Victoria Brown Pelicans

Here is a short video about the unusual appearance of a flock fo Brown Pelicans in Victoria's Inner Harbour.

Thornton Creek 2012

Hi Everyone, Well, it's that time of the year again when we head over to the west coast of Vancouver Island for the annual black bear photographic extravaganza at Thornton Creek near Ucluelet. It was a slow start to the day as my family and I arrived about an hour too late to catch the local bears for their morning meal. There were already a lot of people on site with several paparazzi present. What really blew me away was all of the very young children that some of the families had brought along. As I have mentioned before it is definetly not the place for small children especially with the bears being so close and coming from unexpected directions. I managed to find a few of the local camera guys from Nanaimo and had a nice chat while we photographed the dippers along the creek and waited for more bears to arrive. Sometime between 2:00pm and 2:30pm the first bear to arrive was what appeared to be a yearling. It was a bit bigger than a cub but you could still tell that it was not fully grown. It spent most of its time up near the waterfall at Thornton Creek and made several deliberate circles in that area before moving down stream towards the mouth. The next bear to arrive was much bigger and looked almost as wide as it was long. At first I thought it might have been a male but on second thought, it may have been the sow that had originally produced the younger bear that we had seen earlier. This bear was not concerned about humans at all and proceded to feed right under everyone's feet below the wooden deck. The final two bears to arrive appeared near the mouth of the creek on the side where everyone had parked their cars. We would have never known they were there if it wasn't for the barking dog that someone had brought along. The dog had been locked up in a camper and warned us loudly of the bears presence. Although it was quite wet and rained the whole time everyone had a great day. I hope to be having more entries in the blog now that the weather and season has changed. Hopefully we will have more luck with the owls now that raptor season is upon us. Stay tuned for further entries in the near future. Take care and good light, Steve

Just got back Wednesday, December 28th from Boundary Bay near Ladner. What a great trip! Got there kind of early after taking the first ferry out of Departure Bay. I had to wait an hour or so before my camera could get enough light to take decent pictures but it was worth the wait.
I have been hoping for quite a long time that the Snowy Owls would some day return so that I could get better pictures of them. This winter my hopes have turned to reality as nearly 30 Snowy Owls have graced the shores of Boundary Bay. It's been close to six years since the last Snowys were seen there as 2006 was the last big flight year for these magnificent creatures.
There aren't too many people first thing in the morning and that makes it a whole lot easier to get a close up shot as the owls are right in near the dike resting on logs and stumps.
If you are patient you can get some pretty close and personal shots without ever leaving the dike and even a couple of flight shots as several birds take to hunting all at the same time. Later on in the day there are more people so you only get the odd bird coming in close as they jossle over their hunting teritory.
There were other raptor scecies there too such as Harriers and Short-Eared Owls which all added to the photographic enjoyment of the day. A good time was had by all and there were lots of other fellow photographers to talk to and new friends to make.
Thanks for tuning in and take care until my next blog entry.


Happy New Year and good light,

Steve

The Return of "Dragon Slayer"

Hey Everyone,
Hope you are enjoying your summer - what's left of it. As per usual I have neglected to make more frequent entries into the blog. I have however been updating my photo site on a more regular basis. Apart from the odd bit of action at Buttertubs Marsh not too much is happening right now. The Merlin Hawks are always a treat to watch during Dragon Fly season. This year I have been trying for more flight and burst shots of the birds as they jump off of the branches in pusuit of their elusive meal. There are days when the activity picks right up and you can find many different types of hawks at Buttertubs. Last week I had three Merlins, a Coopers Hawk, and a Sharp Shinned Hawk all jousting for positions at the same time. You don't often see the Coopers Hawk as although he is bigger he tends to be somewhat more timid when it comes to the camera lens. I haven't been treated to much activity in the way of Owls lately. Since the nesting season is over it has been harder to find them as the smaller birds are less concerned about them being close to their nest or trying to eat the young ones. This means that there is less mobbing and so the owls can rest undetected until you blunder into them unexpectedly.


