All My Blogs

  It's been a busy week.  We have gone through boxes of stuff we haven't looked at since we moved (5 years ago) and pulled out things that weren't going to be missed, which was most of it.  If you haven't used it in five years, you probably don't need it. The problem is that maybe nobody else needs it either.  Such is the nature of a garage sale.  Maybe you'll find treasure, or maybe you'll find mostly trash.  And people want what you're selling cheap.  However, we managed to sell about 20% of what we had; the rest will either go into storage or be donated to a thrift store.   This is probably my 20th garage sale.  I used to have one every year, then it slowly changed to once every couple of years.  Now it has been half a decade since my last one.  The upside is that I now have some room to create some space.  I will be listing some of the stuff, like the cameras, on Marketplace.  It's more of a pain, but it will also...

Chalk-fronted corporal dragonflies.  Left: Male  Right: Female.  Dutch Lake, Clearwater, BC. I have always loved dragonflies.  As a child, I used to throw small rocks near them and watch them chase the falling stones as if they were a potential meal.  I learned that they have a favoured perch and would approach it when they left; eventually I could place my finger there and get them to land on it.  I have photographed over a dozen species I have identified and many more I have not.   While visiting Clearwater, BC, this summer, I managed to photograph a male and female chalk-fronted corporal dragonfly.  The term "corporal" comes from the pair of stripes found on the top of their thorax (just in front of the wings - you can see it in the above images.  The male I have is young and has not "earned" its stripes yet - click here to see a mature adult).  A corporal in the army has two stripes, as opposed to a private (one stripe) or a ser...

A flower fly, skipper butterfly, and flower beetle all visit a dandelion at the same time. On average, how many insects visit a flower in one day?  Five?  Ten?  A hundred?  Perhaps a thousand?  The value is highly dependent upon so many factors.  Temperature is an important one, especially in the morning, when many insects are waiting for the warmth of the day to enable flight.  Then there is the nature of the bloom itself:  colour, scent, build, and even location.  Time of year, availability of other flowers, perhaps more enticing or numerous, and so on. It turns out that there is a way to figure this out.  A FIT count (flower-insect timed count) is a way to track pollinators on flower interactions.  The essence of the count is to pay attention to a small area of one species of flower for a period of 10 minutes and record all the insects that land on the blooms.  It was a system of observation that started in the UK but has be...

Main:  A blow fly feeding on a dead Steller's jay chick.  Inset:  Maggot showing a pair of mouth hooks. Blow flies - if you watch forensic shows like Bones , you are probably familiar with the idea that the flies' larvae are used to help determine how long someone has been dead for.  The TOD (time of death) is determined in days, not hours, as the corpse has to be old enough that blow flies would find the body, lay eggs on it, and the maggots would hatch, grow, and moult.  The time between moults is an instar; each instar (3 in all) takes a certain length of time, with growth occurring along the way.  You can tell how long a body has been in place by the presence of blow fly maggots and how big they are. However, it is a bit more difficult than that.  There are different varieties of blow fly, each of them reproduces at specific rates relative to that species.  Another factor is the temperature associated with the body.  Flies develop more sl...

Four different insects that are important detritivores. What's a detritivore?  An organism that feeds on dead matter, plant or animal.  There is a long list of detritivores, including most fungi, bacteria, and a plethora of invertebrates.  I came across a dead Steller's jay chick a few weeks ago and discovered quite a population of scavenging insects.   Nothing in nature goes to waste.  Every atom in every living thing has been used before, again and again and again.  Plants extract nutrients from air, water, and soil.  Animals eat plants and other animals.  And all of them, when they die and their remains are left to the elements, are consumed by detritivores. Every.     Last.    Atom. The food web wouldn't be complete without detritivores.  Nutrients would make a one-way trip and not return to the environment.  Even fecal and metabolic waste is recycled.  Although we may feel gross or get a bad case o...

