Monthly Archives: July 2013

Turkey Vultures

Posted on July 16, 2013 by Alistair

  Turkey Vultures have increased their presence in southern BC over the last dozen, or so, years. Yet, they are still not so common around here that a sighting doesn’t merit a picture or two. Sunday noon, I watched five … Continue reading →

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Mountain Goats

Posted on July 15, 2013 by Alistair

  The closest I have been to mountain goats is a hundred or so metres, but that distance was measured vertically. So, I marvel at Doug Thorburn’s encounter on Saturday. He wrote: I was treated to a display of extrovert … Continue reading →

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Lakeside villa

Posted on July 14, 2013 by Alistair

  Villa is a genus in the bee-fly family (Bombyliidae). Like its bee-fly kin, adult Villa feed on nectar and pollen, so are pollinators. Unlike many of its bee-fly kin, the Villa species are characterized by having clear wings. This one (possibly … Continue reading →

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Four wildflowers +

Posted on July 13, 2013 by Alistair

  Two forest walks, yesterday, revealed the following delights. The Twinflower is found in the boreal woods of both the East and West Hemispheres. It was adopted as the personal emblem of Carl Linnaeus (1707-78), the Swedish founder of the modern system … Continue reading →

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Orgy swarm redux

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Alistair

  Yesterday’s posting about an Orgy in Nelson speculated that the participants were mayflies, and that, owing to their short lives, it was a one-night event. The pictures from the next evening showed I was wrong on the second point, and … Continue reading →

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Orgy in Nelson

Posted on July 7, 2013 by Alistair

  I suspect that Saturday’s orgy in Nelson is an annual event. The participants are almost certainly mayflies. In the comments to a subsequent posting, Orgy swarm redux, it was finally settled that these insects are caddisflies. Mayflies live as … Continue reading →

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Cute chick

Posted on July 4, 2013 by Alistair

  Spotted Sandpiper chick  

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Three-toed Woodpecker

Posted on July 3, 2013 by Alistair

  For all I knew, the Three-toed Woodpecker was a mythical beast—a joke perpetrated on amateurs by field guides so as to say: we are going to fix it so you never get to see this one. That was until yesterday when … Continue reading →

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Loon chicks

Posted on July 2, 2013 by Alistair

  Yesterday, I visited the little mountain lake where I earlier photographed a loon’s nest. Now, the loon couple has two chicks. Only one adult appears in this view, but the other one was nearby.

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Twelve-spotted Skimmer

Posted on July 1, 2013 by Alistair

  This is the first Twelve-spotted Skimmer I have ever seen. However, I did not diligently seek it out; rather, it came to me—right through an open door into my house. The southern interior of British Columbia is at the … Continue reading →

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