I spent nearly four hours “shooting” birds and scenic views in Fraser Foreshore Park  in Burnaby, BC, this afternoon. I got thoroughly chilled but the shots were worth it. Here are a couple to get this post going.

In my experience, herons usually appear completely disinterested in people. I did not call attention to myself in any way to get this shot. Walking around the tree a couple of times attempting to get an unobstructed view likely piqued its interest.

There were several Stellar’s Jays feeding from stumps where people had left seeds. These shy birds can be hard to photograph, but as I stood silently for over an hour in the same spot, they gradually became more comfortable with my presence.

What I just wrote brought me up short. “These shy birds…” Huh?

I have also experienced them being very aggressive in seeking food, when camping in the BC interior, so I’m not sure why the Jekyll and Hyde personality shifts.

Here are a few wildlife shots I like from my photography in 2014. I’ll add more over the year-end as I look for them:

This is one of my most-commented-on photos posted to Facebook. A heron shot in flight yesterday at Garry Point Park in Steveston, BC

Coyote near Tunnel Mountain campground in Banff National Park

Deer near the town bridge in Banff, Banff National Park

Moose in Jasper National Park

Raven in Columbia Icefields parking lot

Coyote just off Bow Valley Parkway in Banff National Park near Castle Mountain

Male sockeye cruising up the Adams River in BC

Red-winged blackbird, Burnaby Lake Park, Burnaby, BC

Male wood duck, Burnaby Lake Park, Burnaby, BC

Goldfinch, Elgin Heritage Park, South Surrey, BC

Gull carrying shellfish to drop and break, Birch Bay State Park, WA

Aerobatic heron, Birch Bay State Park, WA

I got some nice shots down in Garry Point Park in Steveston, BC, this afternoon.

Heron in flight

Hooded Merganser

Fishermans Memorial Needle

Steveston Harbour with Mt. Baker (WA State) in the background

I was expecting a nature tour around Deer Lake in Buranby, BC, today, but I couldn’t find the group. I ended up taking a bit over two hours to walk around the lake with my camera on a crisp, sunny morning. Here’s a set of 30 shots in  a Flickr album.

Yes, I know circumrambulation is not a word, but I think it should be. It’s what you do when you ramble entirely around a lake : -).

I also counted about 30 chum salmon carcasses in Buckingham Creek, in the short stretch where it runs north of the parking lot and into the lake. I was impressed. Salmon had disappeared from the creek for decades, and began returning again only recently after restoration efforts including making culverts more fish friendly. The first time Yumi and I saw a salmon carcass there was in 2009, documented on my old blog.