    Hummingbird??? What Hummingbird?  The Ospreys have returned and waste no time establishing nests and territories that they will defend from all adversity.  Spring migration brought us some beautiful White Fronted Geese to the Peninsula. They were enjoying a rest and stretching wings alongside the Canada Geese by the pond.
 The always amazing Wood Duck (female) elegant subtle splendour! Pretty tough for the average Duck to compete with these regal creatures! Amazingly coloured and surprisingly common ducks all across Canada.  Hate to be the bearer of bad news but Holly's remaining egg and nest was taken out by wind and hail over the past weekend :((( She will without doubt rebuild but where will likely be a mystery. The other 2 nests are surviving and thriving so without further adieu, here are the latest shots!   
Thank good ness for tiny miracles ... Todays slides are of a dear friend whom I met in 2020 ... Mizz Holly successfully raised 2 delightful kids in April/May of that year .. If you wish just click on the corresponding month and year on the right side here and scroll down >>>>>
and you will find a number of blog posts of this event. This season another dear friend Gail alerted me that yes, Holly was back and had constructed another Holly tree nest , this one just a few feet over from the last one. When I arrived there today, Holly seemed to recognize me and my clicking camera and was not in the least bit nervous. Hummingbirds are very intelligent and do recognize faces. I will try and make weekly visits and keep you updated on this 1 potential nestling. *** (There were 2 eggs laid over the weekend, but a huge windstorm battered the branch,,, so only 1 remains) Thanks for looking and God Bless all creatures great and small! 
Greetings!
I have had an issue locating my videos posted here (I changed some site settings and oops?) ... The one below is from April 26 2020 ... This is Holly and her 1st observed nest ... More to come soon.. Stay tuned if u love Hummingbirds.  Hummingbirds are masters of disguise in nest building .... The female does all the building & weaves the most intricate beautiful tiny bubble that is about the size of 1/2 a golf ball. Inside is lined with the softest fur or plant fuzz she can find and threads of spider webs throughout give elasticity to the entire form (comes in handy when growing baby birds are expanding inside) The outside is decorated in local materials like mosses, lichen and plants that are seen growing in the tree she builds making it a perfectly camouflaged work of functional art!
 Chilli peppers and spice could describe this gorgeous tiny male Rufous ... These miniature marvels have a spark inside them like nothing else I have ever encountered! Yes indeed these birds are small but they are mighty! At just over 3 inches in length and weighing less than 5 grams ... these tiny titans make the most incredible migration journey. Nesting from a few locations in N California & here in the Pacific NW , throughout the Western parts of BC into the and as far north as any hummingbird .... into Alaska , they make their way Northward every spring from wintering areas in Southern Mexico and Central America. (they can log 2000 to 3900 miles one way) After nesting season the brilliantly feathered males begin the trip South as early as mid June, followed by the females and young of the year in early July and through the Summer. The past 2 or three years I have had a few juvenile male Rufous stay at my Hummingbird Haven as late as mid September, but most are gone before July comes to an end. As you may well imagine, I absolutely adore these birds and joyfully celebrate their return each March. Their status is diminishing species, sadly as habitat destruction and likely pesticides erode their tiny insect food sources ... I have read they are disappearing by 2% / year. Did you know there are over 300 distinct species of Hummingbirds of which 3 are found seasonally here in British Columbia. They are only found between Alaska and South America (including the Carribean ) No other places on earth.       Above slides .. A male Rufous Hummingbird in the Plum tree ... My 1st sighting for 2022!  Female Anna's Hummingbird takes a rest inbetween nesting duties ... These little wonders can often have 2 nests per year and I have seen documents saying one female had 6 broods (almost always 2 eggs and 2 young to tend) The Anna's began diligently gathering nesting materials around the end of January and that activity was heightened throughout February. Some will be now feeding youngsters and others will still be hatching eggs.  This handsome dude was observed sampling Plum blossoms today (Male House Finch)
 On Vancouver Island we enjoy a relatively mild year round climate and winteter temperatures are mostly above zero, occasionally falling to -7C during cold snaps, but in general mild, so the Island and lower West Coast mainland attract a variety of migrating birds including these magnificent, large Swans. This group of Trumpeter's has been observed feeding daily on the Peninsual, just North of Victoria for several weeks. The trumpeter swan is the largest extant species of waterfowl, and both the heaviest and longest native bird of North America. Adults usually measure 138–165 cm (4 ft 6 in – 5 ft 5 in) long, though large males can exceed 180 cm (5 ft 11 in) in total length.[2][7][8][9] The weight of adult birds is typically 7–13.6 kg (15–30 lb). Possibly due to seasonal variation based on food access and variability due to age, average weights in males have been reported to range from 10.9 to 12.7 kg (24 to 28 lb) and from 9.4 to 10.3 kg (21 to 23 lb) in females.[2][10][11][12] It is one of the heaviest living birds or animals capable of flight, and, in terms of average mass, the heaviest flying bird in the world. (txt above from wiki) The adult birds are fairly large and white compared to the juveniles which are greyish in colouration. The birds stick together in family units when feeding on grasses as in these photos and also in flight. They find large open water ponds for overnite and also at times will find a sheltered ocean bay. Over the next month or so many Trumpeter Swans will fly nothward to the Arctic as the temperatures improve and find their traditional breeding/ nesting sites where they will produce next batch of offspring. Each nesting female can lay 3 - 12 eggs and on average 4-6 ... My observations show adult pairs flying with 1 to 3 youngsters.       Just by chance this nest of 2 precious baby Anna's Hummingbirds was the 2nd Annas nest ever found and followed (May 2020 if you want to go back and see the sequence on this blog)  Pair of fresh from the nest Great Horned Owls ... again May 2020 ... Such a treat to have observed and photographed these 2. Thank you JOAN!!!!  Two baby Rufous Hummingbirds, again made possible because of Joan (You know who you are) This was the 1st and only time I have observed and photographed a Rufous nest. Purely magic!
 Native Red Squirrel (sadly not common here any more) poses for me while waiting not so patiently for her chance at the peanut feeder.  A male Varied thrush this morning also lining up for some tasty peanut snacks  |
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May 2022
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March 2018 .. I just received notice that my blog has been awarded a distinction of being one of the top 100 photography blogs in Canada.
* All images and content copyright Terry Venables and NaturalImagesCanada *
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