Day 360: Full circle

Three-hundred and sixty degrees is a circle, but I am still six days short a my year. It feels like the year should be done already because spring is well and truly making an appearance here - the bulbs are flowering, the witch hazel is past it, the magnolia is in bud, and the forsythia is out here, there and everywhere. Not to mention the flickers - it's been a while since I heard or saw one of these birds, but they seem to be conspicuous in the spring. A few weeks back, we saw (and heard) one drumming on the top of a lamppost - presumably announcing itself as a way of marking its territory. And tonight, as I walked up and over the knoll by the Student Union building, there was a pair in the trees above me. The sun was at a favourable angle, and one of them kindly spread its wing as I pointed the camera in its direction. The late afternoon light caused its red feathers to simply glow. Beautiful!

Preening flicker

Day 327: Grumpy

In local birdwatching circles, great blue herons are known colloquially as GBH (which means something a little different in the UK). I think it can also stand for "grumpy blue heron" as the expression and demeanour of this bird might suggest. "Grumpy" is also how I feel tonight after twisting my ankle on a small kerb on the way back to the car (after enjoying more tasty hot chocolate and a waffle at Leonidas). Back to the heron, we were amazed to find this one standing in little more than an inch of water right next to the trail along the shore of Lost Lagoon in Stanley Park. This is as close as I dared get, not wanting to spook it into flight, and it's as close as I've ever been to a heron.

Grumpy blue heron

Day 314: Golden eyes

I managed to haul myself out of my chair and take a walk down to the beach this lunchtime. Not only that, but a small flock of Barrow's goldeneye followed me along the beach begging to have their picture taken. OK, so it wasn't quite like that: I stalked this group, bobbing merrily on the waves, for a couple of hundred metres along Tower Beach hoping to get a closer view. For the most part, as soon as I approached the water's edge, they would turn and swim away from the shore. My solution was to move ahead of them and crouch behind the rocks of the next breakwater. It's not the photo I was after, but it's pretty close.

It's my very own pi day - day 314 ;-)

Barrow's goldeneye

Day 300: Snowstorm

What better way to celebrate the 300th day of this project than with a nice abstract snowstorm photo. Yes, I'm being sarcastic ;-) I thought that with having some nice snowy scenes to view that I'd get something good today. Well, that only happens if you can be bothered to venture out of the office, so I was glad I'd taken a few shots at home before heading in to work, including this one of the neighbourhood pigeons flying around in the midst of this morning's half-hour mini-blizzard.

Pigeons in a snowstorm

Day 295: Spotted!

I have been after a good towhee picture for ages - they're normally very skittish and will disappear into the undergrowth at the slightest movement. So I was delighted to see a pair of them out in full sunshine searching for food by some steps. I edged closer - one of them flew off, the other dashed away only to return to the same spot where I was waiting with the camera :-)

Spotted towhee

Day 285: A new year

Happy New Year, and welcome to 2012 :-) We met up with our friend Carollyne for a walk around Stanley Park, accumulating photos as we went (as usual). There were lots of birds on the water, including a really large raft of surf scoters. I took a short video clip of them as a wave of birds ducked under the water (no pun intended), each bird diving as the one in front disappeared. It made for a really interesting effect. My photos didn't turn out so well, so I've ended up using this one of two types of seagull feeding in the shallow water as the tide was going out. Don't get me wrong - I really like this photo. The long zoom makes the mountains of Vancouver Island look very close, the sky is a lovely peachy colour, the waves are just breaking and the birds are nicely in focus. It has a lot going on, and yet retains a feeling of space.

Feeding gulls

Day 269: The seagull and the squirrel

The usual late-day foray outside to look for a subject.... I walked west and noticed a seagull standing next to a bin, casting its beady eye on the squirrel perched on the rim, which was munching something it had hauled out of the rubbish. I wasn't sure if the bird was really waiting around for the squirrel, and sure enough it walked away a little while I was standing there. I moved in a little closer to the squirrel and it took off, running across the path to a bench. To my surprise the seagull ran-flapped its way over to the same bench and proceeded to take up its post again, watching the squirrel eat. I started taking some photos, edging closer all the time. Both creatures were so intent on what they were doing that they let me get quite close, and it was only when a grey squirrel moved in and decided it wanted what the black one had that either moved. I went on to look for more photographs, but came back to this one at the end of the day.

Seagull and squirrel

Day 264: Not you again...

After last week's snowy owl watching, I couldn't resist going down to Boundary Bay again, on the pretext of showing Maria (really, I just wanted an excuse to go again :-) Sure enough, in almost the same place, there were three snowy owls decorating a few logs close to the dyke. Not long after we started watching this one, it stretched out a wing, then one of its legs - which prompted a barrage of shutter firing. I shot off a few and caught this one where both of its furry/fluffy/feathery legs can be seen. Oh yeah, and there were a few eagles and northern harriers too, and a short-eared owl sat on a distant fence post.

