Journal 329

June 15/10 - Because of a few unfortunate circumstances I haven't been able to do much birding or photography lately, but I'm hopeful that the issues will be gradually resolved. In the meantime I found a few non-birding shots from my May trip that I thought you might enjoy. However, I did make a quick field trip yesterday and will finish off with a few shots of one delightful little orange chick that you should visit if you have the time. I guess the chick wasn't too little, but it was compared to its parents. No fair scrolling to the end!

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That's me at Capital Reef waiting for some sparrows that were working their way towards me. I was hoping for something new but had to settle for a handful of Chipping Sparrows and Yellow-rumped Warblers. I think I mentioned in the last two journals that both sparrow species were common everywhere I went from southern Utah to eastern Montana and Saskatchewan to Vancouver Island (and in my backyard).

The redrock formations at Capital Reef graphically reflect the dynamic forces that helped to shape the earth.

Capital Reef contains a large section of the "waterpocket fold" that illustrates how the earth was folded during mountain-building events 60 million years ago.

All of southern Utah is remarkable for it's redrock formations. The colours vary dramtically depending on the various atmospheric conditions and time of day.

The old saying of "When it rains, make rainbows," worked well at Capital Reef.

A common species at Capital Reef is the Desert Cottontail (I think).

All the lupines I saw were very short single stalk flowers. I guess that's why they are called Dwarf Lupines.

There were a lot of petroglyphs at Capital Reef, but the best I saw were at Arches on the way to Delicate Arch.

Amazing redrock formations are a common feature at Arches.

Some photographers spend the entire day at one site hoping to catch the best light for the redrock formations.

Photography tourism is big in all the National Parks. I don't think I saw anyone who didn't have a camera.

The Whiffle's Fishook was the prettiest cactus flower I saw. I think the small flowers are Yellow Cryptanth.

Last year my photo of Landscape Arch was at the wrong time of day looking into the sun. This time the weather didn't cooperate offering only a cloudy sky.

Canyonlands is the least developed of the southern Utah national parks. It featurens many unique mesas, spires, arches, and rock formations. Its wilderness areas are trisected by the Colorado and Green Rivers into three distinct districts.

Don't be fooled into bypassing the sleepy town of Price, Utah. The Dinosaur and Native Museum is first class and worth a visit.

Welcome to Yellowstone! If you want to see Buffalo, Yellowstone's the place.

Almost everywhere we went, there were Buffalo.

The eastern half of Yellowstone was still mostly inaccessible because of the snow, but that didn't stop the Buffalo.

Elk were also plentiful. There were many females around, but we only saw two males with their huge antlers.

Of course, the most prominent feature of Yellowstone were the many volcanic formations like Mammoth Hotsprings. Chemical deposits from the hotsprings combined with bacterial action has created many colourful formations.

Vast areas of chemical deposits punctuated by steaming vents and spouting liquids are typical of the volcanic landscape.

The cool colours of the mineral pools the water is boiling hot. The area sits on top of an active volcano that last erupted 640,000 years ago.

Yellowstone Fall is an awesome sight from Artist's Point.

The volcanic palette on the canyon walls is another fascinating spectacle seen from Artist's Point.

Old Faithful is still the feature attraction, and it still erupts approximately every 90 minutes.

OOps, how'd I get into the show?

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Banff

Female Bighorn Sheep were a common sight near Minnewanka Lake. Most of them were oblivious of vehicular traffic as they were busy licking salt from the roadside.

The star of the show was a a large Bighorn bull that strolled casually along the road.

Banff is famous for its remarkable and distinctive mountain peaks.

One could easily spend a few weeks trying to get the perfect mountain shots. Drive-by shooting just doesn't do the mountains any justice.

If I were really interested in the mountains, I would have at least learned their names. All I can tell you is that this is the view from vermillion Lakes.

Back to B.C. - after a rainy day drive from Banff to Salmon Arm the clouds kindly lifted to allow us a pleasant evening at NMature Bay.

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Home Birds

A pair of Black-headed Grosbeaks has been filling my yard with their hearty song.

