In the last few days and in probably the last osprey shot of this year, I have twice seen an osprey packing a fish. Neither was as close or detailed as the earlier one, but were satisfactory none the less.
Yet, there is a question of why, for these pictures and the earlier one, the flying osprey has its mouth open. This seems often to be the case with a osprey carrying a fish.
The fish is a Kokanee.
Also a Kokanee fish, this one was taken just as the sun got up.
Last Saturday, we found a Sabine’s Gull at Kokanee Park. This bird was an unusual visit. Some birders made a trip to the park to see it on Monday. To our surprise, it was still there yesterday (just below the spawning channel). It was spending its time to feed midst a long migration.
The Sabine’s Gull walks in the creek shallows on Wednesday morning.
It feeds on snippets.
And on dead fish. Photo by Dorothy Fraser.
On the same jaunt we saw a Savannah Sparrow just before it migrates south.
I do not see the Northern Harrier often and usually only when it is migrating through the area. The last time was two years ago. But, this was the first time that I have seen it actively chasing a raven.
There is a little irony in this observation f0r many ravens were hunting and eating fish along Kokanee Creek and its spawning channel. Suddenly the ravens were themselves being hunted. The harrier wasn’t interested in the fish, it wanted to catch and eat a raven.
A Northern Harrier eyes some ravens below.
The harrier gave chase. The result was not witnessed, as they all flew out of sight.
A juvenile Bald Eagle sits, poops, and flies.
This Bald Eagle is one to two years old. It had been hunting from a perch for a while.
In preparation for flying, the eagle lightens its load by pooping.
And then it flies off.
Sabine’s Gull is born along the Arctic Coast and spends its winters mainly along the Pacific Coast. It does not belong here. And yet here it was this Saturday.
Well fair’s, fair. While most migrate over oceans, some individuals do migrate far inland. And that seems to be how we came to have these juveniles. A few others have been recorded here in the past few years (one by Paul Prappas in 2018). Yet, it was new to us.
A juvenile Sabine’s Gull searches for food along the Kokanee Park coastline. Photo by Cynthia. 
Then nearly an hour later and 50 metres away, it (or a sibling) was seen again.
I keep my eyes open for bears, but have rarely seen them this year. But, now and then…
A black bear holding a fish stands and looks to one side before vanishing behind the tree.
I saw a group of herons by the lakeside. Now, the Great Blue Heron is a solitary creature during the fall and winter, so this was presumably a group of siblings. At first I notice two together, but in all counted five but not always close together.
Two juvenile Great Blue Herons on the lake.
A heron landing is slowed by dragging feet, but maintained lift by deploying its alula on its wings. The alula are the short feathers in the centre top of the wing. Photo by Cynthia.
Some herons were seen in the the direction of the land.
A characteristic of young birds is that they are frequently curious about humans. This one flew right over me always looking down. When they are older, herons just fly away.
Two days ago, I published a blog that showed a juvenile male Pileated Woodpecker (blog.kootenay-lake.ca/?p=34868). It had only the faintest red moustache and yellow eyes. Now, either it 0r a brother has more developed features.
Like many birds, the Pileated Woodpecker is now encouraging its young to fly around.
This male Pileated Woodpecker is likely a juvenile. Its crest is a bit small, its moustache is only slightly red, and its eyes have only the faintest touch of yellow. Also, it did not seem to know how to find food on a tree.
In the early hours of this morning, a small black bear visited a spawning creek. It was certainly not the first bear to visit, only the first I had seen. It tried fishing, but I did not see it catch anything before wandering off.
The black bear pauses while trying to catch fish in the creek. During dips in the water, it hasn’t wetted a small portion of its back, which looks lighter brown.
It tried to capture the redfish Kokanee, but apparently failed.
I particularly enjoy seeing a white-tail buck with antlers. (Well, they are less commonly seen than the females, and more varied.) So when I spotted one this morning, I quietly followed it hoping for a good picture. But, the scene proved quite unexpected. I will show the picture first, and then offer comments.
A white-tailed deer buck with strangely deformed (infected ?) antlers is eating vegetation.
What is odd about them:
a) The left antler seems to be over half-covered with small growths.
b) The right antler has only a small bit of similar growth.
c) There is no sign that there is a link from one deformity to the other.
d) The right antler is an underdeveloped spike, while the left has three tines.
e) Both antlers look as though they have prematurely lost their velvet.
f) I could find no pictures of a condition like this on the Web.
If you have any insights, feel free to offer them.
