Spring Flowers

A random selection of spring flower photos. Some from HCP, some from Government House, and some from the neighborhood.

Feathered Neighbors

Some bird photos from the last while.

We get three kinds of mergansers here. The hooded are the flashiest. Here are a male and a female.

The Red-breasted Mergansers are less common. They're only here during the winter.

In Saskatchewan, Great Blue Herons were uncommon. It was a special occasion to see and photograph one. Here, we see them all the time but they are still impressive big birds, with a prehistoric feel to them. (This shot was last week's print.) They are very focused when they're hunting.

Black Oystercatchers are striking with their bright orange beak and eyes, and their noisy call.

It's amazing that the Anna's Hummingbirds survive the winter here. Such tiny birds that need to feed constantly. There aren't many flowers in the winter so they survive on all the hummingbird feeders people put out.

One of the pleasures of our home near the water is watching the gulls soar in the wind. Of course, when they're pulling garbage out of the bins they're not so attractive! This juvenile had been given (or taken) this crab from an adult, presumably its parent. It seemed unsure exactly how to handle it, but eventually it just swallowed it whole! With the sharp shell and claws, that must have been an uncomfortable swallow.

Prints of the Week

Spring on the west coast is all about the flowers.

I was going to make this one black and white, but I decided I liked the little bit of color in the center.

One of the first California Poppies of the year. I love their bright color and the curves of their petals.

Print of the Week

I usually photograph nature, but here's something man made for a change. I think this is the Center for Emerging and Re-emerging Infectious Diseases (CERID) in Seattle. Pretty fancy building, at least from the outside. It was raining so I took these shots with my phone rather than get out my camera.

And a couple of other angles.