Commuting from the islands to Victoria is a regular event for most of us. Some people take the ferry often enough that they lose their sense of wonder at the landscape.
Not me. I pay attention to details. The lovely beach with logs strewn about, shown above.
And the cormorants who hold reunions on the ferry traffic buoy near the Swarz Bay terminal, on Vancouver Island.
And details on the venerable Mayne Queen ferry itself…
On older ferries, the pictograms can be quite puzzling.
Perhaps letting people know that this is not a garbage can…
I did write that the ferry is a venerable piece of equipment. It is over 50 years old, and despite regular maintenance, is showing its age.
On a sunny afternoon, sitting on the back deck of the ferry offers up absolutely beautiful views of the wake, and the dramatic sky. On the right, the lumpy shadow is Salt Spring Island.
And arriving on Saturna, the ferry disturbs the birds that were perched on the dock pilings… But before they took off, I was able to get these shots, through the car window.
The standard cormorant, first.
And a gull, of course.
And I will close with my favorite shot of the day: a detail of the lighting on this 50+ year old ferry.
Header photo above: rosemary plant in bloom, in January.
Right now, it is raining. It has been raining for two days, pretty steadily. But I don’t mind, because it is definitely better than shoveling snow, like back East.
Before the rain, three days ago, I checked out all the things that need to be done in my garden. A lot of work awaits me. This post, however, is a visual report of what I found (not the jobs, just the beauty, life, and colours!)…
First, the orange flash is a self-seeded Calendula (Pot Marigold), one of the great-grand-children of the original Pacific Beauty seed packet I purchased years ago. Very hardy plant, that one. It keeps giving back all through the winter (I have even found blooms under a blanket of snow, one particular winter!).
Among the jobs: replenishing the bird feeders (there are 8…). This Chestnut-backed chickadee (Poecile rufescens … had to look it up) and friends really enjoy sunflower seeds.
Naturally, it wouldn’t be winter in the Southern Gulf Islands without a batch of Snowdrops (Galanthus nivalis) blossoming in the lawn, between the rocks and even in the gravel driveway…
One of my feeders is known as the “party feeder”: it offers assorted nuts, including cashews (they must be the industrial rejects of packaging plants for human party mix, I tell myself). All manner of woodpeckers, chickadees and nuthatches are regular visitors of the party feeder. Above: a Red-breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis), one of a gang of very lively and argumentative little birds.
And elsewhere, the first few Crocus are starting to come out, a little timidly, but all the rain is going to encourage them to blossom. And the weather is still decidedly above 5 degrees Celsius… so…
The winter flowering heathers are also coming into bloom. Above, a close-up, with a little filter play to make it more “painterly”…
This is a close-up of one of the larger rosemary plants in bloom – right now – on Saturna Island. The first winter after we moved here, ten years ago, I was amazed at this show of bright blue in the winter garden (it was a very large and old plant, about three feet wide and high, and covered in blossoms).
And finally, a reminder to all Gulf Islanders, and people on Vancouver Island as well: don’t forget the Anna’s Hummingbirds (Calypte anna), who are spending the winter in the area. One of them flew by my kitchen window, paused and looked me straight in the eye. Almost saying: “Hey, you forgot to refill the feeder!”…
No worries, my friend. Fresh mix of sugar water replenished!
And below, I found a video from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology that illustrates how a seemingly all-green Anna’s Hummingbird male can just turn his head, and flash you an extraordinary brilliant red colour!
During the winter, all kinds of waterfowl spend the winter in the waters around these islands. Here is the story of a little drama I got to witness, a while ago.
The setting: Boat Pass, between Saturna and Samuel Islands. When the tide moves in or out at Boat Pass, the current moves swiftly, like rapids…
That day, on the strait side of Boat Pass (to the right, in the above photo), rafts of surf scoter ducks were floating about, feeding on the fish coming through with the tidal current. Rows upon rows of them, taking turns at diving – when at the front line – to feed. Very orderly system…
Minding their own business.
The hunter: a sea lion, riding the tide through the pass. Clever sea lion, using the tide to increase his speed and stealth… The only reason I spotted him was his loud breath (I was sitting on a rock, right next to the flow, at water’s edge, and he surprised me. These are really big animals, the size of a cow…).
While in the pass, at speed, he dove…
…and surfaced right in the middle of the birds.
The birds exploded into flight. Well, not quite flight because if you’ve seen surf scoters take off on the water, you’ll know that they need some serious flapping and “walking” on the water to take off. So their escape was not quite successful.
I am going to guess that some unlucky one (or more than one) did not make it… Score one or two for the sea lion.
Once the drama was over, the sea lion could be seen, swimming to the rocks the Belle Isles chain…
And the birds reformed into an interesting shape, and drifted off toward the islets in the distance.
It’s a rainy date, but you make the most of it. First, they did what the birds and the bees do, then he spent a good half-hour grooming her, in the rain. “Honey, your plumage is irresistible, I tell you…”
I posted the photo of a heron last Wednesday, and that got me started on organizing my pics of our winged friends into a “Birds” folder. That folder is quickly growing. I have a theme!
So, here is a set from from a week spent on Holbox Island, in the Yucatan. The header image above shows the powdery white beach, with an egret taking flight and pelicans in the background. Thank you, Jackie, for showing me this beautiful place (we went to snorkel with whale sharks – it’s fun! – but it’s also a fantastic place to see birds). Here’s proof:
First, the setting. Holbox is a very flat sand bar of an island, off the coast of Yucatan. A tiny “downtown” of sand streets lined with hotels, restaurants, souvenir shops… the usual. And a great long beach to walk, practically by yourself… you and the birds, basically. And let’s not forget a very big sky.
Big birds, and little birds, they leave their tracks on the sand.
Above, two herons. I am going to make a guess as to identification: left, a Tricolored heron (Egretta tricolor) and right, a grumpy-looking Great blue heron (Ardea herodias), in the shallows, looking for goodies.
At the end of the island, where the beach was definitely quieter, there stood a lonely tree, fully decorated with Magnificent frigate birds (Fregata magnificens). Just hangin’ out…
While overhead, an Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) was cruising, looking for lunch.
Later, a walk to the other end of the island revealed an osprey – maybe not the same one, but its cousin – perched on a tree with a snack.
Above: in the meantime, seagulls get comfortable (or is that a meeting chaired by the pelican?), waiting for the fishing boats to return in the late afternoon…
As the sun was setting, the pelicans got busy with a final squadron flight, and wild dives for careless fish…
…and then, it was happy hour…
And to close this post, a manipulated photo of an egret, taking off on a backdrop of shimmering water.
