Cross Orbweavers

Fall is the time when I see more Cross Orbweaver spiders. Their webs are often in obvious places and the spider is often perched in the middle of the web. You can see the "cross" quite obviously in these photos.

Belted Kingfisher

I usually hear the distinctive kingfisher "chattering" before I see them. When they are fishing, they perch on a branch above the water that they can dive from. They must have better eyes than me, because I can't see the fish in the water from above. Belted Kingfishers are the only kingfisher found in Canada. They migrate south from colder locations but in warmer places like the west coast they stay year round.

This guy (females have a redder "belt") was repeatedly diving from and returning to these branches but I never saw him catch anything.

I'm still in pursuit of a really good kingfisher photo. I have occasionally seen them at close range in a good setting but never when I have my camera. One of these days I'll get lucky. These photos were all taken from far away with my longest telephoto lens (1200mm equivalent).

Reflections

Time for another dose of light and color reflected in water.

And so it's not all abstract, here's a harbor seal amidst the reflections.

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River Otters

I don't take much video but when I saw these otters out in the water I knew still photographs wouldn't look like much. So here's some video for a change. It gives an idea of how frenetic they are. If you're reading this by email or feed reader and there's no video below, you can watch it directly on YouTube.

I saw this group of seven when I was kayaking. They were on one of the navy no trespassing islands, probably a good safe spot for them.

These four were just near our place at one of their usual spots.

Sunrise Heron

I've taken photos of a heron on this rock a few times but I think this is my favorite so far. I like the cool blue in the bottom half contrasting with the warm pink of sunrise reflected in the top half.

Anna's Hummingbird

It's always nice when one of the local hummingbirds cooperates with having its photo taken. Even a plain background. I usually hear them more than I see them.

Painted Lady

I came across this Painted Lady butterfly at the Gardens at HCP. It was late in the season but there were still flowers to feed on. Painted Ladies are the most widespread butterflies in the world, found on every continent except Antarctica and South America. They make long range migrations like monarchs. In most years, Painted Ladies move north out of the deserts of northern Mexico and the southwestern U.S. to temporarily colonize the United States and Canada.

For a change it didn't take off immediately, perhaps more sluggish with the cooler weather. Or perhaps wanting to take advantage of the feeding site. It also helped I was using a telephoto lens so I didn't need to get too close.

These photos are all of the same individual, the only one I saw.

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