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Archive For The “Christmas” Category

Kitimat Christmas Bird Count 2019

Kitimat Christmas Bird Count  2019

A red-tailed hawk surveys the bush just outside Kitamaat Village, BC, Dec. 14, 2019. (Robin Rowland)

For the Christmas Bird Count in Kitimat, there’s usually a lot of ground to cover in a very short period of time–that’s because here in the northwest daylight hours are limited as we get closer to the Winter Solstice. So we started before dawn, which is OK for those who are counting but not so good for photography.

A belted kingfisher is seen on a snag near the Kitamaat Village dock in the pre-dawn light on Dec. 14, 2019. (Robin Rowland)

The highlight of my day came at what is known as the Maggie Point trail to a gazebo overlooking Kitmat harbour built by members of the Haisla Nation. The problem is as you get older, hiking a trail in icy weather can be quite dicey, especially for me who has had minor hip problems since I was a kid. So with ice on the trail, I decided to stay by the cars and wait while the rest of the gang went to see what they could see from the gazebo. Then a swift flying bird landed on the branch not far from the parking area. I wasn’t sure what it was, but I began shooting with my SonyRX10iii which is 24 to 600 mm 35mm equivalent.

I wasn’t sure what the bird was, but I guessed it was a raptor since it sat there for almost ten minutes, surveying the area. At one point a crow flew by and the raptor didn’t budge. Then it swooped down over my head and into the bush. It was only then I checked the display to see the yellow rimmed eyes. The birders debated whether the raptor was a merlin or a sharp-shinned hawk and then came to the conclusion looking at the eyes that it was a dark red-tailed hawk.

The red-tailed hawk perching on a branch, watching over the trail. (Robin Rowland)

The red-tailed hawk. (Robin Rowland)

The red-tailed hawk looking down at me and the trail. (Robin Rowland)

 

And here are some other views from the Christmas Bird Count 2019.

 

Two bald eagles fly low over Kitimat harbour. (Robin Rowland)

A bald eagle high over Kitimat harbour. (Robin Rowland)

A bald eagle takes a traditional perch on an old snag at MK Bay. (Robin Rowland)

Mallards fly by Kitamaat Village. (Robin Rowland)

Mallards fly “in formation” over Minette Bay. (Robin Rowland)

Mallards flying over the wetlands at Minette Bay. (Robin Rowland)

Canada geese and mallards in the wetlands of Minette Bay. (Robin Rowland)

All the images were taken in the morning up until about 11 a.m. I went home for lunch, ingested the morning images and then we went out again. But with heavy cloud cover, fading light and fewer birds, the afternoon session was a bust. No photos worth posting.

 

December 15, 2019 Robin Rowland
available light, BC, birds, Christmas, Douglas Channel, duck, eagle, hawk, Kitamaat Village, Kitimat, nature, Photography, raptor, seabird, seascape, winterbald eagle , Canada Goose , mallard , red-tailed hawk

Christmas bird count 2018 in a snow storm

Trumpeter swans, signets and canvasback ducks in the Kitimat River estuary, Dec.15, 2018. (Robin Rowland)

 

My portion of the Christmas Bird Count in the Kitimat River Estuary (courtesy Rio Tinto) was in an afternoon blizzard which cut visibility by up to about 80 per cent at times and was no help to the cameras, whether or on auto focus or manual.

A killdeer hunts for food on a patch of wetland grass as the tide rises (Robin Rowland)

 

A rare sighting of a Wilson’s snipe out in the open on the river estuary. (Robin Rowland)

 

A bald eagle overhead. (Robin Rowland)

 

Another shot of the killdeer. (Robin Rowland)

 

Another shot of the Wilson’s snipe. (Robin Rowland)

 

The Wilson’s snipe getting a last shot at a meal as the tide rises. (Robin Rowland)

 

The trumpeter swans, signets, canvasbacks and mallards. (Robin Rowland)

A great blue heron huddles against the snow storm. (Robin Rowland)

