great blue heron

Mud Bay Park in Surrey British Columbia

A raft of (mostly) Northern Pintails (Anas acuta) drift past two old pilings during high tide at Mud Bay in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.

parting clouds and sunlight on mud bay

A Parting in the Clouds at Mud Bay (Purchase)

Earlier this year I visited Mud Bay Park in Surrey, British Columbia in the hopes of photographing some shore birds of some kind. Mud Bay is at the eastern end of Boundary Bay and is surrounded on 3 sides by south Surrey and Crescent Beach. I didn’t see many birds all that close to shore on this day, however. The tide was all the way in at first, and most of what I could see nearby were large rafts of ducks. I walked several kilometers east along the trail from the parking lot. There are very nice ocean views here, and often lots of wildlife, but this experience is somewhat countered by the fact the trail/shore is just meters from Hwy 99. So it isn’t a quiet birding spot! As always though, I may have subjects in mind when I go to a location, but I’m always looking for just about anything to photograph. The image above came to be as I was watching the interesting clouds in the sky. It wasn’t stormy, but it wasn’t one of those “boring” overcast days either. I was trying to work with these two old logs/posts sticking out of the mudflats, and lined up the gap between these passing clouds in between. As I was doing so, a raft of Northern Pintail ducks (Anas acuta) drifted past and into the photograph. This was not part of the plan, but they form a line almost parallel with the horizon and I think it works here. By the time they drifted past, the clouds had as well, so I continued down the trail.

great blue heron sunset silhouette

Great Blue Heron Wading At Sunset on Mud Bay (Purchase)

After I’d turned around and headed back toward the parking lot the tide had gone out. Mud Bay is quite shallow, so even 30 minutes later the edge of the water was a significant distance from the shoreline. This revealed many different patterns in the mudflats and tide pools. I noticed this Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) wading in what were some pretty vibrant orange sunset light reflections. One of the reasons I have (too) many heron photographs is they often stand still, or move slowly and then stop. This makes for a relatively easy wildlife subject compared to more active species. In this case, however, it made things a bit more difficult. As this was going to be a silhouette, I wanted there to be a gap between the birds head and the dark mud in the background. The heron was not interested in moving and just stood in one spot for many minutes. Eventually I stood on a rock, and held my tripod and camera up in the air to change the perspective so there was a small gap which separated the bird from the background. Luckily the color reflecting from the sky held out for the duration of this! The cranes you can see in the background are at GCT Deltaport near Tsawwassen.

sunset reflections mud bay

Sunset Reflections on the Mudflats of Mud Bay (Purchase)

As the sunset light color was fading I made the photograph above of some interesting clouds along with the patterns in the mud and sand of the mudflats. If you want to see some more more photographs from the city of Surrey visit my Surrey Gallery.

Bird Photography at Tsawwassen’s Beach Grove Lagoon

An adult Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) flies overhead at Tsawwassen’s Centennial Beach in Delta, British Columbia, Canada.

bald eagle in flight at boundary bay in delta

Bad Eagle in Flight at Centennial Beach on Boundary Bay (Purchase)

In yet another example of parks I’ve been to, but not fully explored – I ventured out into Boundary Bay Regional Park north of Centennial Beach in mid February. While I was watching some ducks forage along the edge of the tidal zone a woman who was walking by asked a question about my photography (a long lens and a tripod attracts conversation). She pointed out there was a heron just down the way and I said the words that would set the tone for the rest of the evening (and this blog post). I stated that I was mostly done photographing herons at this point as I have too many heron photos. I used Bald Eagles as another example of birds I don’t seek out intentionally unless there is something new and/or interesting about the potential photograph (there are tons of Bald Eagles around Boundary Bay). So naturally a few seconds later I made the photograph above as this adult Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) flew just overhead. I don’t think I have many Eagles in flight photos, so this was something new and also worked out quite well. I should have known what was coming next.