Snowy owl stretch

Day 258: Seagull security

Never thought I'd see a seagull on a bike... ;-)

I noticed this advert for the UBC Bike Kitchen a few weeks ago and added it to my list of things to photograph, waiting for an uninspired sunny day or a desperate rainy day to add it to the collection. I had just bought my afternoon coffee and walked out of the Student Union building, looked up and saw this. I carefully put down my coffee, pulled out the camera and reeled off a few shots (in a manner of speaking...). It's funny that the seagull was quite spooked by my presence, even though it was 20 feet up in the air above me, and almost took off in the time I spent pointing the camera in its direction. Not much of a security system, then, really.

Seagull Cycle Security Service

Day 257: Like a bump on a log

Last weekend I saw someone's photos of snowy owls and I couldn't wait for the working week to finish so I could go and see them again myself. They last made an appearance in 2005/2006 at which time we had our little point-and-shoot camera. We have no photos from that time as we imagined that all we'd see were a couple of distant white dots (much like our bald eagle spotting in Maryland). We were wrong, and we were treated to the sight of the owls very close to the dyke. When I went down there today, it was the same deal: a couple of snowy owls sitting on a log, barely 10 m from a crowd of gawking photographers (I swear some of those lenses were long enough to poke the poor birds from that distance... ;-) I counted another half-a-dozen owls out on the marshes, and I was disappointed to see yet more people out there lugging their huge lenses and tripods around to get a close-up shot of one of the owls. I have no doubt that they would have got as close (or closer) had they stayed up on the dyke. A couple of times I saw owls take flight - a big no-no when doing any form of wildlife watching. If they react to you by moving further away, you're too close.

I kept to the dyke and snapped away with our tiny 55-200 mm lens. Compared with much of the weaponry I saw out there today, our camera still felt like a little point-and-shoot. I came home with over 100 photos of the owls, which spent the entire time sat there like two white bumps on a log. Seriously, the only movement I saw was them swivelling their heads to look around. But at the end of the day, that's a good thing.

Snowy owl

Day 253: Twenty times around the sun

...is a little under 12 billion miles. :-) That's how far Maria and I have travelled together, a few thousand of them on foot.

On an unrelated note, we were stunned by the sight of a couple of Anna's hummingbirds the other day, which prompted me to hang out at the same place I'd seen them back in the summer. I waited for today's fine weather to go looking for them again and I found two of them. I followed their calls to a thicket of bushes where I spotted one of them resting on a branch, quite low down. I snapped a few quick photos expecting it to fly off, spooked by my proximity. To my surprise it stayed put, and as I moved a little closer, I was amazed to see a second bird barely three feet from my nose! It was sitting quite still, breathing rapidly, and was even better positioned to catch the sunshine. I took as many photos as I could, and even recorded a couple of video clips before it decided it had had enough and flew off. Wow - hummingbirds in November?

I had to go read up on the hummingbirds and it turns out that the Anna's have expanded their range along the west coast of North America over the course of the last couple of hundred years, to the extent that they are now largely resident year-round in the Vancouver area. Seeing hummingbirds at all is something I love about this area: having resident hummingbirds is even more amazing. I'm going to keep an eye out for these birds over the winter and hope they find enough to keep them going.

Anna's hummingbird at rest

Day 189: A bird in the (berry) bush

is worth... uhhhhh. No, that's not right :-) I took a few minutes to wander outside to get some fresh air before having to spend an hour or more in a darkened room listening to members of our research group give short presentations. It seems like only yesterday I was admiring the head-high lupines, now all dying off. The only plant showing signs of life is the bramble, but even that is starting to look past it. Looking over at the hummingbird tree, I saw a few small birds (LBBs: Little Brown Birds) hopping back and forth and went over for a closer look. Maybe I could get one of them. Well, they moved too fast and I got nothing, until one dropped into a nearby bush and remained still long enough for me to snatch a couple of photos. I didn't really pay any attention to the bush or the bird and it was only when I got home (as usual!) that I saw I had something worth looking at again. Sure it was sharp enough, and the bird was in a nice-looking berry bush (I'm surprised to see any berries left). At first I thought it was just a song sparrow and almost didn't post the picture below, but then one of our Flickr contacts identified the bird as an American tree sparrow, a bird I haven't knowingly taken a picture of before. Good enough for me to make it my picture of the day :-)

Bird in a berry bush

Day 187: Brought to you by the letter "A"

It's funny that just earlier today I was mulling over the possibility of an alphabet series to follow on from my rainbow series (having just located my future "violet" photo) and wondering how I might achieve that. Outside the local Safeway I saw a pigeon perched on the Starbucks logo behind two horizontal wires ostensibly there to prevent the pigeons sitting there (and doing something that rhymes with sitting). First I was amused that the bird was there at all, then there was the appearance that the bird was behind bars, and then there was the fact that it was sat fair and square on the "A" of Starbucks, gifting me with the first letter of the alphabet. I am skeptical that I will be able to complete the alphabet, especially if I try to do it in order, but it does give me ideas for pictures over the next six months.

