Monthly Archives: February 2011

Circumzenithal arc

Posted on February 27, 2011 by Alistair

Who can fail to love the circumzenithal arc? It is uncommon and it displays one of the purest colour spectra to be found in nature. More information about when and how the circumzenithal and circumhorizontal arcs form is found on … Continue reading →

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Emboldened birds?

Posted on February 25, 2011 by Alistair

Steller’s Jays held virtually an exclusive reign over my feeder until the temperature plummeted (see, Strictly Steller’s). The Jays are still around, but with this morning’s temperature of -15°C, two other species visited: a Varied Thrush and a Red-breasted Nuthatch … Continue reading →

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Fog fun

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Alistair

Recipe: take one cup of boiling water and throw it out in the cold. Steam fog is a favourite topic of the Kootenay Lake website. There is a page dealing with Steam fog over the Lake, one about Steam fog … Continue reading →

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Fort Shepherd cairn

Posted on February 20, 2011 by Alistair

I may be one of only two people alive today to have attended the dedication of the cairn at Fort Shepherd some sixty years ago. I was reminded of the event by a feature Greg Nesteroff wrote for the Nelson Star … Continue reading →

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Tweet, click

Posted on February 19, 2011 by Alistair

Tweet, click; tweet, click. So went my duet with a Song Sparrow from one perch to the next in this morning’s early light. The bird finally flew away, apparently finding my endless clicking an inadequate counterpoint for its own beautiful … Continue reading →

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Restless waxwings

Posted on February 17, 2011 by Alistair

I am sure that when a Bohemian Waxing encounters a genuine birder, it alights nearby and allows a closeup photograph. With me, waxwings always arrive in great numbers at the top of a distant tree, flutter about for a while, … Continue reading →

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Swooping Scaups

Posted on February 15, 2011 by Alistair

I am always impressed with the number and variety of species of waterfowl to be found at the Nelson’s waterfront. Why are the numbers and diversity so much greater there than elsewhere along the West Arm of the Lake? Of late … Continue reading →

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Strictly Steller’s

Posted on February 13, 2011 by Alistair

Birders around the area are beginning to report a variety of birds at their feeders: nuthatches, chickadees, goldfinches, robins, flickers, finches, siskins, waxwings—the list goes on. Not me. My feeder has been taken over by local mobsters: Steller’s Jays. I … Continue reading →

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Snows of Balfour

Posted on February 8, 2011 by Alistair

Peter Bartl is a friend who lives on the high ground of Balfour. Knowing of my interest in things meteorological, he asked: Why do we … above Balfour, have so much more snow than everybody else along the West Arm … as … Continue reading →

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McDonald’s Landing

Posted on February 5, 2011 by Alistair

In 1894, Duncan A. McDonald filed a pre–emption for some land at Six Mile on the West Arm of Kootenay Lake. The landing named for him is located near the east end of Lower Six Mile Road. It is one … Continue reading →

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