Okanagan Vacation 8 - Behind Brin de Soleil
June 24th, 2011
There was a hiking trail behind Brin de Soleil, winding up and along the slope. The owners pointed it out to me. It went through private property, technically, but property used only to graze cattle and only at certain times of the year. Guests at the B&B were welcome to use it--they had even cut a hole in the barbed wire fence so you could get through.
It was beautiful up there, the view even more panoramic than from the front yard, and I saw some great birds, including two lifers. My first MacGillivray's Warbler occurred here. MacGillivray's is a shy, skulking warbler (like its close relative, our own Mourning Warbler)--but this one had the single best response to pishing that I've ever seen. He had been laying low in the underbrush and not making a sound. As soon as I pished just a little, he hopped around in the bushes for the next five minutes, chirping constantly, giving me excellent views of himself.
On the way back from one walk, on a post just outside Brin de Soleil, I finally found a California Quail who was willing to sit still for the camera! I inched towards him, photographing as I went. He didn't flush into the grass until I was about ten feet away. Result: a wallpaper-quality shot.
1680x1050 wallpaper
I also got my first photograph of a magpie on that walk.
Mule Deer were a common sight, as they were elsewhere in the Okanagan. We saw the familiar White-Tailed Deer too, but Mule Deer were the majority, instantly recognizable by their oversized ears.
I was fascinated by the way Mule Deer moved. They would trot along the slope with this incredibly gay, light-footed, bounding gait. Like they were weightless. Or like something out of a Walt Disney movie, or Pepé Le Pew chasing Penelope Pussycat. Back home I learned that this seemingly cheerful gait is actually a form of stotting--a way of demonstrating ones fitness to a potential predator (in this case, me.). Mule Deer do it, White-Tailed Deer don't. It's as if the animal is saying, "look at this. Look how confident I am. Look how easily I move. I'm not even bothering to break into a proper run. You should hunt someone else 'cause you're not gonna catch me."
Here's some video to show you what I'm talking about. In this case it's juveniles stotting for the fun of it. Watch them from about 15 seconds in.
June 24th, 2011
There was a hiking trail behind Brin de Soleil, winding up and along the slope. The owners pointed it out to me. It went through private property, technically, but property used only to graze cattle and only at certain times of the year. Guests at the B&B were welcome to use it--they had even cut a hole in the barbed wire fence so you could get through.
It was beautiful up there, the view even more panoramic than from the front yard, and I saw some great birds, including two lifers. My first MacGillivray's Warbler occurred here. MacGillivray's is a shy, skulking warbler (like its close relative, our own Mourning Warbler)--but this one had the single best response to pishing that I've ever seen. He had been laying low in the underbrush and not making a sound. As soon as I pished just a little, he hopped around in the bushes for the next five minutes, chirping constantly, giving me excellent views of himself.
On the way back from one walk, on a post just outside Brin de Soleil, I finally found a California Quail who was willing to sit still for the camera! I inched towards him, photographing as I went. He didn't flush into the grass until I was about ten feet away. Result: a wallpaper-quality shot.
1680x1050 wallpaper
I also got my first photograph of a magpie on that walk.
Mule Deer were a common sight, as they were elsewhere in the Okanagan. We saw the familiar White-Tailed Deer too, but Mule Deer were the majority, instantly recognizable by their oversized ears.
I was fascinated by the way Mule Deer moved. They would trot along the slope with this incredibly gay, light-footed, bounding gait. Like they were weightless. Or like something out of a Walt Disney movie, or Pepé Le Pew chasing Penelope Pussycat. Back home I learned that this seemingly cheerful gait is actually a form of stotting--a way of demonstrating ones fitness to a potential predator (in this case, me.). Mule Deer do it, White-Tailed Deer don't. It's as if the animal is saying, "look at this. Look how confident I am. Look how easily I move. I'm not even bothering to break into a proper run. You should hunt someone else 'cause you're not gonna catch me."
Here's some video to show you what I'm talking about. In this case it's juveniles stotting for the fun of it. Watch them from about 15 seconds in.
| ← | → |
Gillian
July 7th, 2011 at 12:51 pm
The California Quail is gorgeous. How nice of him to pose for you!