Exploring Kootenay Lake

Near the beginning of May, I posted  picture of a Bald Eagle chick in down attended by its two parents. I went back to the nest at the end of May and the chick was in dark brown plumage, but had not yet fledged.

The eagle chick in dark brown plumage sits on its nest.

An adult (probably the mother) brings a fish to eat. The head of the chick is on the left. There is evidence of a dead osprey in the nest: a body feather below the chick’s bill and some tail feathers on the right.

The chick scarfs a hunk of fish.

Later, the chick works on the whole fish. Note the fish bits on the adult’s beak.

Although it has yet to fledge, the chick exercises its wings to strengthen them. Note the fine white lines extending from the flight feathers. These are the rhaches, or the feather shafts of the flight feathers. The rhaches grow quickly and then the barbs extend from them and fill in the feather, but flight is still a while off.

Yesterday I saw a crow finishing off… well, it wasn’t quite clear. It had been a mammal with long fur and a furry tail. My guess is that it used to be a squirrel. I was reminded of last January’s raven and mice.

On May 1st I posted the first male Rufous Hummingbird that I had seen this year. They are the first to arrive. Now the females are here in good numbers. Also, the Black-chinned Hummingbird males have arrived, as yesterday’s pictures reveal.

A female Rufous Hummingbird

A male Black-chinned Hummingbird

 A male Rufous Hummingbird

This is the first time I have photographed the Great Horned Owl in Nelson. But, here it was with its partner and its three chicks, the latter in down. The spot could be considered as ideal for raising a family — just think of all of those pigeons for food. And the admiring crowd of people are probably not much of a nuisance for they are far below.

I visited them early this morning in a light rain. 

The one adult sitting alone was probably the male.

Elsewhere a lone downy was still sleeping.

Another downy chick was resting beside a sleepy parent, probably the female,

That chick looked at me wide awake.
 

Nearly a month ago, I watched a Black-capped Chickadee couple excavate a cavity nest in a snag. The exercise went on for quite a few days. There was no guarantee that they would occupy it for they tend to dig several cavities before deciding which one can be their ideal home. Then activity stopped and nothing more was seen until today. 

I saw one chickadee (the female) vanish into the cavity. Soon, the male arrived with something in his bill. He vanished into the cavity and in 12 seconds returned with an empty bill. I will keep watching it in the hopes that chicks may be seen.

After the female has entered, the male arrives with food. 

And in 12 seconds he is off for more food. We may see an average of 7 chicks.