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The first Poppy bloomed yesterday and a bunch more to come. These red beauties originated at Flanders.
 Female Rufous samples the nectar from the Salvia flowes (as supplied to me from Michell Valley Plants. 2451 Island View Rd, Saanichton    A good morning wave from Rufe! 
   On Sunday right after the prolonged assault by the RWBB on the female Osprey, the male arrived with a fish which he presented to her. She flew off with it and devoured the small fish atop the power pole where they inadvertently built their nest last year. I was just about to pack up and head home and she flew over to where I was and gave me more photo ops at fairly close distance. She is a beauty and hopefully this pair will raise some young this summer!  Mature Bald Eagle swims past the 1/2 moon Female Red Wing Black Bird (RWBB) with an amazing assortment of insects. Dragonfly , Damsels and ?? .. I have named her "Bug Collector"
 This afternoon I watched quite a show when a Female Osprey, sitting on a favourite perch was repeatedly attacked by a pair of Red Winged Blackbirds. The Blackbirds have a nest nearby and will often go after any bird that comes close, especially a member of the raptor family. This particular one is pretty much a fish eater, but the RWBB doesn't know! Lots more images coming tomorrow as I have time to process. Thanks for looking and again, wishing A very Happy Mothers Day to all Mom's, but especially my MOM!! XOXOXOX Love, Terr ... The panel above contains 11 slides ... press play to view  The third eyelid is called the nictitating membrane... Look at the image above/below to see it in action. As danger approaches, the 3rd eyelid is engaged. It is slightly opaque covering to protect the eye, but the Osprey can still see through it.   Mizz Rufous enjoys a quiet moment Watch these 3 slides.... A cormorant flies in to land, but comes too close to a nesting female and gets a bite! This is Arbutus Island off the SW corner of Piers Island.  Look closely at this image.. particularly the lower Cormorants... They have built nests on the steep rock slope. There is minimal foliage on Arbutus Island, but these birds manage to find a bit of nesting material!  A nesting Pigeon Guillemot  This small rock near Dock Island is a favourite spot for Cormorants        A big Thank you to eco tours for organizing this mornings birding boat tour! I'm quite certain that everyone aboard had a great time and I know I sure did. We saw dozens of seals, and many species of sea birds including nesting Cormorants (3 species) , Guillemots and even a few Oyster Catchers. There was a special guest aboard who is an amazing photographer (Suzanne Huot) and her knowledge of the area and of birds is exemplary! A big thank you to Suzanne for much interesting information and bird facts along the way! I did try to hold back on shooting images, but somehow ended up with 600 or so. At the end of the tour we were entertained by an Otter who was enjoying the sun on the dock! Photos to follow as time permits. Hope you have a great weekend... TerryV  *** For those of you who signed up to the birdwatching eco tour tomorrow, lets meet for a coffee or breakfast at Joe's cafe in Canoe cove tomorrow morning between 8:30 and 8;45. That will give us some time to connect, get a parking pass and chat about expected bird sightings. The tour is set to leave at 9:30! See you there!... TerryV ***  |
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September 2023
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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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