I guess the next major thing on the agenda birding wise will be the September hawk migration at Beechy Head near Victoria. Hopefully we can get some good pics to post here and on my photo site for people to tune in and see.
Thanks for tuning into my blog and following my site.

Until next time take care and good light,

Steve

Cottle Lake Blues

Hi There,
Just came back today from another visit to Cottle Lake in Linley Valley. Lots going on there but a very challenging environment for photography. All of the birds there seem spooked about making a close appearance. In the past it has always been a real Tanager Town and home for the Black-Headed Grosbeaks. This year is no exception apart from the fact that you can't get within 150 feet of them. Lots of Tanagers in the alder trees and Grosbeaks singing from a distance but not one picture with any real clear composition. You can often hear Tanagers and Grosbeaks before you see them and the air is filled with song most of the time.
I must have spent close to three hours today in silence waiting for an opportunity for a photo with no luck. I may need to change my methods or try to find another location. It would seem that most of these neo-tropical birds each have their own personality. Two years ago at Neck Point I found a Tanager nest and was able to photograph the parents as they fed their young from about 20 to 30 feet away. The nest was right next to the path and only about 10 feet off of the ground. I didn't realize at the time that this was something very rare and not often repeated. Another time last summer that I managed to get close was when the immature Tanager was branching close to the ground. The male adult followed it in order to feed the chick and I was then able to get a couple of full frame shots. This was short lived as the chick kept changing branches every half an hour or so.
I will include a couple of pictures in this post that I got last week. I must appologize for these photos as they are not up to my usual standards. These are only suitable for display as small thumbnail images on the blog as they are quite a large crop. Certainly not the lighting or composition that I have been after the past few weeks. I'm not sure if these birds are different from the ones that I see there now but they came quite a bit closer than this week's visitors.
Until my next installment. Take care and happy birding,
Steve

Neck Point Killer Whales

Hi There,
I was out doing my usual rounds today. I started off at Cottle Lake in hope of getting a close up shot of some tanagers. Just too many people coming and going with their dogs and lots of people on their morning jog. It was extremely hard to get enough quiet time for a photo. I did have a mated pair of tanagers in my sights at one point but they were scared away before I could get set up. After nearly three hours of similar situations and much frustration I set out for Neck Point to see what was happening there. The scene was just the opposite of what it normally was as it was very quiet with only 3 or 4 cars in the parking lot. I had heard on the rare bird alert that there might be some great horned owls about so I set my hopes on that. It had been a nice day but now the rain was threatening. As I climbed up towards the upper viewing platforms I noticed that the aircraft from CFB Comox was on maneuvers again and so I started watching it through the lens of my camera.

Shortly afterward I caught something out of the corner of my eye and jerked my head over to see a pod of killer whales coming in fairly close to shore from my left hand side. You can often see them farther out in the straight doing their thing with breaching and jumping but not so close up as this. I managed to get off a few shots from up on the ridge but I figured that if the tide was out that I would be really close if I got to Neck Point itself. I started running full tilt with all of my gear but by the time I got there they had already passed the point and were on their way towards Piper's Lagoon. Talk about fast swimmers! Anyway, you could say that I really got my exercise on this shoot.

Take care until next time and good wildlife shooting,

Steve

Barred Owl Bonanza

Hi Everyone,

Just thought that I had better get another entry into the blog before you thought I had forgotten you. Well, spring is well under way and many of the birds that had been south for the winter have returned. We had a great run with the Bluebirds out at Piper's Lagoon this year with the two males that hang around for almost three weeks! They haven't been seen for quite a while and have probably headed north for breeding.

Along with all of the birds coming back has been the start of the nesting season. Many birds have already fledged their first broods and have started on a second brood already. Must have been quite a challenge what with the slow start to the warmer weather. The large forest Owls such as the Great Horned and Barred Owl have finished their nesting and are now either hunting as individuals or are hunting with their newly fledged young in tow. Lots of Barred Owls in particular. At least I seem to be running into them where ever I go lately.

