Exploring Kootenay Lake

The birds were clearly agitated! A wild persistent cawing drew me towards some tall conifers, alerting me to the possible presence of a predator. Our local Stellar’s Jays were causing a loud commotion, hopping and darting between branches trying to harass something. And there, deep amongst the shaded trees was what we initially thought might be a Merlin. Upon closer examination, this small yellow-eyed accipiter was most likely a juvenile Sharp-shinned Hawk busily eating a catch. Mind you, the raptor only remained there for a moment or two, and then flew off — there was barely time enough for a picture.

A small sharpie (?) looks up from its meal and decides that it is time to move on. Photo by Cynthia.

This is a selection of pictures from January 2025 that didn’t have a posting of their own.

We went looking for Bald Eagles and found three different pairs sitting close beside their nests. This is perhaps the female and her partner was on an adjacent tree.

These two eagles were nearby their nest.

As were these two. All show pairing in anticipation of raising a family. Photo by Cynthia.

A mountain whitefish swam by in the shallows. Photo by Cynthia.

Much less common than the Downy, this Hairy Woodpecker spent its morning pecking its way to the top of several dead lakeshore trees. Photo by Cynthia. 

This was one of two Pileated Woodpeckers feasting on Rowen berries. Photo by Cynthia.

A few days ago, we saw several Clark’s Nutcrackers flitting around by a sunny west arm beach in below freezing temperatures. Intermixed with a flock of feeding robins, the nutcrackers were gleefully hunting pine cones and snacking on fatty seeds. 

Normally, this alpine bird lives at higher altitudes. Yet, as recently as October 2024, a flock of Clark’s Nutcrackers visited Kokanee Creek Park for a dozen days down here in the valley. (blog.kootenay-lake.ca/?p=33914 and blog.kootenay-lake.ca/?p=33951).

During that unusual Fall visit, some nutcrackers may have collected and buried pine seeds in secret underground caches, which would allow them to return later and eat the seeds during leaner months. So, could this be a returning bird? Or another altitudinal anomaly?

A Clark’s Nutcracker fetches a cone from a Douglas Fir. Photo by Cynthia.

Great Grey Owl: This is the last posting on a planned sequence of five postings on this largest owl.

The Great Grey Owl has scanned the field for a vole, has flown to catch it, has consumed it, and is now flying back to a perch to look for more.

Great Grey Owl: This is the fourth of five postings on this largest owl.

The Great Grey Owl flies over the meadow to catch and eat voles.

It was noted earlier that the Great Grey Owl flies very quietly. The question is: does the owl fly quietly so that the vole will not hear it coming, or, so that the owl can hear the vole’s low-frequency scratching above the noise of its own wings? Research has revealed that it is the latter <https://www.allaboutbirds.org/news/to-catch-voles-under-the-snow-great-gray-owls-must-overcome-an-acoustic-mirage/>. The vole cannot hear the owl anyway, but the owl must fly quietly to be able to accurately find the sound the vole makes.

But, what enables it to fly so quietly? A number of things contribute starting with its particularly large wings which reduces the need for rapid, noisy wing flapping that is characteristic of many other birds. And the leading edges of its wing feathers have serrations that reduce the size of the fluctuations that would otherwise create a swooshing sound. These fluctuations are further reduced by a velvety texture on the wings and body, plus a soft fringe on a wing’s trailing edge. Together, they greatly dampen its sound.

The Great Grey can hear the vole’s scratching at a distance and this prompts it to leave its perch. At first, it finds it hard to determine the vole’s exact location, but as it flies closer, detection positioning improves. In the end, the owl often hovers over the spot to accurately pinpoint the sound. It then strikes from directly above.

The owl not only hunts for voles from a perch, it also hunts by making long flights over the meadow. Here it has identified a vole’s position and is beginning its dive straight down.

Upon catching a vole, it seems that the first thing it does is t0 dispatch it. Here, the owl is bending down to the left and the captured vole is dangling from its beak.

Strangely, while grasping the vole in its talons, it often looks up. It is too big to be concerned about predators, but it may be watching for anything that could steal its prize.

The final three pictures show the owl with a vole in its mouth in a couple of stages of eating it. This view was taken by Cynthia.

Here is another view of the freshly dead vole, but the owl is still looking around for thieves.

Now, always head first, it eats the vole.

Great Grey Owl: This is the third of five planned sequential postings on this largest owl.

Having spotted a vole either by sight or hearing, the Great Grey Owl flies to catch it.

The Great Grey takes off from its perch.

And begins to extend its wings. Photo by Cynthia.

The Great Grey Owl is now flying noiselessly to catch a vole.

A back view of it flying after something in the field. Photo by Cynthia.

And a shot of the Great Grey Owl flying back to its perch. Photo by Cynthia.

Great Grey Owl: This is the second posting on a planned sequence of five postings on this largest owl.

The Great Grey Owl visits briefly beside the North Arm of the Lake during many a winter. It comes to hunt voles in a field.

It spends a fair bit of time perching somewhere, just looking around and listening for those voles. While perched for a large amount of time, one just sees the back of its head as it looks the other way. However, these pictures are biased towards seeing the eyes. It also looks and listens as it hunts on the wing. Presumably, after running low on voles in that field, it just moves on.

This owl owes a great deal of its success to its enormous facial disc, the largest disc of any owl. Its considerable size separates the ears and significantly helps it position things it hears in the horizontal. But, it doesn’t stop there. It has one ear higher than the other, which enables it to pinpoint sound in the vertical as well. This is added to super sensitive hearing which may even enable it to hear the heart beat of a vole beneath a foot of snow. But, while the owl can hear the vole, its own flight is virtually silent, so a vole does not hear it coming until it is too late.

A power line runs down one side of the field. Much time was spent searching from it.

The owl looks in all directions, but most of the pictures taken show its face, not its back.

As it moves about, pilings also served as a searching position. Photo by Cynthia.

Only once did it perch and search from a tree.

But while there, it fluffed its feathers. Photo by Cynthia