Royal Roads

The weekend before last, Shelley and I spent some time wandering around the paths and gardens of Royal Roads and Hatley Castles. We started with Charlies Trail that runs from the Galloping Goose trail along Colwood Creek to the ocean. There were water striders on the creek:

And Purple Martins around some bird houses on the pier. Based on the coloring, I think this is a juvenile.

There were also some shorebirds. I think this is a Short-billed Dowitcher (endangered) since it was by the ocean, whereas Long-billed Dowitchers are usually by freshwater. Contrary to their names, their bills are similar lengths and don't help tell them apart.

And here's a Least Sandpiper. The bird recognition and auto-focus in my latest camera definitely helps with birds that don't sit still. It isn't perfect, but if you take multiple shots, usually it'll get one right.

This Chestnut-backed Chickadee was in the willows by one of the ponds. Another one that never sat still!

I had the telephoto lens on for the birds, but it actually works quite well for butterflies and other insects because you can stay further away and not spook them. This is a Woodland Skipper (common). Skippers are butterflies, but they look like a cross with a moth.

There were lots of flowers, although perhaps a little past the peak. I think this is a Princess flower.

There were several peacocks around. Someone told us there were baby peacocks but we didn't see them. And the male didn't display for us.

There were some nice reflections in the Japanese garden ponds.

After wandering around for a couple of hours, I ran home on the Galloping Goose trail. It's only about 15 km but I added a few extra detours to make it 20 (not to mention a stop at Crust bakery for my favorite raisin spiral).

See all 22 photos in this batch

Print of the Week

A sea anemone in a tide pool just below our place. As a kid I was fascinated by tide pools whenever I got a chance to visit the ocean. Of course, now that I have them so close, I don't appreciate them as much as I should.

I'm pretty sure this is an aggregating anemone, the most common kind on the Pacific coast, normally green with pink tipped tentacles. Curiously, they host photosynthesizing algae - a bit like coral. This one was in a shaded spot which might explain why it wasn't very green. They can reproduce both sexually and by fission (producing clones). Colonies that expand into each other's territory fight each other with specialized tentacles.

Macro

I've been meaning to do some macro photography indoors where I can set up a little better. As I was getting organized, this spider walked across the floor so it was my first subject. I think it's an Ant Mimic Spider.

What I was planning to take photos of was one of the ubiquitous Yellow Shore Crabs. Turn over a rock on the beach and you're liable to find these. I didn't pick the best time as the tide was high and there wasn't much beach. I could only find a couple of tiny ones (about 1/2 inch).

While I was searching for crabs I came across this hermit crab (Pacific Hairy perhaps?) with a shell that hardly seemed big enough.

In case you're wondering, these were all alive and well and released back where I found them. (Except the spider, it got moved outdoors.)

Here's my quick and dirty "studio":

Gear: OM-1 camera, macro lens, Really Right Stuff tripod and ball-head, Lume Cube led light (plus lots of natural light). The white bowl makes a good seamless background and it's generally too slippery for small creatures to climb out of. (As long as they don't jump or fly.)

Neighbors

I finally got up the nerve to take my good camera out in the kayak. There hasn't been a lot to see, but the last couple of times I've seen an osprey and a kingfisher. I'm not too worried about tipping the kayak, except when I'm getting in or out, when there's always a chance on the slippery seaweed covered rocks. I keep the camera in a dry bag clipped to the kayak when I'm not using it.

I decided to start by going around the little island (Colvile) in front of our place. The first thing I saw was this ochre sea star. Purple is the most common color, but they can be orange, yellow, reddish, or brown. Sea star wasting disease has killed a lot of the sea stars, so it's good to see them around. I saw a few more on the island, mostly tucked away in corners and crevices.

Continuing around the tiny island, I spotted a bunch of small shore birds. They were quite skittish, moving away as soon as I got close. And even when they didn't move away, they were in constant motion hunting and pecking in the seaweed. My latest camera (OM Systems OM-1) has AI bird detection, but I couldn't remember how to turn it on, and in the process of trying I was changing all kinds of other settings. In the midst of trying to get some photos, and steer the kayak from drifting into the rocks, it was a bit of a challenge. I did eventually get it turned on and it did seem to help. Taking photos with a long telephoto from a rocking kayak is always a fun challenge. Later, with the help of the iNaturalist Seek app, I identified them as Black Turnstones.

Moving further around the island, I first heard and then spotted a pair of Killdeer. Although they are known as shorebirds, I've actually seen them more often in dry grasslands (which is where they breed).

There's often a Great Blue Heron on the island. I'm not sure if it's the same heron or just a good spot for herons in general. When they catch small fish they often shake them, maybe to kill them? I caught the spray from this one.

I must have got a little too close because it took off and flew to the main shore, where I got a few more shots.

The evening before, we'd spotted another visitor to the island - a mother harbor seal and her baby. (We saw a similar mother and baby last August.)

By the time I made two slow loops around the tiny island it was time to head home. It's great to find so much of interest so close, despite being in the city.

See all 16 photos in this album

Paragliding at Five Springs

Thanks to Shelley for putting together her video of me flying at Five Springs (Wyoming) in June.

I love it here. It's a nice launch and a good landing area, and I've never seen another person flying here. (That might be a negative to most people, but it suits me.) The launch is within walking distance of the small campground at the top, and the road up is paved. And the vertical is small enough (500m) that you can hike back up. Usually there are good thermals and reasonably long flights. Unfortunately, although you can't tell from the video, conditions this trip were not great for flying, there was a lot of wind and often from the wrong direction. That was disappointing after two years of no flying due to Covid. But it was still great to get back in the air.