Posts Tagged “birds”
An American robin reaches for berries on a tree in Kitimat, BC, March 23, 2019. (Robin Rowland)
Today is the first day the snow has melted enough that I could go for a walk in the play bush near my home. An American robin was on a tree branch and kept stretching its neck to try to get berries that were just beyond reach. After numerous tries, it finally realized it was a futile effort and flew off another branch where the picking was easier.
A juvenile bald eagle prepares for take off at the Kitamaat Village waterfront. (Robin Rowland)
Portrait of a juvenile bald eagle at Kitamaat Village, March 10, 2019. (Robin Rowland)
The juvenile bald eagle just after take off, March 10, 2019. (Robin Rowland)
A flock of Barrow’s golden eyes hug the shore off Kitamaat Village. (Robin Rowland)
A crow caws on a snag at low tide at Kitamaat Village, March 10, 2019. (Robin Rowland)
A song sparrow on stump on the Kitamaat Village waterfront. (Robin Rowland)
Storm clouds over Douglas Channel, March 10, 2019. (Robin Rowland)
A crescent moon sets over the mountains of Kitimat, with “earthlight” from our home planet illuminating the sphere, March 8,2019. (Robin Rowland)
A seagull hunts for oolicahn on the Skeena River, March 6, 2019. (Robin Rowland)
Shots from the November shore bird survey.
A Western grebe off the Maggie Point gazebo. (Robin Rowland)
Common mergansers off Maggie Point. (Robin Rowland)
We spotted gulls in a feeding frenzy off the Kitamaat Village soccer field. (Robin Rowland)
Another shot of the feeding frenzy. (Robin Rowland)
Detail of the feeding frenzy in the above shot. (Robin Rowland)
Common loons off Kitamaat Village (Robin Rowland)
A flock of starlings off Kitamaat Village. (Robin Rowland)
A song sparrow off at Kitamaat Village. (Robin Rowland)
A red neck grebe off Maggie Point (Robin Rowland)
The weather here in Kitimat on Saturday, November 3, 2018, was miserable, with heavy rain. I don’t often get ravens in my backyard but on Saturday morning, one landed in the mountain ash tree in my backyard to sample the berries. You can tell just how wet it was from the drips on the berries.
The raven gulps down two mountain ash berries.
Sony Alpha 55 (the camera I always keep by my backdeck) with a Tamron 70- 300.
Shortly after I shot the crows chasing the juvenile bald eagle, on the drive home, I stopped at an old dock. I clearly could hear a bird, probably a sparrow, but wasn’t sure where it was. It was low tide and then I spotted the bird in a small “cave” created in the sea grass when the tide went out.
It’s a large song sparrow. The blue/grey tones are what I was with my eyes and the images are correctly white balanced. It may be the large, grey Alaska variant of the song sparrow which are more common farther north than the north coast of British Columbia, but the expert opinion I consulted was divided, with some saying it was the “merilli/montana” subspecies that is also found in the BC and US interior. Problem is that in most, there is a lot more brown than grey.
Summer photography in Kitimat and down Douglas Channel.
Images from walking around Kitimat, hikes, and from North West Photo Fest at Minette Bay Lodge and down Douglas Channel.
The most amazing event was when we were off Coste Rocks and witnessed three humpbacks up Amos Channel. One did not dive, but floated on the ocean, asleep. The currents slowly sent the whale toward us while the winds pushed the boat toward the whale.
A sleeping humpback floats in Douglas Channel near Coste Rocks Provincial Park on August 13, 2018. (Robin Rowland)
Watch the encounter on Youtube.
A newly fledged American robin hides in the undergrowth in Kitimat, August 4, 2018. It was just beside the sidewalk as I walked by. About 10 minutes later as I walked back to the location it finally flew away. (Robin Rowland)
Another fledgling American robin munches on #berries in the undergrowth of Kitimat, August 4m 2018. (Robin Rowland)
A female surf scoter at Pine Lake, near Terrace, BC, August 6, 2018. (Robin Rowland)
A lesser yellow leg flies over seagrass at Minette Bay Kitimat BC during a North West Photo Fest photowalk, August 10, 2018. (Robin Rowland)
Two lesser yellow legs perch in the tidal streams of Minette Bay, August 10, 2018. (Robin Rowland)
A light in the forest. Light on a tree during a photo walk at Minette Bay Lodge, August 11, 2018. (Robin Rowland)
The largest Coste Rock on August 13, 2018. (Robin Rowland)
A flock of juvenile surf scoters fly over Douglas Channel south of Kitimat. (Robin Rowland)
Harbour seals look out from Coste Rocks, August 13, 2018. (Robin Rowland)
Two marbled murrelets take off near Coste Rocks in Douglas Channel south of Kitimat, August 13. (Robin Rowland)
A marbled murrelet swims in Douglas Channel south of Kitimat, August 13. (Robin Rowland)
A barn swallow feeds its young under the rafters of the Tookus Inn floating lodge anchored in Clio Bay, south of Kitimat. (Robin Rowland)
A rufous humming bird coming in to flowers at Minette Bay Lodge Kitimat, BC, August 13, 2018. (Robin Rowland)
A rufous humming bird coming in to flowers at Minette Bay Lodge Kitimat, BC, August 13, 2018. (Robin Rowland)
A family of ravens lives in a tree down the street from me. I have often seen what I believe to be the same pair overhead for the past several years, often just enjoying flying around. There are other ravens around, of course, and I often see them overhead or in the trees in the bush park near my house.
On July 11, while on a walk in the bush park with my camera, three ravens flew overhead. Then this young raven, flew down to a branch near me, frequently calling for its parents while they remained high above in the tree tops.
The young raven samples some witch’s hair.
