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I was happy that Saturday
had finally come around. I thought that I would be able to go
out and enjoy some birding. But then, I looked out the window.
The sun did not shine. It was too wet to play.
But I didn't sit in
the house on that cold, cold wet day. I went out to bird, anyway.
I dressed up warm,
left the cat in my home, and headed up to Maplewood in North Vancouver.
Along the way, in Burnaby, I found a Red-tailed Hawk alongside
the road, and pulled over for some shots of him. It's not often
I see these big guys on a wire; more often they're on a post.
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| At Maplewood,
it was drizzling when I got out of the car. Near the feeders, I
found a Red-winged Blackbird, and not much else. Oftentimes the
feeders at Maplewood are bustling with birds. |
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| I crossed
the bridge and walked around the west side in the rain for a while.
There were very few birds to be seen. Finally I found a Yellow-rumped
Warbler of the Myrtle variety, and took a few photos. |
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| I sat down
on a bench that overlooked a small pond, and watched the trees for
any other sign of life. After a few minutes, I saw some motion in
the sky; it was a bald eagle flying by. |
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| The eagle
was flying in a straight line, not circling. While I was following
the bird with my camera, I had the strange feeling that I wasn't
the only one watching him. Yep, someone was definitely watching
with me. I was a little surprised at who it was, though: she had
a thin, long neck and really big ears. |
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| She had
snuck up to within about three meters of me while I was watching
the sky. Clearly she knew I was there, but didn't seem to mind me.
These deer that come by Maplewood are obviously pretty tame and
trusting. She checked me out, and listened to the sound of my camera's
shutter release. |
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She's a Black-tailed
Deer, which is the common name for a Mule Deer of the subspecies
columbianus. Mule Deer are called that because of their
big, mule-like ears.
My new friend stayed
around for maybe five minutes, eating various leaves and stuff,
before walking off into the woods.
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I thanked her for the
lovely visit and got up off the bench just as the rain started
coming down a little harder.
A few meters away,
near a trail intersection, I found a Song Sparrow who had found
something to eat. It was dark enough that I had to use my onboard
camera flash to get a sharp photo.
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| I wandered
around the park a bit more, and the dark overcast skies became brighter
overcast skies. I found a slug moving along the side of the path,
and took a few photos of him with the flash and a few without. One
of the ones without came out best. |
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| While I
was down there near the ground, I found a few things racing through
the grass. I called them Snail One and Snail Two. Shake hands with
them. |
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I think snail shells
are pretty cool. Imagine growing your own mobile home, with neat
colors and patterns on the outside.
And then something
went BUZZZZZ! How that buzz made me . . . turn!
It was too low-pitched
for an insect; it had to be a hummingbird. I looked around and
eventually found the bird perched on a tree branch over the trail.
It had the colors of a Rufous Hummingbird, and a big brown beard
marked him as male.
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| I followed
him around for maybe five minutes, trying to get decent photos.
The grey day again forced me to use my flash. Here's the best I
got. |
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Eventually he buzzed
off to the north, into a stand of trees, where I lost him. I was
tired of the off-and-on rain, and cold, and so I headed on home.
Covered in moss, and
having three handles,
Tom
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