I didn't think this photo of the female would be worth printing, but it's better than I anticipated.

I guess there's not much more I can say about the hummers. Nectar consumption is down to about 4 -5 cups a day from a peak of 12 - 14 cups.

It must have been a good year for the Nuthatches. The many juveniles have been wearing out the sky with their many trips from the feeder to the forest.

I've mentioned before that I never drive by the Nanaimo Airport without stopping to look for the Vespers. An unexpected trip to Volume I Bookstore gave me another opportunity, and i was happy to find one singing Vesper.

Here's Happy. It's always fun to see the feisty juveniles.

The Townsend's Warbler is a common resident of the surrounding fir trees. I was delighted to see it in my holly tree, but I was caught off-guard without the proper lens. I had to settle for a record shot instead of a close-up. I hope it comes again.

The local robins have had a successful season. There have been many juveniles around the yard.

Another common local breeder is the Purple Finch. It is a regular feeder visitor.

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Oh Baby!

June 15 - Three weeks ago I visited CrazyM's website to see what was new over at Reifel. I was delighted to see that the resident Sandhill Cranes had given birth to two gorgeous fluffy orange chicks. I think last year they were unsuccessful as their chick(s) did not survive. CrazyM posted wonderful photos of two new chicks. From that moment on I knew I had to find an excuse to make the trip across the pond. As fate would have it, the phone rang two days ago and it was Vari from the Reifel Gift Shop. She placed an order for some of my "Vancouver Island Birds" books. With low midweek ferry rates and senior Thursday, I didn't hesitate. On my first opportunity I hopped on the 6:30 am ferry at Nanaimo, delivered the books, and then headed out on the trails. On my first pass around the trails there were no signs of the Sandhill family. Undeterred, I made a second round and voila! The Sandhills were on the trail just outside the restricted area. The adults showed no signs of hostility as they quietly foraged for worms and grubs in the grass between the trail and pond. But, I hardly noticed the adults as my eyes were glued on the stunning fluffy orange chick.

I'm not sure if the baby has been given a name yet, but for now I'll just call it Sandy. I was fascinated to watch the interaction between Sandy and its parents. Sandy always stayed close and was always ready to receive a snack from either of the parents.

I hope Sandy doesn't get an inferiority complex as it was completely dwarfed by the parents.

The family always stayed close together which is necessary for protection of the chick. Originally there were two. I didn't want to think of what might have happened to the other one.

Sandy wasn't quite sure what the little wings were for, but it was fun to wave them once in awhile.

Family affair. It was heart-warming to see how close the family was.

Yummy, another tasty treat for baby. A growing chick needs its nourishment.

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Bird Poster

My poster is on display at: Victoria - Swan Lake Nature House

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PUBLICATIONS

VOLUME I & II BOOKS AVAILABLE AT

PARKSVILLE & QUALICUM - MULBERRYBUSH BOOKSTORES

NANAIMO - SAVE-ON FOODS (WOODGROVE),
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COURTENAY - GRAHAM'S JEWELLERS

SIDNEY - VICTORIAN BIRD HOUSE, TANNER'S BOOKSTORE

COMOX - BLUE HERON BOOKS

BOWSER - LIGHTHOUSE GIFTS

DEEP BAY - SHIP & SHORE

SAANICH - WILD BIRDS UNLIMITED

VICTORIA - BOLEN BOOKS, MUNRO'S, CROWN PUBLICATIONS, IVY'S

CAMPBELL RIVER - SAVE-ON FOODS, COHO BOOKS, CAMPBELL RIVER MUSEUM

DUNCAN - VOLUME 1 BOOKSTORE

CHEMAINUS - WILLOW"S WILD BIRD STORE

LADYSMITH - SALAMANDER BOOKS

NANOOSE - SCHOONER COVE MARINA

LAKE COWICHAN - GALLOPING MOON GALLERY

TOFINO - BOTANICAL GARDENS

QUADRA ISLAND - EXPLORE & BOOK BONANZA

LANGFORD - WILD BIRD CENTER

SOOKE - READING ROOM BOOKSTORE

SOOKE - MUSEUM

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