Exploring Kootenay Lake

Hummingbirds arrive late April or early May.

Of the three species we see—Rufous, Calliope, Blackchinned—the Rufous is usually the earliest arrival and the most common thereafter. I have seen the Rufous off and on for a couple of weeks now, but today was the first time I managed to photograph both the male and female in one day.

Below are four pictures taken today: the first two are of a female in a tree and flying; the second two are of a male in a tree and flying.

This is a story of unrequited love—or so it seems.

The story starts with an unexpected and distant sighting of a Common Loon. What was it doing here? This is the breeding season and loons don’t breed on Kootenay Lake as the springtime changes in waterlevel would drown their lakeside nests. And from that point on, the story got more interesting.

(Note: see Rick Howie’s alternative explanation in the comments).

This one-year old Common Loon is not in its breeding plumage. It will not breed until next year and so can hang out on Kootenay Lake even though all the breeding loons have left for smaller adjacent lakes. This apparently left it somewhat lonesome.

About the time I saw the loon farther out on the Lake, a family of geese happened to be heading out into similar waters.

The loon promptly took an interest in them and made a friendly approach. The geese separated: the chicks huddled around the (female) goose while the gander positioned himself between his family and the loon.

Then both adults brought their heads forward in a threatening posture.

Almost simultaneously, the loon dove (to escape) and the gander attacked.

Amazingly, after this confrontation, the loon continued to seek anserine company, sometimes swimming behind, sometimes infront of them. That is one lonesome loon.

Derek Kite took this impressive picture of copulating kestrels three days ago. The female’s tail feathers have been raised to the point that they extend past the male’s head. More pictures from his sequence can be seen on his Flickr page.

Derek Kite’s picture is used with permission.

If any locals are concerned that we might run out of Canada Geese this year, fear not. There is a large, fresh, crop preparing to embellish our lawns and parks.

Usually when I see goose chicks with parents, the watery parade is a stately, even prideful, affair. Last year’s picture, characterizes this.

A few days ago, I watched three goose families swim past other geese without chicks. The parents were doing a large amount of posturing, in particular, all used the head-forward challenge. According to one website, this display is used to ward off aggression.

My guess is that the parents were making a statement to the adjacent chickless geese: “keep your distance, these are our babies.”

This is typical outing for an isolated family of Canada Geese—look at the adult necks (May 2011).

The head forward display suggests that the parents are telling adjacent geese to stay away.

“These are our goslings!”

The Wood Duck is a beautiful oddity.

The duck’s scientific name acknowledges its striking plumage; Aix sponsaa means waterfowl in wedding raiment. Although not unique in its oddity, it is unusual in that it chooses a tree in which to nest.

Derek Kite found this Wood Duck nest high in a tree in Kokanee Creek Park. By the time I arrived the female had climbed down into the hollow of the snag, but the male stood atop and looked prepared to fend off intruders.