brand name.

When the C.P.R. gets around to lifting the excavator from the Lake, I hope to get some shots of the action.

The pictures of the drowned excavator were taken by Bruce Morrison and used with permission.

Posted in history | 2 Comments

Grouse in residence

Posted on April 4, 2012 by Alistair

Sometimes the horizontal format, which I use for most of my pictures, does not suit an image. That is the case for this view of the Ruffed Grouse, a bird whose range seems to include my yard. Both intricacy and beauty demanded a large vertical format.

Posted in birds | 4 Comments

Wreck, Sunday

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Alistair

I was wrong when I guessed that the track was repaired last evening. This morning was spent doing this.

I expect that this afternoon will be more interesting if they lift the flat car and excavator. Images of that will be added, below, as that work takes place.

Track repair occupied Sunday morning.

1:30 pm. Track repair continues, but a large piece of equipment has arrived.

3:00 pm. They are still driving spikes in the repaired track. There is no sign of the equipment needed to lift or transport the flatcar. Well, maybe tomorrow.

4:40 pm. Traffic restored—a very long train pulled by three locomotives took fifteen minutes to pass the point of the accident. The flatcar remains on the bank; the excavator remains in the Lake.

Posted in commentary, history | 3 Comments

Wreck, stage one √

Posted on April 1, 2012 by Alistair

After Saturday’s saga, it now looks as if the track has been restored. Today promises to be interesting as the flat car is removed from the bank and the excavator is removed from the Lake.

At 9:30 pm Saturday, work continued into the evening. Objective: to get the locomotive on the rails, to removed it, and to repair the track. Sunday morning’s picture is below.

At 7:30 am Sunday. In the high-resolution version of this picture, the track looks as if it has been repaired.

Posted in history | 2 Comments

Heron harassment

Posted on March 31, 2012 by Alistair

I had assumed that my posting about the ogopogo would be the last one for March, but I had counted on neither a train wreck nor many agitated herons. Ah well, life doesn’t follow my agenda.

Yesterday morning I received a message from Nicole Tremblay: over a dozen herons in Balfour are being harassed by an eagle.

When I arrived, there were perhaps a half-dozen herons in the air and more in the trees. They came and went with urgency. The sub-adult eagle causing the ruckus was probably the same one earlier spotted harassing an otter and hunting farther down the Lake. Although the eagle chased, I saw no evidence that it was successful in downing a heron. Finally, it seems to have left.

I had never seen so many herons together. The five pictures, below, show herons in the trees, herons in the air, but they start with the sub-adult eagle that caused the ruckus.

Posted in birds | 1 Comment

Train wreck

Posted on March 30, 2012 by Alistair

I normally explore nature, but when a train car travels down the bank across from one’s home, I notice it. This is on the C.P.R. line between Nelson and Procter and about a kilometer east of Atbara.

This page shows follows the action on Friday and Saturday (Mar. 30, 31). The story is continued overnight with Wreck, stage one √ and then with Wreck, Sunday and Drowned excavator.

By the time I prepared this posting, there were employees standing at the top of the bank looking at the mess. How embarrassing.

Update 1: Peter Bartl’s comment below gives added information.

Update 2: There is further information from TMTV.

Update 3: The rest of Saturday’s pictures are below.

A car down the bank; a pile of wheels in front of the engine.

Saturday morning: people came out to assess the problem. A raft was lowered to the water (lower left), apparently to examine the excavator that slid into the Lake.

A boom was deployed, presumably above the positon of the excavator.

At about 12:30 the rear locomotive has been removed and a crane has been positioned. It is lifting the forward locomotive back onto the tracks. Apparently, they are using a pettybone: a small powerful crane. more portable than the 200 ton brownhoist.

By 3 pm the crane and many of the workmen, and the support vehicles had left towards Nelson. Presumably the locomotive was back on the track, but it has not moved. At about 3:30 the boat carrying four people headed up the Lake.

So, the raising of the excavator from the Lake bottom may take place tomorrow. Stand by.

5:30 pm Just when you think they are done for the day, in comes an excavator from the east to clear debris from in front of the locomotive. The light will fail soon. Lifting the sunken excavator from the Lake must await tomorrow.

7:00 pm. They continue to work into the dark of evening. Apparently, they have picked up the back end of the locomotive and are working under it.

9:30 pm. They are hard at it with every likelihood that work will continue through the night to clear the track. The removal of the excavator from the Lake will undoubtedly wait until daylight. They may work, but I am going to bed.

Posted in history, scenes | 24 Comments

Ogopogo

Posted on March 29, 2012 by Alistair

It was the churning water, the splashing, and the spreading waves that drew my attention to an unreasonably long and sinuous animal with a whipping tail and fish-devouring jaws.

Yikes, it is an OGOPOGO !!! ( ← Note my hyperbolic use of explanation marks. )

The light was dim; it was raining; the monster was a long, long way offshore. But, it fit all the descriptions I have encountered of the ogopogo. It progressed rapidly along the West Arm from the Nine-mile Narrows as it headed towards Kokanee Creek Park. My camera clicked away happily. After capturing some fish, and before reaching the Park, the ogopogo turned around and undulated back down the Lake churning the water as it swam.

Then it spotted me; it promptly turned and headed straight at me—yikes, this chthonic monster was hydra-headed.

The folks in the Okanagan are noted for seeing such monsters (and taking unconvincing pictures of them). Yet, those of us on Kootenay Lake have had our own observations (an interesting summary by Tammy Hardwick). Now, I had a chance to take my own pictures (continued below).

This is an un-retouched telephoto image of the distant Kootenay Lake ogopogo.

As the ogopogo approached me, its sinuous body undulated in and out of the water;

Its tail whipped about;

And one of its multiple heads ploughed directly toward me.

Finally, some of this family of otters approached quite close.

Ok, I knew from my initial observation that this was actually a family of a half-dozen otters, but it was stunning how closely what was seen way out on the Lake fitted the reports of the ogopogo.

Posted in commentary, mammals | 22 Comments

Elk in rain

Posted on March 27, 2012 by Alistair

When I travel almost anywhere locally, I tote my camera. It usually sits unused—but now and then, something interesting turns up. Last evening was such an occasion. In rain and failing light, I saw a half-dozen female elk.

Elk are certainly around here, but I don’t see them often enough. Here are four pictures of wet-looking members of this group.