Posting to Eileen's Saturday's Critters today. Thanks, Eileen! I appreciate seeing your backyard birds, your travel photos and the critters of loyal followers from all over the world. Your blog/meme is a gift to critter-lovers for sure. If I am mistaken in any of my identifications, do please let me know.
I am catching up so this first set of photos comes from an outing on October 29th. We took the bike path along English Bay and Sunset Beach (Vancouver) where we saw two mystery geese.
I would love some help identifying them.
They were hanging out with the Canada Geese.
We went as far as Stanley Park, enjoying the fall colours..
and beautiful trees.
We parked the bikes and walked with Black Jack around Beaver Lake. A black squirrel accepted a few seeds from us.
A Black-capped Chickadee,
a Chestnut-backed Chickadee..
and a Towhee also posed for photos.
We love this trail around Beaver Lake (though it is a pond and not a lake).
I thought these branch reflections looked like a giant pair of glasses. Black Jack isn't interested in reflections, but found lots to entertain her, nevertheless.
A Wood Duck came so close to my lens, I had trouble..
getting the photo. Always love the colours and details in these ducks.
I missed the tail of this Douglas Squirrel but still thought s/he was very cute.
There were a few Fox Sparrows around as well.
We left the pond and walked up to the Rose Gardens. At the end of October, the gardens are not in their prime, but we found a few roses..
as well as some other plants. This branch had broken off a bush and was lying, neglected on the ground. Bill thought it deserved some attention..
and though he wasn't in the market for a new hat, we agreed this certainly had possibilities. I finally suggested we leave it for the gardener to replant, as it didn't match his jacket :) (Some sort of butterfly plant, perhaps?)
I'll jump ahead to January sightings now. Black Jack had a lovely run under the Cambie Bridge when the sun again burst through a mostly overcast sky.
Jan 2
I'm still enjoying the Anna's Hummingbirds at our window feeder. This one posed for a moment in the tree beside the balcony.
Jan 6
Jan 7
On Thursday, we saw a large flock of Barrow's Goldeneyes in False Creek. It was overcast and they were too far away to get much of a shot, but here are a few of them. I've never seen so many of them appearing to lie on their sides.
Jan 8
Yesterday, after our trip to the post office to mail some very late presents, we walked along False Creek in Spring-like weather. Bill always admires this bush with yellow flowers.
There was one pair of Hooded Mergansers in the creek.
Black Jack was in fine form and made me..
laugh with her begging-for-treats balancing tactics.
She has a big chest for such a little dog.
We heard the unmistakeable sound of angry hummers, and Bill caught sight of one, though I wasn't able to get a photo. This Dark-eyed Junco was making..
a strange clicking sound that continued relentlessly. At first, I thought that sound came from the hummer, but watching the Junco, it seemed certain I was wrong.
I wonder if s/he was trying to raid a hummer nest.
One thing for sure, there was a disagreement of some sort in progress.
December 25
Whoops, one more set of catch-up photos, these taken on Christmas Day. It was another of those overcast days when the sun suddenly burst through the clouds as we were riding along the False Creek bike path. A kind gentleman took this photo of the three of us. I'm still using an old bike jacket over two other coats as a way to keep Black Jack cozy in her basket. That's working really well, as is the hat we bought recently for colder days (shown in this post).
Many of you will know that we love to go to Jazz Vespers concerts on Sunday afternoons. A lovely lady named Jane always welcomes Black Jack, and on the Sunday before Christmas, she brought her a bag of treats (that were clearly delicious) with a suggestion to save them for Christmas Day. Well, that gift was so, so appreciated,
as you can see!
Bill took this photo of me after I had taken the two little videos of Black Jack that you can watch below if you have the time. Sometimes, if he gets the light just right, you can barely see the wrinkles. It's an illusion, but one I rather enjoy :)
This one is just 6 seconds long, showing Black Jack dancing for her treats.
This one is 21 seconds long. Bill gives her the treat and we say a "thank you" to Jane. It is such a delight to not only hear wonderful music at these concerts, but to visit with warm-hearted critter-loving friends! That's the post for today. Many thanks, as always, for stopping by!
Two posts in one day, barely ten minutes apart! What can I say except that I didn't want to miss Theresa's Good Fences meme. It is such a fun one and I have fence photos building up from as far back as October 25th. Thanks, Theresa! Let's see if I can catch up to the end of that month.
This is Bill in George Wainborn Park. The fence is a beautiful stone one, but is..
hidden behind what I thought was beautiful foliage.
Here it is from the other side.
As we walked to Harrison's that day, we had to take a few minutes to check out..
this construction site. There are almost too many fences to count. They're not pretty but I do find them fascinating.