Shortly after the Eagle incident I found this curious American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) hopping along the driftwood logs on the beach. I know Crows aren’t exactly a big target of birders, with some exceptions, but they are often doing interesting things. Previously recognized as a separate species, the Northwestern Crow (Corvus caurinus) was recently renamed the American Crow. As it turned out, via some genetic studies, Northwestern Crows were usually found to be hybrids or actually C. brachyrhynchos anyway. I wish they could have renamed it the North American Crow. This individual did eventually spy a tasty morsel in the sand and flew off to enjoy it with a bit more privacy.

american crow perched on driftwood at boundary bay

American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) Perched on Driftwood at Boundary Bay (Purchase)

Walking down the trail from Centennial Beach I approached the Beach Grove Lagoon and Spit area of Boundary Bay Regional Park and, as one might have predicted, found some Great Blue Herons (Ardea herodias) in interesting light. As I’ve often seen them do at Blackie Spit in Crescent Beach, there were a number of Herons hanging out in a grassy field near the shore. Some were sleeping and having a nap but others were slightly more active. The warmer sunlight of the evening with the backlighting on the bird attracted me to this particular composition. I photographed this individual Heron as the feathers on its head and neck were nicely lit by the sunlight versus others who were resting in the shade. I guess one attractive thing about photographing these birds is they often tend to sit still and don’t move around a lot unless they are actively hunting. Probably why I have more photos of Herons than Swallows, for example. Despite declaring them a subject I’m less interested, I published 7 Heron photos from this evening, bringing the total in my Image Library to 42. Maybe I should just change my logo to a heron?

great blue heron at beach grove lagoon tsawwassen

Great Blue Heron Resting in a Grassy Field in Tsawwassen (Purchase)

Also at the Beach Grove Lagoon and Spit was this Heron sitting on a piece of driftwood. It seemed to mostly be enjoying nap time like the Herons in the field. Occasionally it would keep a close eye on a Bald Eagle or other larger bird flying nearby. It may have been resting up for the hunt I saw it begin shortly thereafter.

great blue heron perched on driftwood at boundary bay regional park

Great Blue Heron Perched on Driftwood at Beach Grove Lagoon and Spit (Purchase)

Much of Boundary Bay Regional Park is often a great place to spot a variety of shorebirds depending on the time of year. On this day in mid February there were a number of Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) foraging along the shore. This one was focusing on this one area in the water, perhaps having spied something on its first pass and was hoping to snack on it this time around. When photographing this Yellowlegs I talked to a young man (~14) who was also trying to photograph the shorebirds. When I saw the Yellowlegs I got off the trail and sat down and waited for them to walk past. His tactic was to walk quickly back and forth on the top of the dike, looming in the sky (from the bird’s perspective) which often dictated their direction of movement. I mentioned this to him and that if he stood in one spot, the birds would wander past and be more relaxed while doing so. He agreed, but lamented that he just didn’t have the patience to do that. I probably wouldn’t have had it at 14 either, honestly, and I’ve see grown adults racing up and down the dike at boundary bay chasing birds too. Also of note for this 14 year old was the lens he was using. I’m pretty sure it was a Canon 800mm which retails for around $22,000 here in Canada. Must be nice (but heavy)! My car was cheaper than that when new in 2004!

greater yellowlegs Tringa melanoleuca at boundary bay

Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa melanoleuca) at Beach Grove Lagoon and Spit (Purchase)

After I chatted about wildlife photography and Yellowlegs the Heron I photographed sitting on the driftwood earlier had flown a short distance to the edge of the incoming tidal water from Boundary Bay. I watched it catch several small fish before it flew to the other side of the dike to join those napping in the grass.

great blue heron resting at boundary bay regional park

Great Blue Heron Hunting at Beach Grove Lagoon (Wildlife Area) (Purchase)

On my walk back to the car as the light became dim there were several Herons in various trees either individually or in groups. This particular Heron was perched on top of a dead Birch tree trunk that had clearly rotted to the point of breaking off at some point. There was a Flicker poking around in one of the lower parts of the old trunk, an intrusion the Heron didn’t seem to mind. Granted this was a bit less noisy than when Flickers engage in their favourite spring pastime and bang away on metal chimneys in the early morning.

great blue heron resting at boundary bay regional park

Great Blue Heron Perched in the Evening at Boundary Bay (Purchase)

For more photographs of the Tsawwassen and Boundary Bay area visit my Delta Gallery in the Image Library. I don’t have a dedicated Heron gallery. Yet.

