Packaged Meals

Who says packaged meals can't be healthy :-)

A Cross Orbweaver wrapping a fly for later consumption.

Combining nature photographer and wine tasting at Symphony Vineyard

Belted Kingfisher

I came around a corner in my kayak and there was a Belted Kingfisher on a branch right in front of me. My camera was still in the dry bag so I backed up in hopes it would stay where it was while I got my camera out. Of course, it didn't, but it didn't move too far. I gradually worked my way closer, taking photos along the way.

Suddenly it was gone from the view finder. It had flown away and I hadn't seen where it went this time. I started to leave, but then I figured it probably would have just moved to another perch further along in the same direction. Sure enough, I spotted it on a signpost.

Belted Kingfishers are one of the few birds where the female is more colorful than the male - with a chestnut stripe across her chest. That would make this one a male.

They are often noisy birds with a loud chattering call. Because of this, a group is call a "rattle" or a "kerfuffle". For a change, this one was completely silent. There don't seem to be many around, so maybe this is the same one I heard and glimpsed last week.

Belted Kingfishers are the only kingfishers we get in Canada. In Saskatchewan they would have migrated south during the winter, but here on the west coast they stay year round.

[Update 2023-07-30] I was photographing seals (from the shore) when I noticed this kingfisher on a piling. Judging by the chestnut stripe this would be a female. She stayed on her perch for as long as I was there. I wonder if she had been preening, given the down in her beak.

Olympus 100-400 plus 1.4x teleconverter (1120mm equivalent, handheld)

Will you walk into my parlour?

"Will you walk into my parlour?" said a spider to a fly;
" 'Tis the prettiest little parlour that ever you did spy.
The way into my parlour is up a winding stair,
And I have many pretty things to shew when you are there."
"Oh no, no!" said the little fly, "to ask me is in vain,
For who goes up your winding stair can ne'er come down again."
- Mary Howitt, 1829

The photo below is more like what I saw initially - a dead looking fly or bee on a flower. It was only after looking closer, suspecting what I might see, that I spotted the Goldenrod Crab Spider.

I find I've written quite a few blog posts about crab spiders.

Harbor Seals

Out kayaking again, I came across these two harbor seals hauled out on a small island. I've seen seals hauled out in this area before, but it's a little farther than I usually go. The water was quite calm and the wind was pushing me slowly towards them - good conditions for photography. I got so preoccupied with taking photos that I drifted a little too close to them. I slowly started paddling backwards, but the smaller one (female?) gave me a look, slid into the water, and disappeared. (The larger one completely ignored me.)

I didn't see the fawns this time, but some of the other usual suspects were around.

I've seen two bald eagles around this spot (maybe a pair?) but this time there was only one.

I also heard and caught a glimpse of a kingfisher, but no photos. I haven't noticed any lately so it was good to know at least one was still around.

See all 14 photos in this batch

River Otter Family

We see river otters around the Victoria harbor quite often but this was the first time I'd seen a family with a young one. We first spotted them swimming, but then they got out on the shore and rolled around. When they were swimming the juvenile didn't stay under the water as long as the adults.

If you look closely at these last two you can see the second adult underwater.

The young one had much darker fur than the adults.

Mountain Cottontail

This time at Five Springs (Wyoming) we saw fewer marmots than usual. (Hopefully that was just coincidence and not decline.) We saw more rabbits instead. It was fun to watch them come out on the grass and chase each other around. This one came out after the rain, a bit damp looking.

Orcas

We were watching TV when I noticed our neighbor had come out on the lawn and was looking at something on the water. We went out on our deck to see what was happening. It turned out to be a group of orcas in the mouth of the harbor. I rushed to get my camera, long lens, and tele-extender. By the time I got organized they were already starting to move further away. They were about half a kilometer away when I took these photos.

The kayakers and the people on the point must have got a great view of them.

It was hard to tell how many there were since they were popping up one or two at a time. I would guess there were 4 or 5.

Shelley ran and got my tripod, but I didn't have the right mount handy so all these were shot handheld, at 1100 mm equivalent. Once more I'm impressed with the image stabilization.

It was pretty cool to see them, even if it was from a long distance. Last summer some came into the harbor but I missed them, so I was glad to catch them this time.