"A" pigeon behind bars

Day 179: Reifel

We've been to the George C. Reifel bird sanctuary a handful of times, and it's yet another of those places that we find ourselves thinking we should visit more often every time we go. After all our recent action-packed days it was a good place to spend a couple of hours unwinding, ambling along the dykes and watching the bird life. We were hoping to see the sandhill cranes, but they eluded everyone today. Instead we had to make do with a load of cute lesser yellowlegs picking their way through the shallow water. We were able to get surprisingly close to them, and I was pleased to get this shot of one.

"Eww! I think I stepped in something!"

Day 174: Winged rats

Much as I don't like pigeons in general, I do have to admire their flying abilities. I've watched them many times as they rise as a small flock and swoop round and round the neighbourhood. Tonight, having spent no time looking for a photo at work, I spent some time on the balcony before dinner, Dad filling in his journal in the evening sun. I tracked and photographed the circling pigeons, following them round several times. Finally they decided to settle and it seemed that they were all heading for the same utility pole. Of course it was a little too crowded for that many pigeons to land at once, so they spent a few seconds hovering and manouevring before taking up their perch. I caught them just as they slowed to a hover. It's not the best picture I took that night, but it's different from any other pigeon photos that I have, all the birds are still in flight and I simply like the warm light on them.

Winged rats

Day 146: Sparrows

Another juvenile white-crowned sparrow photo. They're not quite as skittish as adult birds, and I've been pleasantly surprised at how close I've been able to get to them. I was lucky enough to capture a few of this youngster on a branch and on closer inspection at home I think this might be one of the best bird photos the old camera has ever taken. I'm very happy with it.

Young white-crowned sparrow

Day 143: Au naturel

I was determined to get out for a walk on the beach today. It's not that far away and the return journey of 400 steps up from the beach is a good workout. I wandered out past the Museum of Anthropology and took Trail 4 down to the beach. My plan was to assess the tide and turn left towards Wreck Beach if the tide was low, and right towards Tower Beach if it was high. The tide was low, so left I went. Wreck Beach is a famous Vancouver "clothing optional" beach so while there have been plenty of sights to behold, not many of them were for photography.

I took off my sandals and walked along the sand, wading through the warm shallow water. I took a few ambient photos but nothing was really standing out as interesting. I reached the big breakwater, and climbed up to view the log-booming area on the other side. A heron croaked and took off barely 10 m away, so I moved more carefully and slowly after that so as not to disturb the others. A group of three herons was wading the shallows in search of fish, and their reflections were perfect in the still waters. I sized up a shot only to notice some ripples messing things up. I quickly took the shot before the reflections disappeared, and looking up from the camera I saw a seal poke its head up - I was surprised to see a seal in such shallow water. Another joined it and the two of them swam away from me. I waited for the water to calm again and took a few more heron shots but it was the first one that I really liked.

After that it was time to get back to my desk, back across the hot sand, past the various naked bodies and up the steps, two at a time!

Heron party

Day 139: Sorry

Another sunny day at work whizzed by without me getting out and taking a photo. Once again I was left to hunt for photos on our balcony and I was a little too slow in getting out there as a large group of crows took off from the roof of the building across the road. Fortunately a few of them circled and landed on the roof of our building, and I was able to get a clear line of sight to one perched on top of a pole. A second one joined it and the two of them proceeded to have a short grooming session. Lovely to watch but the photos didn't capture it at all. So I had to make do with a couple of shots where the crows were well lit and doing different things. The photo I chose for today could be mistaken for one crow humbly apologizing to the other (which is in a huff and looking away). It wasn't like that but that's the story I made from it. Sorry for the lack of originality. ;-)

Apologetic crow?


On another note entirely, when we lived in Maryland we were lining up at the social security office (to get our social security numbers) and the couple behind us had a young baby (less than a year old), which kept sneezing. Every time the baby sneezed, the parents said "sorry". It turns out that they were from Nigeria, where people don't say "bless you" or "gesundheit" when you sneeze; they say sorry.

Day 134: Sleepy

That's how I was feeling today, and it appears that this young white-crowned sparrow was feeling pretty much the same :-)

Juvenile white-crowned sparrow

Day 127: Berry nice

Last week I noticed a bush laden with ripening blueberries. (At least they look like blueberries - I'm not entirely sure, so I'm a little hesitant to try them.) Today I thought I'd try some nice close-up macro berry photos. Except the breeze had other ideas and although I got a couple of good-enough shots, on the whole it was really difficult to get what I was after. As I was hunting for good berries to photograph, I could hear starlings deeper in the bushes. I didn't pay them much attention (they're just starlings, after all) but some movement caught my eye and I found myself with a clear line of sight to one bird about 2 metres away. I stopped moving, and waited for it to move into a more photogenic position - which didn't happen, so I didn't get the photo I was after there either.

In the meantime another starling had flown into the top of the bush I was next to, and with a little movement to my right, I could get a reasonable view of it feasting on the berries. A quick fiddle with the camera to make sure it didn't over-expose the shot, and I was able to focus on the bird while it was feeding. I waited for it to grab another berry and took the photo as it lifted its head. What I didn't see at the time was how the bird tossed the berry into the air and caught it - and to my surprise my photo had captured that very moment.

Berry nice thank you