The activity at Cottle Lake has picked up a bit and I was scoping out a Western Tanager there the other day. Kind of hard to see all the birds now what with the heavy leaf cover but if you are patient you can get the odd glimpse of a real gem. The Tanagers are still hawking bugs at the tops of the maple trees so it will be a bit of time before they come down where we can get a good shot of them. Usually by mid June when the green caterpillars come out in the alder trees and they are busy feeding their young is the best time. You can see them at nearly eye level and on the odd occasion right down on the ground. Hopefully by my next post I will have some good close up photos of them.
Take care and thanks for tuning in,

Steve

Blue Skies Bluebird

Hi Everybody,
Up to about three or four days ago I was freezing my butt off and it felt more like mid winter instead of getting later in the spring. But just yesterday and today the weather has taken a dramatic change for the better. It seems a funny thing but along with the blue skies have come the Bluebirds. To be more specific Mountain Bluebirds. They seem to show up in the strangest places. I have one question. If they are supposed to be "Mountain Bluebirds" how come we see them almost exclusively by the ocean?

Up until yesterday I had never seen a Mountain Bluebird first hand and only dreamed of getting one in front of my lens. I had heard reports of them only to follow up by making the trip to where they were seen and then be disappointed. That all changed when I took my family to Piper's Lagoon for a walk in the warm spring sun. I didn't take the camera because I couldn't see dragging it along just to photograph the same local birds that I had made part of my picture collection many times over. You should have seen me high tail it back to the car when I caught a glimpse of this guy. Chances are that he is just a transient on his way up north and is resting here temporarily until he gets himself fattened up for the rest of his journey.

It's quite hard to describe the beauty of one of these birds but I think that the best part is the variety of their shades of blue. Depending on the angle of light the bird can take on all kinds of different blues from something near a robin's egg blue to nearly a dark indigo and every shade in between - really amazing! Another astonishing thing was how tame he seemed to be. Even the Towhees were more spooked about people than he was.

Still looking forward to the other exotic birds such as the Black Headed Gross Beaks ,Western Tanagers and of course the Orioles. If the Bluebirds are any indication it should be a great season coming up for these kind of birds.

Take care until next time,

Steve

Spring has Sprung

Hello again,
Well, it's been quite busy the past couple of weeks what with new birds returning to the area and the herring run going on. Got a few great pictures of Stellar Sea Lions this year with herring in their mouth etc. at Neck Point Park. Lots of sea birds joining in on the festivities as well with everything from Surf Scoters to Eagles. I haven't been down to get pictures of the large rafts of ducks yet but I was quite active last week when all of the Sea Lions were most plentiful. Here is a picture of some of them resting after a large feed of fish.

I have also been visiting Buttertubs Marsh more frequently in the attempt to get better pictures of some of the spring time birds such as Yellow Rump Warblers. They can be hard to find at first but once you know what you are looking for you can see them all over the place. The Yellow Rumps tend to look dark against the white of the sky so I can see how people could mistake them for chikadees or bushtits. Once you are initiated however it is quite easy to pick them out as their call tends to give them away before you even see them.

Can't wait for that time of year that is coming up soon where the Western Tanagers and Black Headed Gros Beaks return. They tend to give a real splash of color after all of that brown and drab that we come to get used to in the winter around here.

Take care until next time,

Steve

A Change of Scenery

Hi there,
Once again it's been a while since I made an entry into the blog. I didn't want to seem too repetitious as most of my photography entailed going to Nanaimo River Estuary in a vain attempt to get good pictures of the Short-Eared Owls.

It got to be a bit of a circus there for a while with lots of photographers from all over the island coming to try their luck with these elusive little fellows. On several occaisions I ran into people using lures to entice the owls or sometimes tempt the Northern Shrikes to come a bit closer. Not exactly my cup of tea as the birds have to try hard only to end up catching a leather pouch or immitation mouse rather than the real thing. Eventually the owls got smart and now hunt mainly at night. During the day they roost in one of several hiding places throughout the estuary. Needless to say I haven't been getting the shots of them like at the beginning of the season. Time to take a break and go elsewhere.



