This mom wood duck is looking pretty good for someone keeping an eye on half-a-dozen pre-teens, eh? : -)
Category Archives: Nature
Lunchtime Stroll in Burnaby Foreshore Park Sees Herons, Dragonflies & More
I took a stroll along Burnaby Foreshore Park in South Burnaby over lunch today. I love checking out the pond life, and seeing what’s happening along the river.
Check out my Flickr album here.
Sediment Enters Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby
Somebody was being naughty today, allowing sediment to flow into Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby.
Vigilant streamkeepers reported the ugly looking and potentially fish-killing pollution to the City of Burnaby. Thanks to the volunteers who keep “eyes on the creek” and immediately notify the City of any problems. And thanks to City staff who responded quickly.
It was obvious which storm pipe the sediment came from, as can be seen in the photos below.
If you were a fish, amphibian, aquatic insect, or any other animal, do you think you’d like to be swimming in that?
Here you can clearly see that the sediment entered the creek through this storm outlet.
Another view. The flow here in the upper portion of the creek on a dry day is so slow that this “slug” of sediment was barely moving. It’ll take a rain to flush it out of the creek.
Frolicking Finches at Elgin Heritage Park
I took a break from the din of the multiple commercial fans drying out the water damage in our townhouse, and headed down to Elgin Heritage Park. It’s one of my favourite places to photograph birds.
First Shots with New 150-600mm Tamron Zoom
I took a bunch of photos today with the new Tamron 150-600mm zoom (225-900mm equivalent on my DX-sensor Nikons).
Here are a few from the Byrne Creek habitat in SE Burnaby:
Butterfly on leaf
A slightly different view
Grasshopper in Byrne Creek habitat in SE Burnaby
And several from Piper Spit at Burnaby Lake in Burnaby:
Goslings at Piper Spit, Burnaby Lake
Female wood ducks, Burnaby Lake
I think female wood ducks are so cute!
While male wood ducks are quite spectacular
Duck playing hide and seek among the lillypads
A common whitetail dragonfly?
All of the above shots were with the Tamron 150-600 on a Nikon D5200 camera. ISOs ranged from 400 in bright sunlight to 1,600 in shade to keep shutter speeds high. The lens was mounted on a Manfrotto 679B monopod with a Vanguard SBH-100 ball head.
While heavy, this rig is not unmanageable. I think I would have soon tired if the rig had not been on a monopod. It was useful not only for stabilization while shooting, but also to simply stand and rest!
When Rivers Rebel
There’s been a spate of articles recently about the Fraser River, climate change, and the potential economic impacts on BC’s lower mainland.
We dam them, dike them, divert them, dredge them, suck them near dry, build on them, pollute them. . .
And then we’re aghast when rivers get pissed off and try to break their shackles now and then.
We wouldn’t need billions of dollars to shore up dikes if we didn’t build our cities on flood plains, marshes, and bogs.
But hey, are those articles perhaps looking at things backwards? By traditional measures of GDP, all the work that will need to be done to shore up those seawalls and dikes is going to be a major boost to the economy, isn’t it?
We’ll just borrow more against future generations to keep the pyramid scheme going.
Forest Photos from Alice Lake, BC
It’s hot and sunny today, so the beaches were crowded at Alice Lake Provincial Park just north of Squamish, BC, and the campground was full. I was there for the easy ramble around the lake, and found the trail cool and nearly deserted.
You can find my Flickr album here.
Birds’ Breakfast Buffet at Birch Bay State Park
Here’s a set of photos I took this morning at Birch Bay State Park in WA. It was a veritable breakfast buffet on the beach for various birds. Herons were chowing down on several kinds of fish, and what appeared to be lamprey. Gulls were rooting out clams, carrying them up and then dropping them to break them open. An eagle sat overlooking the breakfast scene while being harassed by a crow. Stimulating morning on the beach!
Cute Deer at Fort Ebey State Park, WA
There are lots of deer in state parks on Whidbey Island that are fairly accustomed to people. The ones we’ve seen have been wary, and not overly tame, but confident enough to get good photos.
I think we’ve seen the following one twice in about as many weeks at Fort Ebey State Park. Same area, same size, same behavior.
Out in the open above, and nearly concealed between the tree at bottom right below.
A Fave Hawk Photo from 2009
I “shot” this hawk couple on their nest on a rural road in southern Alberta back in 2009.
I
I’ve been asked several times over the years if this is a photo of a diorama in some museum. It’s definitely a live shot.
I saw the nest as I was slowly cruising down a rural road. It was likely the Red Coat Trail, or a parallel road nearby.
I spotted the nest, drove past it in an attempt to allay suspicions, and slowly wandered back toward it, hiding any equipment, as hawks are very shy of anything that looks like a “projection” or rifle.
I slowly angled into the ditch and eventually snapped several shots, but the parents were getting agitated, so I backed off.
Just in time. The male swooped me seconds later as I was backing away, but seeing that I was already retreating, he stayed 5-10 meters above me.
An exhilarating experience, but one that also respected the birds. As soon as I knew I was intruding, I backed off.
If you try this, please give them their space, too. Thanks!