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Urban wildlife Part II: The East Kootenay birds of summer

The work of local photographers printed in the pages of the East Kootenay Advertiser over the summer of 2020. Part II.
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All throughout 2020, our local photographers have been capturing the best of our feathered friends and furred friends and neighbours. Check out their work that has appeared in the Pages of the East Kootenay Advertiser over the past months. This is Part II.

A merlin at Pyatt Lake after low flight over the tops of the cattails and bulrushes in search of juvenile birds and insects. Stewart Wilson photo

A terrible trap: A spider attacks a bee landing in a flower. Christina Blaskovich photo

A belted kingfisher close to the outflow below the weir at Elizabeth Lake. Stewart Wilson photo

A Cassins Finch. Kathleen Opal photo

A downy woodpecker chick. Kathleen Opal photo

Blue-eyed darner dragonfly at Pyatt Lake at the head of 12 Avenue South. Stewart Wilson photo

Turtles enjoy the sun at Elizabeth Lake. Stewart Wilson photo

The last tree swallow chick of the clutch works up the courage to take a first flight, chirping continuously at the entrance to the nest box (pictured above). Photographer Helga Knote watched how every few minutes the harried parents would swoop in and bring a tasty insect, which was instantly consumed. The other five juveniles were huddled on a branch nearby (below) and the parents were feeding them, too. The sixth one finally got up the courage to take its first flight and joined its siblings. Helga Knote photos

A female northern flying squirrel in her nest with her young. Stewart Wilson photo

A garter snake sits motionless on carpet of ponderosa pine needles at Elizabeth Lake. Stewart Wilson photo

A shy Catbird enjoying the early morning sun at Elizabeth Lake. Miriam Saville photo

A western tanager was spotted feeding in shrubs along the lakeshore. Stewart Wilson photo

Cedar Wax Wing getting ready to search for more food at Idlewild Park. Miriam Saville photo

Female osprey with chick near Kootenay Trout Hatchery. Stewart Wilson photo

Song Sparrow ready to feed the family at Elizabeth Lake. Miriam Saville photo

Ducklings at Turtle Lake, a part of the Yankee Lake Loop east of Premier Lake. Gary Billmark photo

A tiny Ruby-crowned Kinglet feeding a much larger Cowbird chick. Bob Whetham photo

Female tree swallow incubating eggs. Stewart Wilson photo

Hairy Woodpecker in the Cranbrook Community Forest. Craig Montgomery photo

A secretive Sora leaves the shelter of the reeds and crossed a patch of open water. Bob Whetham photo

Yellow-headed blackbirds at Elizabeth Lake. Bob Whetham photo

A Bobolink, spotted at Elizabeth Lake. Bobolinks, while not rare, are on the decline and uncommon in our area Helga Knote photo.

Dusky Grouse (Dendragapus obscurus), Viewpoint Trail near Sunflower Hill. Helga Knote photo

A female mallard proudly leads her ducklings through a maze of cattail islands at Elizabeth Lake. Stewart Wilson photo

A western painted turtle in a sheltered spot among the cattails at Elizabeth Lake. Stewart Wilson photo

One of a pair of trumpeter swans which have been seen on Elizabeth Lake over the past few days. Stewart Wilson photo

A Snow goose keeps company with Canada geese at Confederation Park. Christina Blaskovich photo

A muskrat at Elizabeth Lake. Stewart Wilson photo



Barry Coulter

About the Author: Barry Coulter

Barry Coulter had been Editor of the Cranbrook Townsman since 1998, and has been part of all those dynamic changes the newspaper industry has gone through over the past 20 years.
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