Another great blue heron. (Robin Rowland)

A loon in the choppy waves of Kitimat harbour. (Robin Rowland)

December 16, 2018 Robin Rowland
Alpha 77, birds, Christmas, Douglas Channel, duck, eagle, heron, Instagram, Kitimat, Minolta 500mm f/8 RF mirror lens, nature, Photography, seabird, snow, Sony RX10iiibald eagle , Bird , Bird photography , British Columbia , canvasback , Douglas Channel , great blue heron , killdeer , Kitimat , landscape , loon , mallard , ocean , snipe , trumpeter swan , Wilson's snipe

Kitimat River estuary Christmas bird count 2016

Canada Geese on a take off run in the Kitimat River estuary, Dec. 17. 2016. (Robin Rowland)

 

I made the annual trip with Walter Thorne into the Kitimat River estuary on Saturday,  Dec. 17 for that leg of the Kitimat Christmas Bird Count.

We didn’t see as much variety as in previous years because the region had been the grip of an icy -15 C at least cold snap for the previous ten days. That meant many of the creeks and wetlands that were open in previous years were totally or partially frozen over.

Parts of the estuary were completely or partially frozen in the cold snap (Robin Rowland)

So that meant we saw lots of Canada geese and ducks.

 

Canada Geese flying over the frozen wetland (Robin Rowland)

And up into the trees. (Robin Rowland)

 

A northern shoveller. (Robin Rowland)

An American coot with a bit of a plant in its beak. (Robin Rowland)

A bald eagle looking through the gloom. (Robin Rowland)

A gull at the end of a snowy log. (Robin Rowland)

A Christmasy scene, ducks and geese by two evergreen trees. (Robin Rowland)

 

December 19, 2016 Robin Rowland
Alpha 77, Alpha 7II, Bärbl, birds, Christmas, duck, eagle, gull, Kitimat, landscape, nature, Photography, winterbald eagle , Bird , Bird photography , birds , British Columbia , Canada Goose , coot , duck , Kitimat , landscape , northern shoveller , snow , Weather

Christmas Eve moonrise over Mt. Elizabeth

moonriseMtElizabeth_Dec24_1

A rare Christmas Eve waxing gibbous (almost full at 98.4 per cent) moonrise over Mt. Elizabeth in Kitimat. (Robin Rowland)
Sony Alpha 55 at 200mm.

moonriseMtElizabeth_Dec24_2

Instagram
The moon rise over Mt. Elizabeth, 500mm Minolta mirror lens with Sony Alpha 77. (Robin Rowland)

MtElizabeth_Dec24_dusk

About 20 minutes before moonrise. Mt. Elizabeth at dusk. (Robin Rowland)

The moonrise in November (about 20 minutes later so the sky was darker)

December 24, 2015 Robin Rowland
Alpha 77, Christmas, Kitimat, landscape, moon, mountains, PhotographyBritish Columbia , Christmas , Kitimat , landscape , Moon , Mt. Elizabeth , snow

Christmas bird count (and more) Kitimat 2015

JbaldeagleKitRiv_4

A juvenile bald eagle surveys the Kitimat River from a log on a sandbar. (Robin Rowland)

Once again this year I joined the Kitimat Christmas Bird Count, helping out the Kitimat Valley Naturalists. Here are some of the best shots from that day, Wednesday December 16. 2015.