It is pretty bleak and dark these days at Buttertubs Marsh but if you are lucky you can find the odd "diamond in the rough". I did just that last week when I was able to get quite close to a drake Hooded Merganser. These guys normally swim in the opposite direction when approched for photography. He was forced to fish in the last open water in the marsh near the storm drain under the large oak trees at the front corner of the marsh. All of the water foul and their major food source (small minnows), seemed to be compressed into a twenty foot open patch of water just off of the path. This made for some great shots as they seemed more intent on their meal rather than being bothered by someone taking their picture.


Also this past week I have tried going up island to Deep Bay for some shots of the water foul and shore birds there. Out on the point is a great place as the Cormorants and Sand Pipers are constantly flying by. Of course there are the regulars such as the Buffle Head and Golden Eye ducks too. My favorite of all of the birds there has to be the Longtail Duck. They seem so unusual with their black and pink bills and puppy dog faces not to mention their wonderful long sweeping tails. It can be a bit of a challenge to get good pictures because they don't always come in close but it is a nice change. It's always better to visit Deep Bay in good weather as the wind and rain can really whistle around the point and get you soaked and cold in no time. My best shots of Longtails are on a sunny day when all of their colors really stand out in contrast with the blue of the water there.

Take care and happy birding,

Steve

Winter Has Arrived

Hello once again,
Well, I guess Winter has officially arrived. That is, when you start to see the Swans come back and snow low down on the mountains it is a sure sign that it is right around the corner.

The weather at the Nanaimo Estuary has been a real mixed bag lately. Sometimes the day will start out dark and then end up being sunny or it could be like today. When I first entered the Estuary it was frosty and cold with good light. However, that changed in a couple of hours to dark clouds and heavy sleet. I had to retreat to my car to warm my hands and try to dry out my gear.

I got a couple of shots of the Female Harrier and missed out on some closer shots of the male Harrier. They call the male Harrier the "Grey Ghost" for good reason. Just when you least expect it he will pop up in front of you and then disappear just as fast. I must admit that I am seeing him more often than last year and he seems to hunt closer in now instead of way out on the mud flats like usual. His markings are quite a bit different from the female and are more white with grey. Sometimes he can be mixed up at a distance with the seagulls and by the time you realize that it is him he is already past you.

In this installment I will include two shots. One of the swans taken yesterday, and a picture that I have of one of the estuary Eagles that I took about a week ago.

By the way. No sign of the Short Eared Owl this trip. The weather was just too mucky to do a thourogh search for him this time out.

Until next entry,

Happy Birding and don't get too cold.

Steve

Return of the Short-Eared Owls

Hi,
Here are a couple of shots taken from last week of the Short-Eared Owl out on the Nanaimo Estuary. So far I have seen only one and he is hit and miss at best.Hopefully there will be a couple more show up in the near future. These pictures were taken from a distance of around 260 feet so they are major crops and only suitable for small example shots such as you see here.

The owls are really skittish when they first arrive and take a couple of weeks to acclimatize to their winter home. Unless they inadvertently fly close to me or are hiding and I flush them,I won't be able to get any close up shots until they feel more comfortable about hunting during the day.

Lots of the other usual Fall and Winter birds out there as well. The Northern Shrike puts on quite a good show every day with his hunting antics and there is an immature Blue Heron that will come and talk to me from about 20 feet away. Tons of Towhees and Juncos too and of course the large population of Crows and Ravens is always entertaining to watch.

Until next time take care and happy birding.
Steve

Interesting Fall Visitors

Hi There,

I made it out to the Nanaimo River Estuary today for the first time this week. Lots of bird activity going on out there right now in conjunction with the salmon runs that have been happening. Hundreds of Sea Gulls and Crows and the local population of Eagles has also picked up somewhat.

I have been keeping close tabs on the place hoping to spot some Short-Eared Owls. I wasn't dissapointed today as I managed to flush one out of the hedgerow about thirty feet in front of me! Unfortunately, he got away pretty quick and I had no time to set up and get any good shots. Oh well, at least we know that they are back. This particular owl sighting was at least two or three weeks earlier this year than the ones I had spotted last year.

