 Shoveler Ducks (young birds) If you look closely I believe this pair of sibling Shovelers are brother and sister. The males develop an amazing colouration which includes a green head similar to a Mallard Drake. Thank you for looking... TerryV   I have been experiencing some eye problems as of late and this is making photography and literally everything I do a bit difficult, but this beautiful Hummingbird has a bigger problem. This is his good eye... You'll see the other in the slide show below. (BTW, this little fellow is incredibly aggressive and chases everyone off the feeders) Young Male Annas Hummingbird with his adult feathers filling in  A gorgeous female Annas Hummingbird above and below!   A very young Annas Hummingbird ... This bird and its sibling that I saw today have not been too long out of the nest!
This series of 5 slides shows my observations from quite a great distance .. An American Kestrel as seen in the fist frames on the left along with a group of Starlings, a Robin and joined by a Flicker .. Then suddenly the entire bunch flew off and a few seconds later the Kestrel returned to sit where the Flicker was. Some people refer to this beautifully coloured raptor as a Sparrow Hawk ... Have a great week... TerryV
Northern Shoveler hen  American Kestrel returns A good friend and fellow bird enthusiast pointed out & ID'd a small group of these Mergansers to me last August. There were 8 of them at that time and today I still see 7 so these young of the year "Hooded Mergansers" are doing well in a local fresh water pond. Beautiful small ducks .. Much smaller than the common Mergansers.
   These Canada Geese came in for a snack well after sunset  In the photo above you will see a Red Squirrel watching a Douglas Fir pinecone falling. This little furry character is in the process of dropping the cones then gathering them up into various middens where they will ripen and become the winter and spring food supply. This is the first time I have photographed the event, but I have for years watched the squirrels doing this work. In the slide show below there are many images all shot September 24th in my yard in North Saanich. These little native Red Squirrels have been nearly wiped out save for a few pockets around S Vancouver Island. The invasive Eastern Grey Squirrels have taken their toll as has forest destruction locally. Thanks for looking and taking the time to appreciate nature ... TerryV  Red Breasted Sapsucker out back .. rare sighting in my yard!
Its always a treat to hear from folks who enjoy the images I post, but a rare occurrence, so today I want to say thank you to the person who did just that today! According to the stats I see on my web account, there are only 5 or 6 people checking the blog so at times I wonder if its worthwhile..... But your lovely note today from the Chicago area made my day! Thanks so much! Hope you have a sweet week ahead... TerryV   The 2 photos above of a Kingfisher ... Love these chattery fishing catchers, but they are generally very shy of my camera and refuse to allow me a close up.. Both these photos are heavily cropped and taken from a distance using 600mm setup.  This beautiful Marsh Hawk (actually Northern Harrier) flew right over my head as I was watching the other direction towards the Kingfisher :))) so I completely missed the close flying shots and the bird was a good distance away before I managed to get this one.
A short hike last evening just before sunset netted this find .. A gorgeous SharpShinned Hawk perched and watching for dinner ... Was a treat to see and photograph! (North Saanich BC)
 Momma Osprey looked a bit nervous last evening ... Any moment now she will begin her migration South to an unknown destination (to me) in South America!  Baby or should I say juvenile songbirds and ducks were abundant, like these young Cedar Waxwings and Goldfinches above. (Hooded Mergansers below)   A young GreenWing Teal plots a course across the pond  Above and below ... A young male Rufous enjoys the nectar  Why hover when u can sit and sip at the nectar bar! (young Annas male)  I'm still observing the occasional Rufous (Aug 22 2020) like this young female I would like to thank Tara @ Michell Valley Plants for suggesting and supplying the flowers you see in the above images! A wonderful place to buy everything you need for your garden!
 I still see the occasional young Rufous (In 2019 my last sighting was September 10 ) Though most of the local Hummingbirds are looking rather stressed and moulting plumage, the young of this year are coming into their own and strutting their stuff!
This young Anna's male is getting his adult feathers and I think he's discovered his MOJO! Happy Wednesday from Hummingbird Haven N Saanich! ... cheers TerryV    Looking up at the night sky ... A portion of the vast Milky Way Its been an amazing week observing Neowise and I feel somewhat starstruck. What a vast solar system we live in and all the stars and planets beyond are simply amazing! Thank you for looking, liking and thinking about where we live...So far this is the only planet we have.
Lets keep it ! ISS (International Space Station orbits across the 5 images above , passing behind the comet's tail!  A lot of folks have asked me how to see the comet .. It has faded a bit in the past several days. Darker sky is better, 11PM is ok, but midnite is better. Also a dark place away from lights of your house or town. Look into the NW sky and find the Big Dipper.. With some optics (even small binoculars) cast your gaze just below the Big Dipper's base ... voilla "Neowise"   cropped image @ 300 mm f/2.8    To the South in the night sky you will see 2 planets Saturn (top left) and the bright star like orb to its right is Jupiter. With bino's you can easily see 2 of it purported 79 moons!   Another take on NeoWise comet ..... Night sky in North Saanich  Lat nite around 12AM I watched the International Space Station glide across as I photographed the Neowise Comet .. Quite an evening!  |
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October 2020
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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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