Does the bright yellow colour of goldfinch males make them easier prey for predators? The phrase "Sticking out like a sore thumb" could be applied to male goldfinches.  Not only are they a bright dandelion yellow, but they have dark, black contrasting feathers that make them stand out even more.  What evolutionary pressures would shape such a creature? Birds of prey and predatory mammals such as cats have colour vision and sharp eyes that pick up not only the colour of the male goldfinch birds but their strong contrast too.  Female goldfinches (see below) have more subdued yellows, less black, and do not have a stark black cap.  Of the two birds, the male is more likely to be seen and hunted.  This gives the female a better chance at incubating the eggs and rearing the young. Male (left) and female (right) American goldfinches. The bright yellow of the male also acts as a signal to females of his fitness for breeding.  The bright yellow colour comes from pi...

 Left:  Western conifer seed bug on the siding of my house in Kelowna. Right:  Box elder bug. The western conifer seed bug is a member of the leaf-footed bugs. Leaf-footed bugs can be identified by the widened tibia seen on their hind legs.  It is common to find them around your home in the fall as they will gather by the hundreds looking for a warm place to overwinter.  Another insect that you may find with a similar MO is the box elder bug.   Western conifer seed bugs are mild pests to Douglas fir trees, although they may also feed on other conifers such as pine, hemlock, and spruce.  They do not eat cedars.  The bugs are specifically interested in the young cones and their developing seeds, although they will also feed on the needles and flowers of conifer trees.   I commonly find both species of insects at home.  They start to arrive in the fall.  It is not uncommon to find several of them each day scampering about the...

Top:  Common goldeneye ducks.        Bottom:  Barrow's goldeneye ducks. I have taken the above images from photos I have shot over the years, some taken this year (the female common goldeneye) and some taken years ago (the male common goldeneye).  I used to wonder what I was going to do with the mass of photos I have collected; it seems now that they have been useful in my blogs. There are only two species of goldeneye ducks.  Common goldeneyes are found throughout North America and Eurasia.  In the Western Hemisphere, they breed in Canada and reside throughout most of the US and some of Mexico in the winter.  They also winter in parts of southern Canada; I have seen them overwinter here in Kelowna.  Barrow's goldeneye, on the other hand, has a very narrow range along the western coast of North America with some populations around the St. Lawrence River.  Barrow's goldeneyes overwinter along the Pacific coast and parts of south...

I photographed this in Leduc, Alberta, after a day of heavy rain. At the ripe old age of 66, I can say that I have seen some odd things in my time.  But I was unprepared for the truly strange sight of a coot walking along a flooded sidewalk, eating drowning worms as it went. It has been a wet summer in Alberta this year.  Rain, thunderstorms, tornadoes, and hail the size of baseballs have plagued the province.  And as each of us knows, worms come out of the soil when it gets saturated in order to breathe.  That's because an earthworm gets its oxygen directly through the skin, and water tends not to hold much oxygen.   And so, as I was walking around the Leduc reservoir, I noted a plethora of earthworms.  They were on the sidewalk, they were on the lawn, in dirt, underfoot, and in puddles.  There was a group of boys, armed with a tin can and fishing gear, collecting the largest ones they could find. The excitement in their raised voices was proport...

Producers (left) gain energy from the sun and fix it as living matter.  Herbivores eat plant matter and convert it to a source of food rich in protein and devoid of cellulose. Carnivores, many of them insects, consume creatures at a lower trophic level and  produce sizable larvae which, when adults, leave the aquatic environment and to on to feed many of the birds that inhabit the area for miles around the water. How aquatic ecosystems supply food to terrestrial species such as birds. They say diversity is the spice of life.  It turns out it is also necessary for a healthy ecosystem.  The number of living things, both in diversity and count, in freshwater is stunning.  Fill a glass jar with water from a healthy pond, and you will see what I mean.  And that's just the stuff you can see.  On the microscopic level, it's even more impressive. There are few creatures above the waterline that can benefit from this microfauna directly.  However, as the e...