Ladner Harbour Park in Delta

A Bewick’s Wren (Thryomanes bewickii) perched on a branch at Ladner Harbour Park in Delta, British Columbia, Canada.

bewicks wren in ladner harbour park

Bewick’s Wren (T. bewickii) at Ladner Harbour Park in Delta (Purchase)

Earlier this year I stopped for a walk around Ladner Harbour Park (map) in Delta, BC. I’ve been making an attempt to visit some smaller parks around here either as a full destination or as a stop along the way to other locations. Ladner Harbour Park has a few kilometers of trails, and I thought it was worth checking it out. This was a day of my least favourite kind of light – lots of high clouds gave a bright day but with lots of glare which meant I was unlikely to be shooting any larger landscape scenes. With my longer 100-400mm zoom lens birds are always an option, and I wound up using it for all of these photographs. The first photograph here shows a Bewick’s Wren (T. bewickii) which is not a species I think I have photographed before. I see them quite often, but they like the brush and shrubs in the understory of the forest, and are not a bird species that seems to sit still. They do seem to be rather noisy though, and often are making calls that help me know when to look for a small, darting, little brown bird that is too far away. Getting a clear shot of them is not easy due to their habitat, but I sat down on the edge of the trail and this one gave me a few chances to make photographs of it while it scampered around and foraged in the leaves.

The next photograph of patterns in the sand is something I might not normally have noticed, but I’m glad I did. This is a small spring or perhaps water draining out of this hole from higher ground in the tidal area. Either way, it made these interesting patterns in the sand which looks a bit like an alluvial fan. There is water coming vertically out of the ground on the left hand side of the formation which flows down into the stream of water on the right. In some ways it reminds me of this photograph of the Chilliwack River only in that it has the feeling of an aerial photograph. This view was from Mcneelys Trail and one of the new bridges in that section of trail.

sand patterns along the fraser river in delta

Patterns in the sand along the Fraser River (Purchase)

I am almost at the point where I need to stop photographing Herons. I like these birds a lot, and watching them hunt in fields or in the water like very tiny dinosaurs is always interesting. This particular Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) was wading in one of the ditches (for lack of a better word) running out from the park to the edge of the Fraser River. Since it was a bright but not a clear day, the light was harsh, but it did allow me to make a photo of a Heron unlike my others. I like the contour of the muddy shoreline behind it and the reflection as well. Herons, unlike Wrens and other birds, are a bit easier to photograph as they wade slowly or stay still hoping prey wanders near. One of the reasons I have so many photographs of them!

great blue heron along the fraser river in ladner

Great Blue Heron hunting along the Fraser River in Ladner (Purchase)

For birds that are relatively shy, it seems relatively easy to notice Spotted Towhees (Pipilo maculatus) when they are near me on the trail. Perhaps that is one reason they changed the name from “Rufous Sided Towhee” to Spotted Towhee? 😉 They are larger birds and easier to spot than the Wren in the first photograph, and are often scratching in the leaves and twigs on the forest floor in hopes of finding worthwhile morsels. They are shy though, so usually when I’ve attempted to photograph them I just see what direction they seem to be working in, and get ahead of them and just sit. This one didn’t seem to be too wary of me (it is next to the dog park and a busy trail to the southern viewpoint) and seemed to find some seeds in this particular spot.

spotted towhee foraging in the leaves at ladner harbour park

Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus) foraging at Ladner Harbour Park (Purchase)

For more photographs from this area visit my Delta Gallery.

Random Photos Volume II

I thought I’d share another batch of photographs here that don’t have enough of a story involved justify their own blog post.

Baby Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus)

baby eastern cottontail sylvilagus floridanus eating hawksbeard stems

Baby Eastern Cottontail (S. floridanus) Eating hawksbeard Flowers (Purchase)

I was testing out a new zoom lens in the backyard and had seen this baby Eastern Cottontail eating Hawkesbeard stems on the lawn. I sat down and waited for it to come back which it did after a few minutes. This was a rather small rabbit – the adults can be approximately 44 cm (17 in) long, but this little one was only about 15 cm (6 in)!

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) at Blackie Spit Park

Blackie Spit Park (Surrey, BC) is a favourite photography location of mine, and now that I’ll be occasionally photographing more birds I suspect I’ll be there even more. In July I photographed this Heron wading in one of the small canals in the park while searching for small fish and invertebrates. It was looking around a lot, so I was able to make photos of it facing both ways. I also made the photo below with a longer exposure, to try to get it looking both ways at once. I didn’t expect it to work out quite this well, but I like the result. I was also unable to really come to a conclusion as to whether I liked the Heron facing right or left, so I ultimately just published all three photos.

great blue heron foraging in water at blackie spit

Great Blue Heron (A. herodias) foraging at Blackie Spit Park

great blue heron searching for food and looking both ways

Look both ways before you cross the marsh (Purchase)

I also photographed this decorated rock sitting atop a fence post at Blackie Spit. I take it this sort of thing is not rare in the area, but it was the first time I’d seen one. The large yellow flowers next to the post are Fernleaf Yarrow (Achillea filipendulina).

