By working together, birds of many species alert others of predators long before they arrive. A frantic cacophony of loud, rapid bird calls tells other birds nearby: There’s a predator on the prowl. Mobbing, it’s called, as birds clamor and dart back and forth at the threat. An ongoing study of mobbing and other bird warning behavior now suggests that some birds listen in on the warnings of other birds. A wave of warning calls spreads from one hillside to another at more than 100 miles per hour. So vulnerable … Continue reading →

The Great Blue Heron nests in scattered colonies in the Kamloops area, but occupancy has become erratic and declining in some places. The colony in lower Paul Creek had dwindled to 2 nests from about 20 the last time I looked and the colony at Cherry Creek has not been active for a few years. There are often small numbers of birds that attempt to overwinter along the South Thompson River with success likely dependent upon weather and icing conditions. Today, Tom Rankin reported a heron at Pioneer Park. I … Continue reading →

Shuswap Christmas Bird Count report from Rick Howie Yesterday (December 29), we conducted the Shuswap Christmas Bird count around the west end of Shuswap Lake. It had snowed hard the night before but travel on the secondary roads was pretty good. The 4×4 helped in places. While stopped counting a small cluster of birds, I was able to capture a few images of all of the species making up the group. Varied Thrushes are fairly common in these wetter forests of the Shuswap but not usually so abundant in the … Continue reading →