Black Tern, Red Deer, Alberta - the difference is how far the subject was away from the camera 3D image tracking is very handy when trying to photograph flying birds, although there are a lot of issues with it working well all the time.  Some of them I have already discussed in a previous blog .  While tracking black terns in Red Deer, I noticed a relationship between proximity to the camera, ability to get a focus lock, and the usability of any resulting image.   The further away your subject is, the easier it is to lock focus and track it.  The exception is when there is a lot of background clutter.  The greater distance makes the bird appear to travel slower, the same way that a plane can travel at 400 km/hr but seem to only crawl across the sky.  As the bird gets closer, it can dart across the field of view in no time at all.  Your motion of following the subject has to be that much faster so as to keep the subject somewhat centered.  So,...

American Avocet at Slacks Slough in Red Deer, Alberta. I remember seeing my first avocet.  It was in Bonnyville, Alberta, and I was down at the beach.  It was a late afternoon in early summer.  Before me was a bird I had not seen before.  It had long legs, a long bill, a long neck, and was beautifully coloured.  Everything about it seemed wrong.  But it could do something other shorebirds could not. It could wade out into the water, deeper than most other shorebirds, and probe the mud with its long, upcurved bill.  The bill would plunge into the water, just to the point where the bird could still breathe.  The nares (nostrils) are located high up on the bill so that the avocet can continuously hunt for food without raising its head.  The long neck keeps the bill some distance from the feet so that potential prey are not alerted to its presence.  Its feet, equipped with long toes, prevent the bird from sinking into the mud.  The long...

Which grebe is which?  Can you tell?  Bottom right image from this source. I have photographed both eared and horned grebes, but was under the mistaken assumption that they were all eared grebes.  Little did I know that I had confused two species as one, and that most of them were in fact horned grebes.  The red eye and dark plumage were each factors, and their non-breeding plumages look relatively similar.  Imagine my surprise when my Google Lens search for an image (top center) told me it was a horned grebe and not the eared variety, as I suspected. It turns out that the four images on the left are all of horned grebes, and the only photo I have of an eared grebe is the one top right.  How is it possible that I mixed these species up?  I somehow don't think I am alone in this. Below is a photo I took a few weeks ago in Red Deer, Alberta, of a horned grebe on a nest (top, center) and a horned grebe swimming in the water (top left).  The other thr...

Left:  four different jumping spider species.  Right:  Bronze jumping spider (Sassacus vitis) With over 6000 species of jumping spiders worldwide, and more than 300 in the US and Canada, chances are that you have seen more than just one or two species. The most common ones, here in BC anyway, are the Zebra jumping spider and Johnson's jumping spider (the first and second insets on the left).  The third one is a species I photographed in Alberta and the fourth one is a jumping spider I photographed in New Zealand.  The bronze jumper was photographed a few weeks ago when I was in Clearwater, BC. I wrote a blog on the zebra jumping spider about 4 years ago ( click here ).  There are some interesting facts there that I won't repeat.  Jumping spiders have become popular pets, are easy to keep, and can form surprising bonds with their owners/feeders.  I watched a good video on one fellow's spider, it is worth a watch.  Click here if you want to se...

A birdhouse at Swan Lake Bird Sanctuary - Tree swallows. We put up birdhouses to help and attract birds, but sometimes our good intentions lead to disaster.  Hole size is important.  If it is too big, predatory species can get in and take the eggs or chicks.  A perch also makes predation easier; birds don't need one, as they are fully capable of accessing the nest without it. In the spring, when nesting begins, the air is cool and the sun rarely causes heat issues.  As the season progresses into summer, the risk of heat exhaustion to the vulnerable birds increases.  Putting the house in the shade or having some kind of insulation reduces the likelihood of their death.  Lots of ventilation also helps to encourage air circulation; just make sure the vents are not too large. Birdhouses don't need a perch, but their walls can't be smooth either.  Rough, unsanded wood is all that is needed for the birds' access.  You can build the house out of plywood ...

