MEDITATION? - I'm sure the Black-bellied Plovers practice some kind of naturalistic meditation. They always seem so calm and at peace with the world.
OPERA AT ADMIRAL'S
While the Black-bellied Plovers, Blackturnstones, and gulls were enjoying peaceful tranquility of the summer evening, a pair of Ring-necked Gulls were delivering a virtuoso operatic performance. Despite their passionate and inspired efforts, their feathered friends were completely indifferent and unmoved. Culture is suffering, even in the avian world.
READY TO ROCK - All decked out in fancy anklets, the Harlequin Duck at French Creek was ready for a night on the town.
UNLIKELY PLAYMATES - You would hardly think that a speedy predator and a sassy scavenger would be playmtes, but I've seen it more than once. The Merlin and Crow have their regular games of "dive-bomb" and "tag." I managed to capture the Merlin side of the game at Craig Bay on Aug. 3. You'll just have to imagine the Crow.
"Wow! That was too close for comfort."
"Don't try that again if you value your life, you bag of black feathers."
"Hey, come back and fight like a Merlin."
DUNCAN TRIP - Aug. 4/05 (I really haven't explored the Duncan region so my birding efforts have been very limited.)
I made a quick stop at the driving range, but most of the birds were very skittish. Perhaps, they were conditioned to keep moving to avoid golf balls. However, 1 little flycatcher felt sorry for me a posed for about a second before disappearing. From the bill size, I would guess that it's a young Willow Flycatcher.
Later on in Glenora, I stopped to check on some birds in a tree. They flew off before I could point my camera, but in a little port hole through the blackberry brambles, I spotted a shy Swainson's Thrush catching a few rays of sun.
On the way home, I made a quick stop at Buttertubs. The only photo I got was a juvenile Wood Duck dozing in the sun on Turtle Point.
COMOX VALLEY VISIT - Aug. 5/05 - Art Morgan was kind enough to alter his busy schedule to show my wife and I around for a couple of hours. Our target species were the Cinamon Teal and Cliff Swallows. Thanks for a great morning, Art.
We didn't find any Teal, but it was fun watching a bunch of Belted Kingfishers regularly diving for their breakfast. If you've never seen a Kingfisher euthanizing its prey, you'll get a laugh watching it body slam it's meal against a branch or stump until its ready to eat.
The bonus consolation bird at the D.U. pond was the Virginia Rail. Three fluffy little black puff balls swam across the pond just in front of us. The tall bulrushes impeded my photography, but I was fortunate to get a couple of record shots.
It was difficult to get a decent photo of the baby Cliff Swallow in the shadows. All I can say is that I have a record shot to prove I wasn't hallucinating.
BUTTERTUBS MARSH - Aug. 6 - On Aug. 4 I had a quick look at a juvenile or female Bullock's Oriole. It reminded me of a Creamsicle. I went back on Aug. 6 hoping for a picture. Unfortunately, the birds weren't cooperating. There was no Bullock's to be found. The Green Heron flew before I could jockey my camera through the grass for a distant record shot, and the Yellow Warbler just teased me with its song right next to the trail. However, when life serves you lemons, you make lemonade. In this case, it served me flowers, so I made a 1-flower bouquet for you.
A shaft of sun on a pretty bloom of honeysuckle was too hard to resist.
Turtle Point is a favorite spot for Wood Ducks. (I call it Turtle Point because that's where I saw the world record turtle.) Today it was occupied by Momma Wood Duck and 2 ducklings.
NANOOSE ESTUARY - Aug. 7/05. The tall grass in the estuary was finally mowed, allowing for access from the northern end. I hadn't been there all year so it was time for a visit.
In the first grove of trees a lone bird caught my eye as it flitted through the willow branches. It was Warbling Vireo, a bird I haven't seen or heard for many weeks.
It was evening and the longer rays of light cast a golden hue over the landscape, accentuating the rich yellow colour of the American Goldfinch.
Common Yellowthroat seemed to be everywhere. As usual, they were the most cooperative bird to photograph.
TOFINO - Aug. 8/05 - Visions of Long-billed Curlews and other long-legged shorebirds filled my mind as we headed for Tofino. Despite the afternoon fog, the only long-legged beach denizens were thousands of people and a number of dogs. Surprisingly, amongst this jungle of humanity, there were patches of shorebirds. But, just north of the main beach, the string of peeps stretched for miles. Most were Western Sandpipers with a generous helping of Least. Sprinkled in were a few Semipalmated Plovers and 2 Sanderling. I checked about 1,000 peeps looking for something "different" but reluctantly, it was time to leave.In the trees, I found a patch of Juncos, Chickadees, and Robins. A Sparrow-sized bird popped out, but took off before I could get the binoculars on it.
The voracious peeps like the Western Sandpiper were so intent on feeding that they didn't mind the proximity of beach-walkers and photographers.
A chubby little peep caught my eye. I thought it might be something special. It was - a special little Least Sandpiper.
In amongst the sandpipers, the Sanderling was immediately obvious. With its brighter colour (more white) and quicker pace, it quickly caught my eye. However, I couldn't get close until beach-walkers from the opposite direction shooed it back towards me.
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