Cranefly and Seal all in one day

A cranefly was discovered in our kitchen wall this morning. I am not sure what species it is but it sure looks cool up-close, especially the interesting looking antenna. I'm quite surprised that this individual is still surviving past the harsh winter conditions.

Needing to return some library books, I went to the Steveston branch. While I was there, I walked along the Fraser River and to the wharf to see what I could find.

It was a quiet day. Not many people and animals, and the sidewalks were icy and slippery. But I did encounter this pair of Great Scaups, or so I think according to this comparison between Grater and Lesser Scaups.

I think I also saw one female Common Merganser and one Bufflehead along the Fraser River, but both were too far away for me to take a picture proof.

Another bird I saw today was Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula). The males can be distinguished from the Barrow's Goldeneye because of a white round spot on each side of its face (compare to the white crescent in Barrow's).

I saw the above species in the wharf, where all the fishing boats usually sell their catches. There was also this seagull that kept circling around in the sky and diving down on this particular spot in the water. At first, I didn't pay much attention thinking it was hunting for small fishes or something. But then I saw a dark shape appear and dive down into the water again! Could there be a Steveston Monster!?

Nope. It was a lone seal! It poked its head up a couple of times before the gull attacked (or played) the seal again. Such a cute-looking animal but I wonder why it was so close near these fishing boats. Perhaps, they threw out some of their unsold fishes and that attracted the animals? Otherwise, it is terribly dangerous for it to be so close to frequent-running boats.

As you can tell from the pictures, it was getting late, so I headed back home. But not before I took these interesting pictures of neon-light reflections on the water surface.