Left:  A Zentangle name card made by Mrs. Graham for me.  Right:  A GSS yearbook photo of her. Did Mrs. Graham ever make a you a name card like the one shown above?  She made one for me, it was something I saw her often working at.  A Zentangle is a "relaxing art method used to create abstract, structured black-and-white patterns called tangles on small paper squares." (Google)  I think she found them relaxing and enjoyed making them for people.  She would laminate them afterwards and give them to their namesake.   She cared for people, was a respected teacher and colleague, and taught at Garibaldi for a number of years.  I always enjoyed her company.  The cards that she made for people spoke of her care for others.  If you notice, it is signed, "L L.G."  I think it stands for "Love, Linda Graham."  I never saw her as emotional or conflicted, but I am sure she must have had challenges in her life. She was a heavy smok...

  My daughter, Leanne, visiting us on the week of my birthday.  So much to be thankful for. The photo says so much about the things happening in my life.  Living in the Okanagan, a nice house with a great view of the neighbourhood, my dog, and my beautiful daughter enjoying another sunny day.   I turn 66 years old in two days.  My health is pretty good, although my issues with diabetes haunts me a bit.  I have a beautiful wife who plays cards, attends church with me, likes camping, and loves her children and grandchildren.  She even goes kayaking with me occasionally.   I have many friends, some I have known for almost 50 years and others who are more recent but devoted to our relationship.  Although stuff tends to not be too important, I have all that I could ever want. But the thing that I have, more than everything else, is my relationship with those I love. Family, friends, and God.  I don't talk much about my faith in my b...

Six-spotted orb weavers. Left:  2020, Clearwater BC.  Right:  2026, Wabamun AB I must see a thousand-plus spiders over the period of a year.  Many of them are familiar.  The long-legged cellar spider (they give me the creeps), jumping spiders (at least 3 species at my home), wolf spiders, and those funnel weavers (barn-funnel spiders) are commonly witnessed.  I can usually spot most of them any time I go into my garage and look around.  I have even found a few black widows ( click here) , but none in my house, thankfully. But, it's nice to know that they aren't the only ones.  This morning I saw a European-cross spider, and as you can see above, I photographed a six-spotted spider recently on a trip to Alberta.  I also saw and photographed a spider I had never seen before last week while in Didsbury (Alberta Jewel spider - click here ). The interesting thing about the six-spotted spider is that it is the second one I have seen/photographed....

Canon, Nikon, Minolta, Olympus, Pentax - film cameras and lenses for sale. Yes, I have quite the collection.  Some are mine that I used back in the good ol' days of film.  Many I have collected over the years as people hand unused equipment to me.  There is a lot; I have 25 lenses for sale too, ones on the camera bodies and many more that are not.  Nikon, Pentax S, Canon, Minolta.  I even have a Bronica medium format camera for sale. While it is true that film is somewhat passe, the truth is that many out there still use it.  Partly out of nostalgia, partly because film is still a viable medium, with a dynamic range that beats many a digital sensor.  And then there is darkroom work.  Although all my prints are done using pigment and ink-based printers, I fondly remember my days in the darkroom. I will be posting my cameras on Facebook Marketplace soon.  They will be listed at fair prices.  Looking forward to the response. Thanks for read...

Main:  Common grackle (male), Airdrie, Alberta.  Inset:  Great-tailed grackle, Arizona While visiting Alberta this summer, I came across some common grackles.  They look similar to Brewer's blackbirds initially, but closer inspection shows that they are both larger and more colourful than them.  They belong to the same family (Icteridae) as their smaller cousins.  There are three species of grackle that live in North America: the common grackle (main), the great-tailed grackle (inset), and the boat-tailed grackle.  Only the common one can be found in Canada, and they are only found east of the Rockies. The male grackle's breeding plumage is striking, with its bronzed-iridescent body feathers and deep blue/purple head.  The female, as is the case for all female Icteridae, is a mottled brown designed to prevent unwanted attention.  Unlike the male, the female does not have the bright yellow eyes. Grackles are the number 1 pest of corn crops in ...