There were some other interesting Fall visitors as well. I was busy trying to keep my equipment dry from a deluge of rain when I noticed a small flock of Snow Geese heading across the estuary towards Holden Creek. I managed to get off a few shots from some distance before the flock dissapeared. To my knowledge this is not a usual occurance in these parts although there have been reports before of a single Snow Goose mixed in with the Canada Geese sometimes. They were probably trying to avoid the rain storm and needed to take a detour as they are normally seen on the mainland side during their migration.

Another note worthy individual that I could only see from a distance was the male Harrier that seemed to be playing the usual game of chase with the local Ravens. No sign of Trumpeter Swans at the estuary yet but I would think that they should be arriving any day now.

Until next time take care,

Steve

Thornton Creek Bears

Hi,
I decided to make a small change today. Instead of calling this blog a "Birding Blog", I have decided to make it into a "Wildlife Blog". This way more people can benefit from some of my animal photos as well.

Yesterday I went with my family to Thornton Creek on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Here we visited the Black Bears that were fishing near the mouth of the creek for the incoming runs of salmon. Lots of fish in the river and of course a few bears around as well. There were three large bears there when we arrived and a couple of times I had to reposition myself in order to maintain a safe distance from them.

Thornton creek is a must see at this time of year for anyone out there who is a Bear lover. However, I would exercise extreme caution in situations like that which involve wild animals. On one occasion I had to retreat to the safety of my car and leave my camera gear behind. In my opinion, not the place to take small children.

One last thing. You won't need a big lens to catch the action at Thornton Creek. I took my 500mm - Big Mistake! Even 300mm is overkill as the bears are usually less than 50 feet away.

Take care until my next entry.

Steve

Thanks to Everyone

Hi there,
As many of you know I had the misfortune of having all of my camera gear stolen from my garage last month. Thankfully, for the most part, all of the larger items have been returned. It was a strange cicumstance through which I heard that it had been found. Apparently it was picked up at a local medical centre and then ended up in the police compound in downtown Nanaimo. There it sat for almost a month until somehow word made it out onto Facebook. From there the news traveled quickly through the web to all of my birding buddies and I was soon notified of it's existence. People wondered why I had taken so long to claim it and it was even recenly advertised on the RCMP website as well as radio, television, and the local newspaper.
I wish to thank each and everyone that was involved in finding my equipment and especially the ones that went out of their way to notify me when it had been found. I didn't realize that there was so many people out there that were aware of my situation and were keeping such a close watch to aid me it its return.
Needless to say, I have been out with the equipment since its return and it works perfectly. Here is a shot taken today on my first real outing with my lost gear in over a month. Stats: Canon 50D, Canon 500mm F/4, ISO 400, 1/40sec at F/8

Thanks again.

Hope you all continue to have a good life, good laughs, and good light,

Steve

Buttertubs Merlins

Today I went to Buttertubs Marsh. I haven't been there for quite some time as I have been busy with all of the activity at Neck Point. Buttertubs has it's own kind of action but can be quite slow some days.

The Merlins were out as they usually are this time of year. One was a mature bird possibly a parent of the second bird. The plumage on the mature merlin seemed quite clean, colorful, and well defined where as the second Merlin looked a bit beat up like it's adult plumage had yet to grow in.

Their main interest was to fly out over the marsh at high speed and snatch Dragon Flies out of the air. It seemed as though the mature Merlin was prompting the other bird as it would come and harrass it occaisionally and then disapear again. This I gathered was the parents way of motivating the immature bird to hunt on it's own.

There was a multitude of smaller birds at the marsh as well such as Black Headed Grosbeaks, several different types of warblers, plus the usual ocupants like Robins, Red Winged Blackbirds and Cedar Waxwings.

Visit to Colony Farm In Coquitlam

Hi there,
This week I had the pleasure of visiting Colony Farm in Coquitlam. It's Quite the place for a birder/photographer like me. Lots of activity but somewhat subdued at this time of year. I really needed to be there about a month or so earlier to catch all of the major action with the mating and nest building. Apparently there have bee several sightings of the Lazuli Bunting as was noted on the news board at the head of the path before starting the walk in. There are also lots of different kinds of swallows including the Rough Winged Swallow and of course the regulars like the Tree Swallow and Violet Green Swallow. There are plenty of fly catchers there too such as the Eastern King Bird and Willow Fly Catcher.

