April 6th, Colin and Doco and I drove to New Denver (or rather, Colin drove) through delicious early spring along Highway 3, our favourite "southern route". As we crested the hill on Harris Road, right beside us in the field were twenty-something elk (Cervus canadensis, wapiti in french). They lifted their heads to look at us, then went back to eating. I had never seen them close-up. They're BIG! Dark-brown head and shoulders, light-brown back, and large buff rump patch. No one thought to take a photo.
Next morning, Colin went off early to do so, but they were more distant ...
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| Twenty-plus, at the top of the field |
Then, at breakfast, as I was suggesting to Colin that his elk photos were rather like my mountain bluebird photos ("a reward if you can find the bird"), Doco looked up and said "there's a kingbird on the fencepost". But, no, it's a mountain bluebird!! One of my very favourites and rarely seen by us (last sighting is in my April 10, 2015 blog post). Turns out there were five, catching flies from fencepost to fencepost. Colin caught them through binoculars with his iPhone, all from inside the window. After 20 minutes, they flew off into the forest.
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| Two post-sitters, one near and one far |
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| Two - one on a post, another on the 100-year-old apple tree |
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| Three - two on branches, one investigating nesting possibilities in the cleft? |
Will they stay? Or were they just passing through?
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