Skip to content

Urban wildlife Part V: The East Kootenay birds of autumn

The work of local photographers printed in the pages of the East Kootenay Advertiser over the spring, summer and fall of 2020. Part V.
23115090_web1_copy_201029-CDT-birds-of-the-year-part-V-1_1

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 V.

Above: Neighbourly Northern Flicker and friend drop by for a visit. Miriam Saville photo

Bob Whetham captured this shot of a Common Yellowthroat. She doesn’t look happy — maybe thinking she should not have waited so long to fly south.

A Tundra swan off the water after enjoying a tasty underwater snack. Tundra swans are somewhat smaller than the Trumpeter swans. They nest on arctic tundra — thus the name. During the winter they can be found on estuaries, coastal waters and inland lakes. On migration and in winter they may leave water to feed in agricultural fields. Miriam Saville photo

Two feathered friends just off of Jim Ogilvie way in Marysville. Karen Nordby photo

Garter snake slithers across ponderosa pine needles at Elizabeth Lake. Stewart Wilson photo

A pair of mating brook trout in Joseph Creek. Stewart Wilson photo

Juvenile red crossbill at Elizabeth Lake. Stewart Wilson photo

Chipmunk considering its’ next move in preparing for winter. Miriam Saville photo

Underwater feeding at Elizabeth Lake. Stewart Wilson photo

Crossbills enjoying a day at the spa. Miriam Saville photo

A female mallard on Joseph Creek. Stewart Wilson photo

Pine squirrel enjoying a tasty snack.. Miriam Saville photo

Mourning cloak butterfly at Elizabeth Lake. Stewart Wilson photo

Coots take off at first sign of danger at Elizabeth Lake. Stewart Wilson photo

Harris sparrow. Bob Whetham photo

White-throated sparrow. Bob Whetham photo

Clark’s Nutcracker: They use their dagger-like bills to rip into pine cones and pull out large seeds, which they stash in a pouch under their tongue and then carry away to bury for the winter. Each birds buries tens of thousands of seeds each summer and remembers the locations of most of them. Seeds they don’t retrieve play a crucial role in growing new pine forests. Miriam Saville photo

A greater yellowlegs feeding along the shore at Elizabeth Lake. Stewart Wilson photo

A pair of lapland longspurs feeding at Confederation Park. Stewart Wilson photo

A grouse. Kareen Peters photo

A pair of trumpeter swans have made Elizabeth Lake their home for the past several months. They look as if they are get ready to migrate before the colder weather sets in. Stewart Wilson photo

An American tree sparrow at Elizabeth Lake. Stewart Wilson photo

Downy Woodpecker looking for a tasty morsel. MiriamSaville photo

A pair of lapland longspurs feeding at Confederation Park. 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.
Read more