Still on the way to Harrison Galleries, this is one of those that we've passed..
many times, but it only called out to me that day.
This one, is on our street, just before our building.
October 26
The next day, I took these at Stanley Park. Can you see the little bridge in the distance?
Here's a close up of it..
and here it is again at a leaning angle with a seagull adorning it.
I've shown this one before. A fence around the swimming pool by Stanley..
Park's English Bay that seems new in different light.
October 27
You've seen this one more than a few times as well. It is by Coal Harbour.
Reflections and autumn colours made it irresistible (again).
And yet two more that you've seen many times, this one by the rowing club,
and this one by the beach.
October 30th
At Granville Island the next day, we looked across False Creek, enjoying the autumn colours along the bike path.
We looked at the boat houses that day. I'm not sure I'd want to live in one of these, as so many looky-loo tourists hang out there in the summer time..
but it was fun to look more closely at the convenience of having a sailboat at your doorstep.
These people even have a roof patio.
October 31st
These last three are minutes from our apartment. Again, it's the reflections..
and fall colours..
that I'm hoping you might enjoy.
Thanks as always for stopping by. I'm going to spend the evening writing you comments as we are on our way out to mail Christmas presents (not kidding) right now. See? At least I'm consistent :)
We rode our bikes to 2nd Beach on Monday. There was snow in the morning, but the sun came out in the afternoon, and for the first time since Christmas Day, the bike path was free of slippery patches. I've finally (thanks to Bill) figured out how to add an arrow and some text to show you approximately where "home" is on the map. We rode alongside False Creek and then followed the shoreline of English Bay. I was euphoric just to be on the bike, but the blue skies didn't hurt either :)
A few Surf Skoters were in the bay.
I've never managed a good capture of these birds but always love to see them.
Far in the distance, three other birds made their way across the bay. At first, I thought they might be cormorants or Surf Skoters, but the translucent flashes of orange suggested Oyster Catchers.
Seeing Oystercatchers is always a big deal, though my knowledge about them is scanty. This site, describing the Black Oystercatchers of Stanley Park, was a helpful one. I learned that they spend their entire life cycle along a fairly short stretch of Stanley Park's shoreline. That amazed me, as our sightings have been so rare that I still feel it has been a rare bit of good luck when one appears. The video below is also excellent. It is over six minutes long, but is beautifully filmed and narrated, giving a personal account by a knowledgeable birder. Finally, if you are curious about the sound of oystercatchers, scroll down a bit at this link.
Though we kept a respectful distance (I used my 500 mm lens), all the birds left after we arrived except for one. That bird appeared at first to..
have a broken leg (or wing?)..
but then it walked away on two legs..
so I think it was fine.
Bill left for a few minutes and when Black Jack saw him returning, she flew over the logs to reach him at a speed that makes it hard to believe she is 11 yrs 3 mos old. (I've been telling people she's 10 for a long time, but I guess I was dreaming.)
"I missed you, Bill!"
She ran just as quickly back to me..
and continued to fly between us until we were together. She has no interest in birds but Bill picked her up to make sure we weren't stressing the Oystercatchers.
This shot was a mistake (focus on the water instead of the bird) but I liked it.
The loner that stayed behind when the others left seemed to have no fear of us. Below, s/he walks toward us.
S/he appeared to be skilled at finding food. I learned from the site linked above that Oystercatchers have two hunting styles: they are either stabbers or hammerers. The stabbing method is a bit more refined as they waituntil the mussel or clam relaxes a bit and opens up. Then they stab their bill into the opening to get at their prey. Hammerers just pound the shell until it breaks apart.
The Stanley Park Oystercatchers are stabbers. It takes them about three years to perfect this system, and so they stay with their parents for longer than many birds.
"Yes!"
We wondered if washing their catch was part of the preparation process.
I wonder why this particular bird was so at ease around us.
There is something rather comical..
about their walking style.
One thing for sure, the hunting was good for our friend.
As we walked up this favourite path to our parked bikes, I asked Bill to pose for..
a photo in front of the red berries that have brightened the area for several..
months. I love his mischievous look here as he plans a little salute.
I am posting two short videos that I took. Video is not my strength and I had the 500 mm lens on with no tripod, so they're a bit shaky. In this first one (26 seconds), the Oystercatcher nimbly balances on one leg, scratches a bit, and then hops over the rocks to another feeding spot.
This second one is 43 seconds. It is also wobbly but gives you a fairly good idea of their walking style and their stabbing technique.
That's it for Oystercatchers this week. If you've never had the chance to observe them, Stanley Park's seawall might be a great place to start. Happy weekend, everyone. Many thanks for stopping by!
