We spent several hours wandering the trails at Centennial Beach in Delta, BC, today.
Anna’s Hummingbird
Couple of tree swallows duking it out over prime real estate : -)
We saw several Northern Harriers
Crows hate raptors — when the harrier landed in the field this sentinel came to check it out
Invasive Red-Eared Slider in the pond near the playground
A handsome crow
Let’s play “spot the bunny”
We enjoyed fresh air and lots of signs of spring on a 2-hour ramble in Campbell Valley Regional Park today.
We’ve always enjoyed hand-feeding chickadees in the park, but this is the first time we pulled in a Red-Breasted Nuthatch.
The feeling of a wee bird’s claws clutching one’s finger is pure joy!
Doing the wormhole space-jump thing. . . : -)
A sign at a trail crossing said flooding ahead, but we had to go see for ourselves : -)
Trilliums — I think these are protected in BC
Budding salmonberries!
Busy as a . . .
Took advantage of the break in the soggy weather to head up the 99 and poke around in the Squamish, Brackendale, Paradise Valley Road area.
Signs of spring!
Harlequin ducks at Porteau Cove
Streamkeepers are always looking for water critters ‘n fish
Brackendale
Old logging truck
Volunteer streamkeepers set out Gee traps overnight in Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby, BC, with DFO permission. Today we went and pulled the traps. Got lots of trout, including some cool color variations, but unfortunately no coho.
Gee trap emptied into tub for IDing and measuring
Fish trapping is an activity that gets us out into some challenging terrain!
Wondering if this is a “cutbow”? We got a few cutties today that had faint pink lines, or pink dots along their sides.
Interesting color variations — reddish-brown trout and greenish-grey ones.
Great news, we saw lots of fry in pools in Byrne Creek in SE Burnaby today. Yumi and Joan managed to dip-net both chum and coho, and of course release them unharmed.
NOTE: Streamkeepers have permission from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to ID fry.
Coho fry
Chum fry
What an amazing day in and around Boundary Bay in Delta, BC, today. Took over 1,000 shots of eagles, harriers, and herons, and came home with a few usable ones : -).
That is one big rodent, and. . .
It went down the hatch in one gulp!
A weekend gathering of the clan in Osoyoos, BC, was colder than expected, but still great to get out of town for a bit.
We saw several dozen quail on our walks
Yumi found this Anna’s Hummingbird dead near her building on her way home from work today. Sigh. What a beauty.
She brought it home for a close inspection, and a wee burial.
It’s amazing how the colouration changes with different light at different angles.
We heard, and then saw this Pileated Woodpecker near the tennis courts at the top end of Byrne Creek Ravine Park. It then flew into a yard to enjoy this feeder.
After spending an hour or more shooting birds at Burnaby Lake (see previous post), I wandered off down the trails, mentally shifting gears to focus on isolating patterns with a telephoto lens.
