Kayaking

The wind was calm enough this morning to get out in the kayak. (I should get paid by Oru - every time I go out people stop to ask about it.) I took my camera this time, mostly because last time I didn't and I saw two bald eagles.

The first things I noticed were the oystercatcher chicks/juveniles. At least I'm pretty sure that's what they were. The looked liked smaller versions of the adults watching over them except their beaks weren't orange yet and they were fluffier. They ran away before I could get my camera out, but they looked something like this.

I spotted a couple of sea stars which was good because I hadn't seen any for a while. One was orange and one was purple (although they're called Ochre sea stars). They were too deep for photos.

Next I spotted this river otter. (Sea otters have been seen around Victoria but they're rare. The otters we commonly see are river otters, even though they are in the ocean.) This one was on the shore but by the time I got my camera ready it was in the water. It seemed curious about me.

In the same small bay, while I was photographing the otter, I noticed a fawn on the shore. There was no sign of its mother around but it seemed fine. Deer are regarded as "pests" in Victoria but I still enjoy seeing them. Even when they eat our flowers :-)

There was also a Great Blue Heron watching over the same beach. Birds and other animals are often less nervous when you approach by water.

Western Purple Martins are the largest swallow in Canada. In 1985 they were down to only 5 breeding pairs on Vancouver Island, due to loss of habitat and competition from non-native starlings and house sparrows. Thanks to nesting boxes installed on pilings, their numbers have risen. But they are now threatened by their reliance on human provided nesting sites which are declining.

On my way back a harbor seal was popping up around me. They're hard to photograph because they don't spend much time on the surface and they can swim a long way before surfacing again. I was lucky enough to catch this one as it was checking me out.

From a distance it can be hard to differentiate otters from seals. River otters tend to make shorter dives, spend more time on the surface, swim on the surface when moving from place to place, and you often see their tail when they dive. Harbor seals on the surface often have their back showing as well as their head, as in this photo. And they tend to just sink out of sight when they submerge.