Instagram
gullsMBay1K

Gulls huddle together on the shore of MK Bay at low tide. (Robin Rowland)

greatblueheron_dec16_1

A great blue heron watches from an old stump in the Kitimat River estuary. (Robin Rowland)

ducksMKBay1

A female mallard duck in flight over MK Bay at low tide. (Robin Rowland)

ringneckduck2

A scaup (duck) in intermediate plumage on a mound of reeds in the Kitimat River estuary. (Robin Rowland) (Corrected caption, duck was identified in the field as a ringed-neck but on further review of the photograph, the consensus of the naturalists was scaup)

 

Hawk_DSC1719

 

A red-tailed hawk surveys Haisla Boulevard at the LNG Canada turnoff just as the light fades in the late afternoon. (Robin Rowland)


The next day, on my morning walk, the neighborhood’s resident ravens followed me through the bush. Ravens are intelligent and I almost think they are posing for the camera, for this is the third time that they’ve gone to the same trees, in the same sequence, when I was there with my camera.

raven4_dec18

One of the ravens directly overhead. (Robin Rowland)

raven2_dec18

And flying from branch to branch of bare alders. (Robin Rowland)

raven3_dec18

And perched on a conifer (Robin Rowland)

December 20, 2015 Robin Rowland
Alpha 77, birds, Christmas, Douglas Channel, duck, eagle, forest, gull, heron, Kitimat, nature, Photoblog, Photography, raven, seascape, wetlandbald eagle , Bird , Bird photography , birds , British Columbia , clouds , Douglas Channel , great blue heron , Kitimat , landscape , ocean , raven , ring-necked duck , scaup , seascape , snow

Christmas bird count in the Kitimat estuary

Christmas bird count in the Kitimat estuary

xbc2014_gbheron1bw

A great blue heron sits on some debris in Kitimat harbour, during my annual visit to the estuary for the Christmas bird count, Dec. 14, 2014. (Robin Rowland).

There was more late afternoon light than last year .  On the other hand, while my birdwatching colleagues did list lots of species around the area, the photographic opportunities this year were mostly  limited to  great blue herons and Canada geese.

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Trumpeter swans in the Kitimat Rver

Trumpeter swans in the oxbow of the Kitimat River. (Robin Rowland)

Mt. Elizabeth and a lagoon in the estuary

Kitimat’s iconic Mt. Elizabeth seen from a lagoon in the Kitimat River estuary. (Robin Rowland)

 

Canada geese

A Canada goose in a lagoon in the Kitimat River estuary. (Robin Rowland)

Duck in the estuary

A duck in the estuary. (Robin Rowland)

Ducks in the reedsDucks sheltering the reeds of the Kitimat estuary. (Robin Rowland)

 

xbc2014_gbheronlands3bw

A great blue heron comes in for a landing in the Kitimat River estuary, with some Canada geese watching. (Robin Rowland)

Great blue heron in the Kitimat estuary

A great blue heron contemplates the Kitimat River estuary. (Robin Rowland)

Canada geese grazing

Canada geese grazing in the Kitimat River estuary. (Robin Rowland)

Lagoon in the Kitimat estuary

Another view of the lagoon in the Kitimat River estuary. (Robin Rowland)

 

Birds at Christmas time in Kitimat 2012
Christmas bird count, Kitimat river, estuary and harbour Dec. 17, 2011

December 17, 2014 Robin Rowland
birds, black and white, Christmas, heron, Kitimat, landscape, nature, Photoblog, Photography, wetlandBird , Bird photography , birds , Black-and-white , British Columbia , Canada Goose , Christmas Bird Count , duck , great blue heron , Kitimat , Mt. Elizabeth , photoblog , river

Foggy night in December

Foggy night in December
Shell station in the fog

The Shell station in Kitimat, seen on a foggy, foggy night, Dec. 11, 2014 (Robin Rowland)

Go for a walk on a foggy night and the Christmas lights look oh so different.

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Foggy Christmas

A big display of Christmas lights on Lahakas Boulevard, Kitimat, seen through the fog (Robin Rowland)

Rowland_lotsoflights

And here’s what the lights look close up. (Robin Rowland)

Robin's Christmas lights

My own rather modest display of Christmas lights.

All images taken with my new Sony Alpha6000 mirrorless Emount camera.

December 12, 2014 Robin Rowland
Alpha6000, BC, Christmas, Kitimat, night, Photoblog, Photography, street photographyBritish Columbia , Christmas , Christmas lights , fog , Kitimat , night
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