Monthly Archives: April 2021

April goulash

Posted on April 30, 2021 by Alistair

  This is a collection of April’s images, each of which lacked a posting of its own. A Tree Swallow couple prepares to do housekeeping. The Northern Pintail is most often seen in the spring and fall as it migrates … Continue reading →

Posted in birds, herptiles, mammals | 10 Comments

Black-necked Stilt

Posted on April 28, 2021 by Alistair

  The Black-necked Stilt does not visit Kootenay Lake — or that is what the range maps of bird websites would have you believe. Indeed, I have not seen it here before. And the bird isn’t even listed in Cannings’ … Continue reading →

Posted in birds | 5 Comments

Earth Day

Posted on April 23, 2021 by Alistair

  Yesterday was Earth Day. I have looked at many pictures posted by media to mark Earth Day. Curiously, many of them show crowds of humans — and so features the celebrants rather than the thing being celebrated. Other stories … Continue reading →

Posted in weather | 11 Comments

Ospreys and geese

Posted on April 20, 2021 by Alistair

  Ospreys tend to return to the same nests year after year. However, often when they return, they find their last-year’s nest already occupied by geese. The osprey sometimes succeeds in driving the geese out, but sometimes the goose just … Continue reading →

Posted in birds | 7 Comments

Herons are back

Posted on April 18, 2021 by Alistair

  I saw a Great Blue Heron this morning. This might seem to be an inconsequential observation. One might see herons in every month of the year, so it isn’t as if they are like ospreys: gone in the cold … Continue reading →

Posted in birds | 9 Comments

Bombylius, Not Bombus

Posted on April 16, 2021 by Alistair

  With the advent of sunny spring, I noticed my first lawn flower of the year, a chionodoxa, a tiny bluish flower with a whitish centre. It is sometimes known as the glory of the snow. Abruptly, the flower was … Continue reading →

Posted in bugs, wildflowers | 4 Comments

Mountain Bluebird

Posted on April 4, 2021 by Alistair

  Mountain Bluebirds are arriving. They like open fields where they hunt insects from low perches. Once an insect is spotted, the bird dives on it, returns to a perch, and feasts. A splash of blue sits in the leafless … Continue reading →

Posted in birds | 8 Comments

Marmot portraits

Posted on April 2, 2021 by Alistair

  I visited Marmot Village hoping to get pictures of residents doing something interesting. No such luck — the word, torpidity, came to mind. The yellow-bellied marmots would watch the watchers, but they barely budged. If you ignore the marmot’s … Continue reading →

Posted in mammals | 2 Comments