Tag Archives: photoblog

A soggy day in Kitimat harbour as the spring migration comes north

On Thursday, April 19, was a soggy, to say the least, with wind-driven, cold, pouring rain when I went down to Kitamaat Village and Kitimat harbour to photograph the spring bird migration.  The highlight were the snow geese I saw both at MK Bay  (above) and at the Kitamaat Village soccer field. (Robin Rowland)

A bald eagle, drenched in the pouring rain, at the mouth of Whatl Creek near MK Bay Marina. (Robin Rowland)

A crow takes off from the sea grass in pouring rain near Kitamaat Village. (Robin Rowland)

Snow geese feed at the Kitamaat Village soccer field (Robin Rowland)

A snow goose at the Kitamaat Village soccer field. (Robin Rowland)

Snow geese fly past MK Bay. (Robin Rowland)

An Oregon junco on the waterfront. (Robin Rowland)

Mallards take to the wing as a bald eagle passes overhead (Robin Rowland)

 

A gull passes two bald eagles in the low tide puddles of Whatl Creek near Kitimat Harbour (Robin Rowland)

Two bald eagles in the low tide puddles of Whatl Creek near Kitimat Harbour (Robin Rowland)


Raindrops fall on the head of an American robin who posed on a log beside my car just as I was getting ready to leave. (Robin Rowland)

 

A rainy night in Vancouver

The rainbow crosswalks on Davie St. in Vancouver’s westend gay village on a night of heavy April rain. (Robin Rowland)

 

A freighter anchored in Vancouver’s English Bay is seen through fog and heavy rain. (Robin Rowland)

Bald eagles battle over a duck

Two bald eagles battle over a duck at Kitimat harbour. Images taken off the shoreline of Kitamaat Village.

A bald eagle flies over Kitimat harbour (Robin Rowland)

(Robin Rowland)

Another bald eagle watching from above. (Robin Rowland)

Splash!  The first eagle swoops down and grabs a duck (hard to see in this image) (Robin Rowland)

The second eagle heads skyward with its eye on the first (Robin Rowland)

The first eagle is heading away with his catch (Robin Rowland)

 

The second eagle swoops down to attack.  (Robin Rowland)

 

But the attack is unsuccessful and the first eagle escapes with its meal still in its talons. (Robin Rowland)

The calm after the storm: Kitimat River in flood

Tuesday, October 25, 2017 was a beautiful sunny afternoon after four days of storms, snow on Saturday and three days of heavy rain which reached more than 200 millimetres (about eight inches).  The late fall sun was out but the Kitimat River was higher than usual. (Robin Rowland)

A murder of crows along the Kitamaat Village waterfront

A murder of crows flies along the Kitamaat Village waterfront, Sunday, August 13, 2017, during the North West Photo Fest photo walk on the village seawall. Sony A77 with Minolta 500mm f/8 RF mirror lens(Robin Rowland)

Moonrise over Mt. Elizabeth

A waxing gibbous moon (91 per cent) rises over Kitimat’s iconic Mt. Elizabeth on a frigid afternoon, Febuary 8, 2017.

The nearly full moon peaks above Mt. Elizabeth , Feb 8. 2017 (Robin Rowland)

 

The moon begins its climb into the sky near the peak of Mt. Elizabeth. (RobinRowland)

 

And reaches above the twin peaks. (Robin Rowland)

A wider view of the moon over the twin peaks of Mt. Elizabeth (Robin Rowland)

 

The moon at 83.4 per cent gibbous on February 7. 2017  (Robin Rowland)

On both days, the moon was rising as the sun was setting over the mountains to the southwest.

 

Icy nights, Venus, Mars and the moon

Mars (top center) and Venus set over the mountains of Kitimat #BC with the snow illuminated by the light of 93 per cent gibbous moon. Taken on a cold clear -23C windchill night ISO 8000 1/60 f4.5, January 11, 2017 (Robin Rowland)

The first two weeks of January in Kitimat were cold and clear as an arctic outflow stalled over the Pacific Coast.  A friend back east posted a shot of Venus, and I looked out the window and there the planet was clear in the night sky.

For the next few days (except a couple of times it was too cloudy) I got out in the frigid night air


Venus and the waxing crescent moon (9.1 per cent) over Kitimat on New Year’s Day, January 1, 2017. (Robin Rowland)

Venus and the waxing moon over the light of Kitimat, January 1. 2017.

Venus and the waxing moon now at 15.9 per cent over Douglas Channel, January 2, 2017 (Robin Rowland)’

The view a few minutes later as the sky darkened. (Robin Rowland)

 

The waxing moon and Venus over Kitimat, January 3, 2017  (Robin Rowland)

 

Venus by herself sometime later. (Robin Rowland)

The waxing crescent at 31 per cent on January 4, 2017.  (Robin Rowland)

 


The first quarter waxing moon on January 8. Taken through my bedroom window as the skies cleared with an old Lumix FZ50 standby camera I keep there. Shot at IS0 800 and is a bit noisy (camera vintage is 2005) so converted the image to black and white. (Robin Rowland)

The 93 per cent gibbous moon that illuminated the mountains to the west on January 11, 2017. (Robin Rowland)