decorated rock sitting on a post at sunset

Decorative Rock on a Crescent Beach Fence Post (Purchase)

Also at Blackie Spit I photographed this Hawksbeard (Crepis sp.) plant with some seed heads on it that were nicely backlit by late day sunlight. I’ve photographed a number of interesting small plant scenes in this particular meadow – which you can find in my Surrey gallery.

hawksbeard plant with seed heads backlit by sunset

Hawksbeard (Crepis sp.) Seeds at Blackie Spit (Purchase)

Water Lily Reflection

I’ve photographed these pond lily (Nymphaeacea) plants in the backyard before, but this time I was attracted to the reflection from this particular flower. I like finding subjects that are only a few steps from the back door!

water lily flower reflection

Water Lily (Nymphaeacea) Flower Reflection (Purchase)

More of my newer images can be found in my New Images Gallery.

Hogs Back Falls on Ottawa’s Rideau River

Hog’s Back Falls, the Rideau River and the Hog’s Back Bridge in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Photographed from Hog’s Back Park.

hogs back falls ottawa rideau river

Hogs Back Falls from Ottawa’s Hogs Back Park (Purchase)

During my trip to Ontario and Québec I visited a waterfall in Ottawa, along the Rideau River, called Hogs Back Falls (or Prince of Wales Falls, officially). Hogs Back Falls are not actually a natural waterfall, and are the result of construction of a waste water channel during the building of the Rideau Canal. Originally this section of the river was a 2000 meter long rapids, some of which is still visible below Hogs Back Falls.

fall foliage above hogs back falls ottawa rideau river

Hog’s Back Falls and Hog’s Back Bridge in Ottawa (Purchase)

The first two photographs here are from the first viewpoint we found in Hogs Back Park. It has a nice view up the Rideau River and looks directly towards Hogs Back Falls. I made this initial composition to try to portray what a visitor would see here. I often start with a “big picture” photograph of an area and then try to work on more detailed compositions of individual elements that make a scene interesting. At this viewpoint we noticed a Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) hunting for prey next to a small waterfall below. Another photographer at that spot offered me the use of his 100-400 lens. I declined, but he insisted, so I put the lens on and made a few photographs which did not turn out. This lens was interesting to try, but I also knew this was the wrong angle to photograph the Heron and I could probably do pretty well at a better spot. The 100-400 is a nice lens, and there are times when I’d want to use one, but not enough to buy one. Rather expensive for the amount of use I would get out of it and also quite heavy and large for my already near capacity camera bag (and back). If I was a serious wildlife photographer I’d likely own one already, but until that happens I’ll stick with my 70-200 and the 1.4x extender that I usually have attached (since I moved to a full frame camera).

fall foliage above hogs back falls ottawa rideau river

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) fishing in the Rideau River (Purchase)

After I changed locations to a spot closer to the bridge, I was able to view and photograph the heron much easier than at the first viewpoint. The photograph above is the result. A number of people have picked it as their favourite out of my “top 10” favourite images from 2018 post. I like Herons. Not only do they “pose” nicely and sit still quite often which makes a photograph easier, they seem to have an air of elegance or something about them. Except when they don’t. Years ago I photographed one strutting around near the Capilano Fish Hatchery in North Vancouver (Great Blue Heron at Capilano River). I still quite like that photograph, but I most remember that heron as appearing young and inexperience by trying to eat some discarded gills (from the hatchery) that were laying about. It seems gills are quite rough and hard to swallow, as the heron appeared to choke for about 10 minutes before expectorating the gills back up onto the rocks. I chalked this up to an inexperience Heron, but perhaps they just aren’t that bright?

fall foliage above hogs back falls ottawa rideau river

A Great Blue Heron bites off more than it can chew

The Heron at Hogs Back Falls also had an embarrassing moment in public. At one point it snagged what looked like a Smallmouth Bass (Micropterus dolomieu) and then tried to swallow it whole, as Herons do. It appears that no matter how willing the Heron, its esophagus was not up to the diameter required for the task, After several inelegant minutes attempting to choke down this Bass, it too was spit back onto the rocks, only to fall into the river. The Heron then returned to fishing for something a bit more manageable. After photographing the Heron we worked our way over the Hogs Back Bridge and photographed the Rideau River and many smaller water falls on the rocks below.

fall foliage above hogs back falls ottawa rideau river

Fall Foliage above the Rideau River and Hogs Back Falls in Ottawa (Purchase)

For more photographs from the Ottawa area visit my Ontario Gallery.

