 At themoment this photo was taken, heaven received a great man! God Bless you Jack.... 
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 With one day left in August and a cooler , dampness now in the air, I once again took to the backyard where these images were made! The little nuthatch posed sweetly as I played with exposures in the shadowed light. The opening photo reminds me of a 17th century hunting portrait in its colour , detail and shadows. The Brown Creeper has been a quest of mine for a long time and this afternoon I managed to be within 15 feet sitting in a blind and again trying to make the best of a very low light situation. I'll keep working on this one as the little BC's intrique me. Momma Pileated struck a pose after peanuts and I'm always happy to see them as well outback! The adult female is of all the Pileateds, the most shy and least often seen. You will note the dark feathering along the jawline as opposed to the red feathering on the males. And finally, the Steller's Jays come and go frequently now, but rarely stay more than a few seconds.... They do slide in often and skulk around looking for any peanut pieces that may have been chipped away by the woodpeckers. I'm having good thoughts today for family in SASKATCHEWAN today .... Bless you all ... Terry...  WOW... After weeks , maybe months of dry weather, we finally got a decent amount of rain last nite, The crunchy dry grass almost looked green this morning . Plenty of bird life this afternoon ... mainly the usual suspects. I set up a blind in the back yard to try and approach the Brown Creeper and get a decent photo. The little creature presented in this 1st image waited patiently for me as I set up my blind about 20 feet from him.... hauled over my camera and seat , but I got nervous and fired off 1/2 doz clicks freehand because I though it was too good to be true.(him sitting in that 1 spot) Sure enough as soon as I brought in the tripod .. gone. I did soon afterward have a close encounter with a Pileated male ... At one point so close I could only get about 1/2 of him in the frame @ 420 mm (see bottom.. feet photo) Then the Stellers Jays came along .. and I clicked a couple photos.. then they moved almost on top of my blind ... so close I couldn't get a photo!!! Thats where a second camera with a shorter lens would have helped!!! Ohh well next time! Tomorrow promises more rain!!! fingers crossed for it..... Have a great weekend.... Terry :)  Brown Creeper  Pileated Woodpecker ... foot detail Fall is definitely in the air, but despite that fall aroma and a bit cooler temperatures it was a gorgeous day and the Stellers Jays were back... Today I observed 5 of the rascals, all pushing each other about... trying to find the best food source. They sure have BIG character... Even the red squirrels give them a wide berth.... And thats something, because the Pileated Woodpeckers stay well away from the little squirrels (aka tree sharks) A few images of the little brown creeper (a bit far off and heavily cropped...( One day I'll get a good photo) At the end of the day Mizz Bunny hopped along for her apple treat and posed so nicely for her portrait. Friday means the weekend is nearly here.... Cheers and ALL THE BEST ... 3's to you in Regina.... Terry   As September looms, I suppose Fall can't be far. It would seem that summer as usual has run its course but been so fleeting. Why is it that winter drags its icy feet and lasts forever, while summer (and this year it has been warm and snuffled) vanishes at light speed??? At any rate, today there were visitors in the yard that generally make an appearance in the Fall and throughout the winter. British Columbia's provincial bird. Large as a crow, bold, vibrant, and distinctive with that big crest. The Steller's Jay Cyanocitta stelleri ... 3 of them were here today gleening peanut scraps from under the feeders.  I'm honoured to have been given Photo of the Day today on my favourite weather channel. "The Weather Network" ... The G B Heron doing his version of the Lumberjack Song. Thanks Laurie for a fun fishing excursion and a chance to take an unusual photograph! ... Terry :)  My pal Laurie invited me out for a bit of local fishing this morning. We headed out at a leisurely time, around 9 AM and fished for a while at Fairfax Point , saw a couple salmon boated , but no luck so we motored over to South Pender Bluffs! Thats where I photographed the heron balancing on the kelp and where the spring was caught... (around 16 - 18 pounds?) The other photos were taken in South Pender Harbour , where we stopped for lunch.Those iPhones take reasonable photos!
Mmmm .. fresh Chinook salmon on the grille tonight! :) A great day... Terry As so often happens, work got in the way of photos today,,, but I did manage to catch a few regulars out back queuing up for peanuts! I never get tired of taking photos of the Pileated Woodpecker family ,,,, I hope you like them too! (also a flower from a new garden plant... Passion Flower) and a Hairy Woodpecker! Have a great weekend........ Terry |
