Critters at Whytecliff Park, West Vancouver

Last week, Bill and I were on a mission to photograph the full moon.  There had been many days of cloudy and/or rainy weather, but on Saturday, we counted ourselves lucky to see blue skies.  We decided to try our luck at Whytecliff Park in West Vancouver. The moon was just a day or two short of being full, but that story will be for another post.  We saw quite a few critters along the way and I thought they might be enjoyed at the Camera Critters blog meme.  This hummingbird (I'm guessing it was an Anna's, but never got the perfect identification shot) did not want to face the camera but the sun on its back brought out the emerald greens.   

A little later, and in a different tree, I saw this one.  They are quick,  and facing into bright sun was a challenge, but the camera caught a lovely wing here.

We were surprised to see hummers as winter is fast approaching in Vancouver.  This shot caught a tiny bit of red at the top of this one's head.

High in another tree, a raven called to an unseen but communicative mate or family member.

The same hummer or a different one?  We never knew for sure.  Bill's sharp eyes spotted this one, and it gave me more than enough time to set up the shot, but still, I struggled.  What we both noticed, though, was how big the eyes are in proportion to the body. 

Its beak was slightly open,  perhaps snapping up invisible (to us) insects.

Bill entertained Black Jack, helped me locate critters, and generally was indispensable.  Black Jack has no interest in birds but loves to dance for her treats. 

I don't normally encourage her to stand up, but sometimes..

she seems to love showing off..

her balancing skills.

Just before the moon made its appearance, we noticed these beautiful birds.  They were a somewhat rare sighting for us.  I'm guessing Pine Grosbeaks..

but would be happy for any suggestions from readers here.

With all this talk of Bill, I thought any new readers might like..

to meet him, and perhaps see a little bit of Whytecliff Park as well.

As I said, he is super-accommodating.  Here, I asked him to crouch down to fit into my big lens view.  Thanks, Bill, for all that you do to make life fun!

Bill thought it only fair that I introduce myself as well.

There will be many more moon photos in the next post, but here are a couple taken at Whytecliff.  Here is the way it first appeared, as seen with the big lens just before sunset..

and here is a small lens version a few minutes later.  

The Camera Critters blog meme is one that I've only recently discovered.  It is great fun if you love critters of all sorts, so to see more, I hope you will find a few minutes to check it out.  Thanks so much for visiting.  Have a wonderful Saturday, everyone!