Ganges Harbour on Salt Spring Island

Boats in Ganges Harbour on Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada.

ganges harbour on salt spring island boats yachts

Ganges Harbour on Salt Spring Island (Purchase)

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   Earlier this year I made my second trip to Salt Spring Island – one of British Columbia’s Southern Gulf Islands. During my last trip I also had limited time, so I was able to check out some new areas this time around and more thoroughly explore some others. One area I spent more time in on this trip was Ganges. Ganges is an unincorporated town on Salt Spring Island and has most of the shopping and small businesses on the island. Ganges is also known for the Salt Spring Island Market in the summer. Ganges Harbour has a lot of marinas, boardwalks, and small shops along it’s waterfront. I spent a few hours there making photographs the morning of the second day on this trip. The first photograph here shows some of the small yachts and boats in one marina, with Moby’s Pub and a few waterfront homes in the background.

boarding harbour air seaplane at ganges harbour

Boarding a Seaplane at Ganges Harbour (Purchase)

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   In addition to boats and marinas Ganges Harbour has a small Seaplane Aerodrome used by Harbour Air and Seair Seaplanes. I don’t know where this Harbour Air Single Otter flight was departing to, but it likely was heading to Vancouver or YVR (the Vancouver area’s main airport).

purple sea star Pisaster ochraceus in ganges harbour

Purple Sea Star (Pisaster ochraceus) in Ganges Harbour (Purchase)

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   This Purple Sea Star (Pisaster ochraceus) and the Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) were both in the intertidal zone below the boardwalk. I do enjoy photographing Herons as they tend to move slowly when hunting and make goods subjects. I didn’t have to worry about the Sea Star moving around either! I watched the heron for about 20 minutes, and recorded some video of it hunting as well. Apparently if being filmed, Herons know to grab their snack and immediately run out of the frame to eat it. I saw this Heron catch a number of small fish, but it always walked out of the frame before swallowing them, unfortunately. While photographing the Heron I was switching to different subjects such as various boats and the Sea Plane taxiing for takeoff before switching back to the Heron.

great blue heron hunting at ganges harbour

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) Hunting at Ganges Harbour (Purchase)

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Stay tuned for a number of other blog posts with photographs from Salt Spring but if you can’t wait – you can see all my photographs from the island in my Salt Spring Island Gallery.

Great Blue Heron at English Bay in Kitsilano

A Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) sits on the rocks next to English Bay in Kitsilano. Photographed from Kits Beach Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.

great blue heron ardea herodas in english bay vancouver

A Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) at English Bay in Kitsilano (Purchase)

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   I believe I have indicated my affinity for photographing Great Blue Herons in the past – they tend to stand relatively still while hunting for food and therefore make great photo subjects. I have a few photographs of herons at night, and this wouldn’t be possible for me with many other species. Not only do the herons stand still while waiting for prey, they often hunt on shorelines where I can use reflected lights to illuminate them during a longer exposure. This particular Great Blue Heron was hunting along English Bay at Kitsilano Beach Park in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. I was busy making blue hour cityscapes of downtown Vancouver and happened to have my longer 70-200mm lens on my camera. This was the perfect lens for my panoramas, and luckily was also the perfect lens for photographing this Heron when I noticed him silhouetted against the lights reflecting off English Bay from Kitsilano. With the naked eye this Blue Heron was barely visible, but with a longer camera exposure (6 seconds in this case) the details of both the bird and the surrounding area were revealed.

For more wildlife photographs take a look at my Animals and Wildlife Gallery in my Image Library.

Little Campbell River Estuary

The Little Campbell River Estuary in Surrey, British Columbia, Canada.

great blue heron fishing on the little campbell river estuary in surrey near white rock

Great Blue Heron fishing the banks of the Little Campbell River (Purchase)

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   This is the Little Campbell River just before it empties into Boundary/Semiahmoo Bay near White Rock, British Columbia. It was a bit of luck that I found this scene at high tide, as the mud here the rest of the time just isn’t as photogenic. I’ve since remembered to consult tide charts when photographing scenes along the coast such as this one or those in Crescent Beach.

little campbell river estuary in white rock, bc

The Little Campbell River Estuary in White Rock (Purchase)

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   In addition to the river itself I photographed this Great Blue Heron fishing along the banks. I often like to photograph wildlife in the context of its environment. These were quite different surroundings from the last Heron I photographed just outside of Stanley Park.

For more of my photography from this area visit my Vancouver Coast & Mountains Gallery.