MORE DUCKY WEATHER
With the number of consecutive days with rain closing in on a local historical record, sunny breaks have been few and far between, and maybe illusionary as we all grapple with Seasonal Affective Disorder. (We shouldn't complain as the record is held by Ketchican, Alaska with 101 consecutive days with rain.) Did I find a couple of sunny breaks or did I imagine them? Regardless, it was duck weather and what else was there to photograph?
SCOPING THE SCAUP - It's interesting how the ducks seem to know when I'm golfing or when I'm photographing. They are a lot more confident when I'm standing next to the pond with my 8 iron. I can't even get close to the edge with my 800 mm lens especially if the nervous Wigeons are around. It's better when there are only a few ducks around which was the case for this teenage lesser Scaup. There was also a teenaged Ring-necked Duck in the pond. Papa Ring-necked Duck couldn't understand why people were complaining about the rain. Do all male Ring-necked Ducks have yellow eyes? Not all male Ring-necked Ducks have yellow eyes. Apparently, a small percentage have dark eyes. KINGLET SURPRISE - My pleas for a Gold-crowned Kinglet were answered as a flock landed on the gravel path and tree in font of me. I managed a couple of shots but, for the most part, they were too quick, and I didn't get one with a flaming red crest. (Some people are never satisfied.) Out of about 20 clicks, 1 was in focus. This is the best of the 19 that weren't. MORE DUCKS After finishing with the ducks at Fairwinds, I decided to visit Wall Beach and the Barrow's Goldeneyes. As expected, the Barrow's were there along with Buffleheads, Mallards, Wigeons, and Scoters. LAST LAUGH - I waited for an hour for the flock of about 15 to come a little closer, but they kept their distance and laughed at my frustration. Jan. 11/05 - STILL DUCKING - an hour of sun. Time for 3 pictures. A female Lesser Scaup ... A female Hooded Merganser ... A variant House Finch ... Jan. 13/05 - BARROW'S OF FUN With a brief respite from the rain, I ventured forth with my camera. After checking the Nanoose Estuary and Nanoose Bay, I decided to try Wall Beach and the Goldeneyes again. A juvenile Cooper's Hawk greeted me at Wall Beach Road, but as usual, all the ducks at Wall Beach were too far out. Then I remembered that a couple of Barrow's usually hung out around Beachcomber Marina. I was right. As I parked, I spotted a male Barrow's with 2 juveniles. I wasn't dressed for the cold wind, but I decided to wait for the Goldeneyes to get used to me. An hour of freezing vigilance paid off as the ducks finally came close enough to photograph. They were attracted to the barnacles on the styrofoam floats. After the snack they swam close to shore for a photo shoot. (Nice of them.) Showing off the backside ... The front view ... The juvenile also wanted to be in the picture ... How about a close up? That's it, we've had enough. We're leaving. A female Red-breasted Merganser seemed to be unhappy about something. I think something was stuck in her mouth. That's better. I think it's going down now. NANAIMO - BACKYARD WILDBIRD & NATURE STORE SAVE-ON FOODS (WOODGROVE) SAVE-ON FOODS (COUNTRY CLUB) CHAPTERS FALCONER BOOKS COLE'S PORT ALBERNI - CLOCKTOWER GALLERY COURTENAY - GRAHAM'S JEWELLERS SAVE-ON FOODS SIDNEY - VICTORIAN BIRD HOUSE COMOX - BLUE HERON BOOKS BOWSER - LIGHTHOUSE GIFTS DEEP BAY - SAANICH - WILD BIRDS UNLIMITED VICTORIA - BOLEN BOOKS MUNRO'S CAMPBELL RIVER - CAMPBELL RIVER MUSEUM BOOK BONANZA SAVE-ON FOODS DUNCAN - VOLUME 1 BOOKSTORE CHEMAINUS - LITTLE SHOP OF NOVELS LADYSMITH - SALAMANDER BOOKS NANOOSE - SCHOONER COVE MARINA SOOKE - SOOKE HARBOUR HOUSE
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