Snowy Owls (Part 2) Hawks, and a Heron on Sunday

This is the sequel to my last post, and includes pictures from our return trip to Boundary Bay on Sunday, after first seeing Snowy Owls there on Saturday.  It was a cold but beautiful day, and  we stopped en route for a few sunrise shots.    

 I took one shot through the truck window to show the mist rising over the fields to our right. 

Bill leaned as far back as possible, wanting to give me a chance to take pictures through his window.  This was looking towards Mount Baker. Black Jack was focused on getting there as quickly as possible.  She did not take her eyes of the road, and I knew pictures of lemmings danced in her head.

 Mount Baker to the left, and the sun, a ball of fire, peaking out from behind the tree.

This may be the tallest Blue Heron I've ever seen.  I've named him/her "Boundary" in honour of the way s/he kept to more or less the same area of the park, not the slightest bit deterred by the numerous photographers, and even a few hunters.  In this picture, Boundary is crouched low.. 

but here, stretches tall.

I will go with Northern Harrier as a guess for all of the hawks we saw.  Please do correct me if I'm wrong.

I was sad that several of the photographers did not keep a respectful distance.  As explained in the poster at the entrance to the park, Snowy Owls need to conserve energy.  If they fly away, you are too close!

These two owls were surrounded.

 We stayed back, but had the opportunity to catch some photos of owls fleeing the more aggressive photographers.  This one came straight towards us.  Most of the following pictures speak for themselves, so no commentary is really needed.  They weren't by any means perfect photographs, but I was aware with each one what a privilege it was to be that close.

We had rubber boots that made walking much more comfortable than it had been the day before.  Bill took wonderful care of Black Jack.  Here, she forgets Lemmings for a moment, and opts to beg for treats.

 The air warmed up as the sun rose, and Bill was toasty warm.  I was as well, except for my "trigger" finger.

 An unidentified flower.

 An unidentified egg that we agreed would be most unlikely to hatch.

 More owls fleeing photographers and heading our way.

 Boundary stayed close to us and I believe, enjoyed the sun's warmth as much as we did.

 The hawks caught the sun as well.

 An unidentified smaller bird.  There were thousands around.

 This juvenile Bald Eagle did not move from its perch for the several hours that we were there.

Unidentified berries were enjoyed by this Towhee.

 One more lbb (little brown bird).

 Another hawk,

 and more unidentified berries.

 This owl was perched on a log near the road.

 I liked the fanned shape of these.

 I had to laugh at this line of photographers all watching a lone owl to the right, the only one that remained in the area, as the others had been flushed out.  

 I took this photo later in day in Yaletown.  A lady told me it is called a Beautyberry or Callicarpa.  It was the first time I had ever noticed it, and I felt it was well named.

That's it for a while.  I am so grateful for all that made the past weekend one of the best ever.  Happy Monday, everyone.