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While vacationing near Hope, BC (Sunshine Valley), I noticed a sandpiper on a small gravel island in a nearby stream.  I returned later with my camera hoping it would still be there.  I was thrilled to find that it was, with a pair of chicks as well.   While photographing the adult, I noticed it repeated a peculiar up-and-down bobbing motion of its hind end.  This is called teetering; you can see a video of it doing this here .  This repeated tail-bobbing has resulted in some uncommon nicknames for the species including teeter-peep, teeter-bob, jerk-or-perk bird, teeter-snipe, and tail-tip.   What was even more interesting was that the chicks were engaged in exactly the same behaviour.  I almost laughed out loud when I noticed this as I followed them with my viewfinder.  Apparently, they do this nearly as soon as they hatch. There is no understanding as to why these birds teeter, but according to one site I read, they may increase their bobbing rate when anxious or stop it altogether

Some sparrows and finches are easily identified because of the distinctive colouration they exhibit.  This is especially true for males as they often boast vibrant colours for display to attract a mate and defend territory.  Females and juveniles, and sometimes males in non-breeding plumage, can be difficult to identify.  It helps to know what group a bird belongs to as it greatly increases the likelihood of identifying it. Yesterday I was paddling on Lake Ellison, a small lake near my home in Kelowna.  I photographed a small bird on the shoreline trying to get a drink of water.  Back home later, I attempted to determine its specific breed, and I wasn't sure if it was a sparrow or finch.  The dull brown markings gave me reason to think it was either a female or juvenile. This confounds identification as sometimes the young bird doesn't look like either of the adult sexs. I started with sparrows and couldn't find any reasonable matches.  Then I noticed the beak - thick, stro

I am pretty sure this is the three-toed woodpecker, probably a juvenile, that is about to send a berry down the hatch.  I got quite a few shots of it, and although it isn't quite like the images I see in my birding book or online, I think that this is the only identification that works.  It was clearly a woodpecker as I saw it vertically climbing a tree trunk by leaping in short bits at a time.  The white line beneath the eye is also somewhat distinctive of the species, although the back feathers did not have the white stripe clearly seen in others.  You can see some of the white back feathers in the image below. The tree that it was on may have been a favourite.  There were lots of holes in it; these birds apparently do not make deep excavations the way some woodpeckers do.  They also tend to spend a lot of time on a single tree rather than flitting around from one to another.  I don't know if the holes on the tree were from it or from a sapsucker.  According to the All About

I always enjoy seeing hoverflies, aka flower flies, during the hot summer months.  There are many species (I wrote about one yesterday exhibiting lekking behaviour) and you will likely see one if you are out amongst the flowers.  Many of them mimic bees or wasps with the intention of giving themselves some protection from predators that would otherwise consume them.  They bear no stinger or form of chemical defence.   These are remarkably beneficial insects.  Aside from the fact that they are pollinators, the larvae feed on aphids and their kin.  Found near wetlands with deciduous vegetation, the adults are active from mid-July to late August.  Eggs are laid in or near aphid colonies on trees or shrubs a few meters off the ground. The hatching larvae immediately get to work on consuming the pesky little insects. The black-horned smoothtail flower fly is Holarctic in distribution and can be found in the northern climates of North America, The British Isles, Europe, Russia, and Asia.  Th

Lekking is a breeding behaviour where males (usually) of a species gather together at a place not particularly well represented by important resources.  Rather, it is a place for males to display, to claim territory, and to exhibit their dominance over others of the same species.  The goal is to attract females. A lek is an aggregation of males exhibiting lekking behaviour.  I have seen flies in a lek before, but never understood what I was witnessing.  As I researched the behaviour, I found that flower flies, also called hoverflies (European term), will display in such a manner.  The flies find a sunny spot, preferably near some deep shade so they stand out like a lighthouse beam on a dark night.  It was hard not to see them.  Each one would have its own territory.  They would hover in one place until another would-be competitor came into their zone, then zip towards it and chase the intruder off.  Anything that came within about a four foot radius was subject to such action. I shot t

Although eastern kingbirds are tyrant flycatchers that eat a tremendous amount of insects, they also are fond of berries.  I photographed this one on a snowberry bush and saw it throwing a few down as it rested.  Apparently, they tend to increase their berry diet as summer progresses and when they migrate they may rely on them almost entirely. Eastern kingbirds can be found right across the country, finding their way right to the Pacific Ocean.  Western kingbirds, on the other hand, range eastwards from the Pacific towards mid-continent but no further.  You will find eastern kingbirds in Ontario, but not western kingbirds.  Much of the ranges of the two species overlap; I have seen photos of both species taken by the same photographer at the same location. One of my absolute best photos is of an eastern kingbird holding a dragonfly and feeding it to a nest full of young.  You can see the photo and blog here . Thanks for reading. Eric Svendsen      www.ericspix.com