Archive For The “Kitamaat Village” Category
While out birding on January 27, 2024, I also took images of the surrounding landscape during the atmospheric river storm. Given the “atmosphere” I converted all to black and white.
A telephoto shot from MK Bay Marina showing old pilings and the Kitamaat Village gazebo. (Robin Rowland)
A wide shot of MK Bay looking toward Kitimat harbour. (Robin Rowland)
The Kitimat waterfront, during the atmospheric river, January 27, 2024. Ice from creeks and the river float on Douglas Channel. (Robin Rowland)
A boat heads out in a foggy and choppy Douglas Channel. (Robin Rowland)
MK Bay Marina. (Robin Rowland)
The forest near MK Bay Marina. (Robin Rowland)
Back home, the view from my front window showed almost zero visibility in the fog. Samsung Galaxy S23 image. (Robin Rowland)
Android, black and white, camera phone, climate, Douglas Channel, fog, forest, Galaxy S23, Kitamaat Village, Kitimat, landscape, mountains, nature, ocean, Photoblog, Photography, rain forest, Samsung Galaxy phone pix, sky, Sony RX10iii, storm, winteratmospheric river , Black-and-white , British Columbia , clouds , Douglas Channel , fog , forest , gazebo , Kitamaat Village , Kitimat , Kitimat harbour , landscape , MK Bay , ocean , rain , Weather
Early summer is often a great time to photograph birds in the Kitimat Valley.
An immature (about two and half years old) bald eagle near Kitamaat Village. (Robin Rowland)
An immature (about two and half years old) bald eagle near Kitamaat Village. (Robin Rowland)
A soggy crow near Kitamaat Village. (Robin Rowland)
Fledgling starlings in flight in the wetland waterfront of Kitamaat Village (Robin Rowland)
A pair of bald eagles at MK Bay. (Robin Rowland)
A western tanager in a tree near MK Bay. (Robin Rowland)
A western tanager in a tree near MK Bay. (Robin Rowland)
birds, crow, eagle, Kitamaat Village, Kitimat, Photography, Sony RX10iii, wetlandbald eagle , Bird , Bird photography , birds , crow , Douglas Channel , Kitamaat Village , Kitimat , MK Bay , starling , western tanager
A mink (neogale vison) on a driftwood log at the Kitamaat Village beach, February 12, 2022 (Robin Rowland)
It was a cool, over cast Saturday afternoon when I accompanied birders from the Kitimat Valley Naturalists on the monthly shorebird count.
Just after we arrived at our first stop, the Kitamaat Village seawall and beach in Haisla traditional territory, I (and the others) saw something out of the corner of my eye, a flash of black with a tail scampering along a driftwood log on the beach. A few minutes later the animal appeared again, coming up from another log. So while the birders put up their scopes and scanned the shoreline, I walked up on a pile of dirt and kept watch for the mammal.
I kept watch. It was dashing along the logs and under others. Had the camera on high speed burst mode and missed it about twenty or so times.
Then the mink decided to pause (or to do me a favour) and stopped on one log, looked up and I captured this portrait. It looked around and then dashed into a hollow log and disappeared.
A mink (neogale vison) on a driftwood log at the Kitamaat Village beach, February 12, 2022 (Robin Rowland)
Cloudy day. Sony RX10M3, Iso Auto shooting at 2000 ASA. 1/1000 at F4.
A lot of other usual shots, even at low tide the beach is far off so it’s often hard to get good shots.
Then I spotted a bald eagle high over Douglas Channel.
A bald eagle flies over Douglas Channel. (Robin Rowland)
Then I got lucky again, the eagle flew right toward the beach, coming in for a landing.
Bald eagle coming in for a landing at Kitamaat Village beach. (Robin Rowland)
And then perched on a driftwood stump.
A bald eagle perches on a driftwood stump in late February afternoon sun at Kitamaat Village, Feb. 12, 2022. (Robin Rowland)
A bald eagle perches on a stump in Kitamaat Village, (Robin Rowland
birds, Douglas Channel, Kitamaat Village, Kitimat, landscape, mink, Photography, seascape, Sony RX10iii, winterbald eagle , Bird , Bird photography , birds , British Columbia , Douglas Channel , Kitamaat Village , Kitimat , mink , ocean
On Monday, Nov. 1, 2021, a student at Kitimat’s Mount Elizabeth Middle Secondary School wore traditional regalia for picture day. At that time a teacher allegedly asked the student “What’s the costume.” This led to a protest against racism the following day by indigenous and non-indigenous students supported by members of the Haisla Nation and Kitimat residents on Nov. 2.
Members of the Haisla Nation and supporters from Kitimat gathered at Mount Elizabeth Middle Secondary School on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021 (Robin Rowland)
Greg Smith and his grandson Greg Bolton at the protest. (Robin Rowland)
Students, many in regalia, supported the protest. (Robin Rowland)
Students supported the protest. (Robin Rowland)
Shelley Bolton of the Haisla Braid Singers led the group in protest songs. (Robin Rowland)
Elders and residential school survivors joined the protest despite the poor weather. (Robin Rowland)
Video: Story I shot for Global News.‘It’s not a costume’: B.C. teacher’s alleged mocking of student’s Indigenous regalia sparks protest
Statement from the Haisla Nation (on the school board site)
Statement from Coast Mountain School District 82
demonstration, Haisla Nation, Kitamaat Village, Kitimat, news photo, Photoblog, Photography, protest, Reconciliation, Sony RX10iii, video, Visual journalismFirst Nations , Haisla Braid Singers , Kitamaat Village , Kitimat , Mount Elizabeth Middle Secondary School , protest , regalia
A great blue heron stalks the Kitimat waterfront at MK Bay in a stormy fall rain squall.
autumn, BC, birds, black and white, Douglas Channel, heron, Kitamaat Village, Kitimat, nature, rain, seabird, seascape, stormBird , Bird photography , birds , Black-and-white , Douglas Channel , great blue heron , Kitamaat Village , Kitimat
The weather in Kitimat has been awful during most of the fall, cold, windy, rainy, foggy and generally miserable. Not unexpected in a La Nina year.
I went down to Kitamaat Village for the monthly bird count in a rain squall. So the visibility was pretty bad. As I was about to leave, a half dozen northwestern crows landed right beside me, in the pouring rain and stayed long enough for me to shoot their portraits.
BC, birds, crow, Douglas Channel, Kitamaat Village, Kitimat, nature, Photoblog, Sony RX10iiiBird , Bird photography , birds , British Columbia , crow , Douglas Channel , Kitamaat Village , Kitimat , rain , storm , Weather
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.
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