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.