I was hoping to see a Green Heron on our walk as I had heard that they too were there on the odd occaision. To my delight we hadn't gotten more than a couple of hundred feet into the farm when an immature Green Heron flushed from one of the ditches right in front of us. Using my old 20D and a Canon 100-400mm lens that I had aquired some time ago, I managed to get a couple of decent shots. Too bad the parents were'nt around anywhere as their plumage is supposed to be quite a bit more colorful than the new fledglings.

Another Great time to visit Colony Farm is in the fall when migrants stop by to rest. In the winter there have been reports of a rare and beautiful Great Grey Owl that has shown up for the last couple of years around Christmas time and usually stays until the end of January. Due to scheduling and financial restraints I couldn't make it when he was there but I am hoping he will show up again this winter so I can see him in person. Hopefully I will have all of my regular gear replaced by then and I can get higher quality shots.

July Tanagers

I must appologize as it's been a while since I have posted anything in this blog. I have been plagued by personal theft which has left me temporarily without my camera gear.

Here is a shot from my last outing with my camera. It is of the beautiful Western Tanager. Normally you can't get very close to these birds as they tend to spend a great deal of time up in the forest canopy searching for bugs. The male is brightly colored with a yellow body and a red head and has black and white wings and a black tail. To see them for the first time you would think that someone's tropical bird had escaped. You wouldn't be too far wrong to make that assumtion either.

Tanagers originate in South America where they spend the winter. The purpose of coming up to Canada and other northern climates in the summer is for breeding. The Western Tanager Male uses his red pigment to attract the female. Normally in the off season the male is all yellow but when he migrates north he feeds on certain insects in the fir trees that contain a special chemical. This chemical has the effect of turning his head feathers a bright red during mating season. The female picks the male with the reddest head. This ensures that he will be a good provider of insects for the young when they establish their nest. The Tanager pictured here is in post breeding plumage but you can still see remnants of his red pigment closer to his beak.

I'll be back with more picture blog updates once I have my camera gear replaced.
Untill then, take care and enjoy the summer.

Great Horned Owl at Neck Point

Friday was one of those weird nights where you just happen to be in the right place at the right time. When I pulled into the Neck Point parking lot I knew that I was in for some owl shooting by all of the commotion that the Robins were making. Just off of the parking lot by a couple of hundred feet was a Great Horned Owl. I got my camera gear ready and headed over to the tree where all of the noise was coming from. Sure enough there he was with an added suprise. He had a freshly killed rabbit in his talons.

I have photographed the Owls at Neck Point for years but had never seen one with any prey. This was my lucky night. I was kind of excited and needed to hurry because my light was running out. The owl kept on changing perches and moving from one tree to another. I think he must have thought that I was after his dinner. At first I thought that the animal it had caught was someone's cat because of the distinct black and white tuxedo type markings but later I could see that it was one of the local farrow rabbits that inhabit the park. The Owl finally came to rest on a large fir tree branch about 50 feet up on the side of the hill. It paused there for several minutes while a flock of crows attacked it and that is when I got the shot that is pictured here. Not a bad clarity for a 1/2 second exposure at around 9:00pm in the evening.

McGregor Marsh - Home of the Grosbeak

This week I have been spending a lot of time at McGregor Marsh at the top of Rutherford hill. Tons of stuff going on in there like a lot of places this time of year. There seems to be a large amount of Black Headed Grosbeaks there along with a large number of Cedar Waxwings and other assorted summer birds. If you are lucky you may catch sight of a Western Tanager down near the ponds in the old dead trees. The Grosbeaks usually like to sing from a high perch but there are times when you can get close and find them down low to get a quick snap shot. It took me three or four times out there to get the picure of this guy on the right. He is like a guard and seems to man the entrance to the marsh. A couple of Willow Flycatchers help him out in the same area just to go scurrying away to warn the other birds when anyone approches. Along the way there is evidence of some beaver activity where the upper marsh drains into a metal culvert on it's way to the pond closest to the main road.

If you stay on the road you can access the upper pond which is alive with all sorts of summer birds now such as different types of Verios and lots of different species of Warblers.