logo

Menu

  • Photography Blog
  • Photo books
  • News and weather
    • Enbridge Northern Gateway
  • People in the news
  • Northwest BC Industries
  • Natural world
    • Wildlife
  • Sea
  • Lakes, rivers and wetlands
  • Land
  • Photo Services
    • Portrait photojournalism
    • Commercial photography
    • Guides and outfitters
    • Photo printing
    • Photo books
  • Bio
  • Contact

Recent Posts

  • June birding: An immature bald eagle, western tanager and more
  • Haisla Bridge Replacement Project Girder Launching Ceremony
  • A mink on a log. How I got the shot (plus some bald eagles)
  • Canada Geese overhead
  • “It’s not a costume” Racism protest in Kitimat

RSS Model making and diorama photography

  • A cold, wet winter on Arch-to
  • Dollar Store Dinosaurs
  • Star Wars #ourgreatindoors
  • The Rusty Romulan
  • Hot chicken Jedha

Posts Tagged “Canada Goose”

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

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 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.

Instagram

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

The Duck Pond birding site at the other Houston, Houston, BC

364-goldeneye3_1.jpg

A Barrow’s Goldeneye duck swims in the Houston, BC, Duck Pond, May 7, 2011. (Robin Rowland)

One of the reasons I decided to return to northwestern British Columbia is that this area is an untapped photographic paradise.

It’s not just the mountains, the forests and the seas, the variety of birds should be a draw for not just birders and photographers but all tourists. 

This week I came across a small wetlands bird refuge, that as far as I can find out, is not listed on any birding guide to the province of British Columbia.  Of course, the big, brash Houston down in Texas may unknowingly be responsible, overshadowing the small town of the same name along the Yellowhead Highway in northwest British Columbia.

This week I drove from my base in Kitimat to Prince George, to see the premiere of the stage adaptation of Robert Sawyer’s novel, Rollback.  I also arranged some business meetings in Prince George and planned to do some location scouting for my planned photographic workshops on the way back.

365-houstonnamed_1.jpg

Houston was not on my location list.

As a little kid, when my parents drove south to the Lower Mainlaind for vacation, it was a town we just drove through, between Smithers and Burns Lake.  My plans called for me to do the location scouting on the second day of my drive and since I wanted to take it fairly easy and stop in the afternoon of the first day, Houston was a convenient location. So I booked into a bed and breakfast called the Bear’s Claw Inn.  A  small guide to Houston I picked up earlier mentioned the local Duck Pond walking trail as a place to see birds right in the heart of town,

I settled into the B&B and my ears soon told me Houston is a place for birds, you could here the birds songs from the nearby Duck Pond.

366-houstonnamenotrackclose_1.jpgThe Duck Pond is the grey brown circle in the green in the middle of town, just northeast of the high school running track.   As the sun set, Canada geese landed in the fields by my B&B (just to the west of the track).

The early morning was cloudy with drizzle. Got up anyway and by the time I had finished breakfast, the sun had broken through.   Took a side trail through the woods to the pond and was immediately rewarded when I came across some mule deer looking for food.  Spring always comes late in the high country of the BC interior and so food is scarce, the first green shoots are just starting.

I found the Duck Pond. The viewing platform is on the west side of the pond, so not the best location for morning shooting, but I was late enough, it was getting on for nine when I arrived, that the sun was shining, sidelighting, not back lighting, the northwest corner of the pond.  There are benches on the east side and at some clear spots, so there are number of shooting locations.

For this shoot, I didn’t have much time, just 90 minutes, before I had to get back on the road. It was a very rewarding 90 minutes, where I photographed Canada Geese, mallards, Barrow’s Goldeneye, Lincoln’s Sparrow, ravens, crows, my namesake bird, the robin and just as I was about to leave, this  Common Yellowthroat popped up among the reeds and marsh grass in the northwest corner of the pond, nicely let by that mid-morning sun.

367-yellowthroatww.jpgView the complete slideshow Birds of the Houston Duck Pond.

The guide promised, and this time I didn’t get, Common Goldeneye, Pintail and Blue-winged Teals, not to mention reptiles and amphibians (probably a little early for the latter)

So that just means, to quote an old phrase, “I’ll be back.”

I checked my BC birding books when I got home and found none of them mention Houston (and all are generally weak on the northwest in any case),  Future customers can be assured, the Houston Duck Pond will be one of the stops when I get my workshops up and running,

Enhanced by Zemanta
May 8, 2011 Robin Rowland
wetlandBarrow's Goldeneye , Bird , Bird photography , Canada Goose , Common Golden Eye , Common Yellowthroat , crow , duck pond swamp , Houston , Lincoln's Sparrow , raven , Robin , wetland

Archives

Archives

Search

All images Copyright © 2022 By Robin Rowland. All Rights Reserved.
WordPress Themes Copyright © 2017. by Web-Dorado