Category: nature

Shooting the October Hunter’s Moon and Jupiter

The weather was cold and clear in Kitimat at the end of October, which give me three days of opportunity to photograph the full Hunter’s Moon that was also close to the planet Jupiter. The close shots of the Moon and Jupiter were shot with my Sony Alpha 7II  and a Sigma 100-499mm lens (not […]

From my archives: Birds in Montserrat

    I’m starting to go through my archives looking for bird photographs that I took casually before I became a more enthusiastic bird photographer. These are from my visit to the Caribbean island of Montserrat where I went in March 2007 to shoot the volcano.

Summer birding photos in Kitimat

A selection of some of my bird photographs so far for the summer of 2023 On August 24, there was a three hour power failure in Kitimat. With not much else to do and because it was a sunny and warm afternoon I sat out on my back deck. One of the steller’s jays that […]

A rare winter bird in Kitimat, Townsend’s solitaire (plus a couple of eagles)

A visitor to my backyard mountain ash tree the past couple of days (February 9 and 10, 2023) a Townsend’s Solitaire (myadestes townsendi).  It is a thrush, usually found further inland along the Pacific Northwest but rare on the coast, especially in winter. a UPDATE:  February 13, 2023.  The Townsend’s solitaire back on Monday afternoon. […]

The Bowling Green Nature Reserve, Topsham

During my trip to Topsham, Devon, I visited  the Bowling Green Marsh Nature Reserve. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds Bowling Green Nature Reserve is on the junction of the River Exe and the River Clyst, close Topsham. The Lookout Hide viewing platform is described as “an ideal spot to watch birds up […]

Finding my roots in Topsham, Devon

In August 2022, I finally (after Covid travel delays) was able to explore my ancestral home of Topsham, in Devon. (These images were taken over several days,  back posted to August 30, 2022 to keep the blog in chronological order), For two centuries, sailors from the Pennell family on my father’s side lived, worked and […]