Exploring Kootenay Lake

The White Pelican is a big bird — it is probably the biggest bird we get. Mind you, the Trumpeter Swan is a bit heavier, but a tad smaller.

Although we get the Trumpeter Swan with far greater frequency, I have only seen the White Pelican a few times at the south end of the Main Lake, from which it probably heads to the prairie provinces to breed. Occasionally they have been seen travelling down the West Arm of Kootenay Lake (where I live). These are probably ones that are headed for the only pelican breeding place in B.C.: Stum Lake, about 60 km to the west of Williams Lake.

Today, eight of them were here travelling west along the West Arm. It was the first time I have seen this bird in its breeding garb.

Eight pelicans are coming along the West Arm of Kootenay Lake. Photo by Cynthia Fraser.

As they get closer they fan their tails and drop feet preparing to land.

When closer, they temporarily change their minds.

A yellow plate forms on the bill of a breeding adult. It vanishes when eggs are laid. It is the first time I have seen this plate.

Then they landed. The odd structure around the eye is mysterious.

Mountain Bluebirds have been with us for a short time now, but they do not appear to be as numerous as last year.  So far I have only seen the male. Maybe it is the cold weather.  Hopefully, they’ll stay a while before they move farther north.

I looked at a slice of the pictures of this bird found on the Internet and discovered that most show it perched rather than flying. However, buoyed by my experiences last year, I decided to try to catch it in flight. Unlike last year, so far there are no shots of it flying with food.

Okay, one shot of it perched, albeit one that is unusual by showing a spread tail.

Although flight shots generally show much more wing, they are more difficult to get. Photo by Cynthia Fraser.

Banking in a tight curve is a shot I did not get before.

This is one of my favourite shots.

The bluebird has an undulating flight pattern whereby it spends part time with its wing tucked.

The object of each foray is to capture the bugs and insects on ground.

The Crossbills are still at the Park.

This White-winged Crossbill is a female.

Two things came together for today’s posting: the 2023 Creston Valley Bird Festival used a picture of a Golden-crowned Kinglet on their annual poster; my daughter, Cynthia, found and introduced me to the bird. Now, both of these events were about only one type of bird, but there are only two kinglets that visit us, so let’s treat them both. 

Kinglets are very small birds, about the size of hummingbirds and so about half the size of a Black-capped Chickadee. They move about frenetically, often high in the trees and so are rather difficult to spot and photograph. Kinglets (little kings) get their name from their coloured crown. 

Kinglets are most visible in early spring and late fall when a number of them are passing through the area.

We start with the Ruby-crowned Kinglet, but as all the ones I have seen were in an April, these are all from earlier years. Then presented are the recent Golden-crowned Kinglets.

This Ruby-crowned Kinglet seems to lack a coloured crown. That is either because it is a female (which does lack it) or a tranquil male (for which it is hidden).

When excited, the male Ruby-crowned Kinglet will display a red crown.

These red feathers were displayed in response to a scratching.

Both sexes of Golden-crowned Kinglets show the coloured crown.

When the Golden-crowned Kinglet is excited its golden crown become flecked with red.

Launching shots are more likely due to the frenetic behaviour. Photo by Cynthia Fraser.

A Golden-crowned Kinglet snacks on a fly.

Unusual birds have been visiting Kokanee Creek Park: the White-winged Crossbill. Our area is on the southern edge of its range. I have seen it around here a few times, but never in the same place.

The bird is named for its crossed bill: its two mandibles do not meet at a point, although more of the birds have the lower mandible crossing to the right than the left.  When born their beak isn’t crossed but becomes crossed about the time they fledge.

This odd adaptation results from how it extracts its favourite food: the seeds from conifer cones. This search for cone seeds, in turn, causes it to roam widely over the northern woods. It seems to not have a regular nesting place or time. It has been seen to nest any time in the year where there is a good supply of food.

This is either an adult female or a juvenile male. Photo by Cynthia Fraser.

The adult male’s body is red but black wings have two white bars. Photo by Cynthia Fraser.

Mobbing in birds is an anti-predator activity in which smaller prey mob a larger predator by cooperatively attacking or harassing it. It is usually done to protect offspring. Behaviour includes flying about the predator, dive bombing, loud squawking and defecating on it. The smaller prey are usually quicker and more manoeuvrable than the larger predator, making it difficult for the mobbing bird to be captured. 

My blog postings are usually preceded by taking a picture of the event. Not on this occasion; I did not recently see any mobbing. Rather this posting was prompted by Bob McDonald’s C.B.C. programme, “Quirks and Quarks“. Mr. McDonald interviewed Madeleine Scott, an Oregon scientist, about mobbing of the Northern Pygmy Owl, and she observed that these mobbing events were more likely to happen during the spring and summer seasons, when food becomes more abundant for the songbirds.

Now, I have seen many Pygmy Owls but have never seen them mobbed. But I only see this owl during the winter in the valleys, apparently not the time when they are mobbed. During the breeding season around here, this owl heads high in the mountains. Apparently Ms. Scott conducted her experiments on the broad eastern Oregon plains where there was no opportunity of altitudinal migration. Presumably, the mobbing happens around here in the mountains.

Nevertheless, it seems a good time to give mobbing a brief, backward look.

This is a local Northern Pygmy Owl seen recently. OK it is not being mobbed but I do note that the first owl I ever saw in the wild was revealed by it being mobbed. 

A Tree Swallow is mobbing a Great Blue Heron who has chosen to park close to the swallow’s nest. Repeated fly-bys of the swallow and its partner finally drove the heron off. 

A Crow goes after a juvenile Bald Eagle. There was often more than one mobbing bird, but only one is usually caught in a picture.

A Tree Swallow harasses a juvenile Bald Eagle.

And again.

I don’t know if this standoff between the Black-billed Magpie and Bald Eagle is mobbing or not.

A raven goes after a Red-tailed Hawk.

Two Steller’s Jays harass a Red-tailed Hawk.

This Northern Goshawk was being actively harassed by some ravens. It was perhaps the only reason I was able to get close to it.