Sights from Portland, Oregon

My girlfriend and I just spent a rewarding but exhausting week in Portland, Oregon attending the Ecological Society of American (ESA) 2017 Annual Meeting.  Aside from going to presentations, eating, and sleeping, there was not much time to explore this interesting city.

For example, we woke up very early one day and went for a stroll around a park (Laurelhurst Park) in the neighbourhood, where we came across two young Cooper's Hawks (Accipiter cooperii).

Going outside and waiting for Spring

With rising temperature and melting snowpack, it is difficult not to think about Spring.  Nowadays, I try to go outside whenever the weather is nice and I need a break from computer work so that I can discover that first hint of Spring (from a flower, insect, bird call, anything!).

Almost a week ago, it was still pretty cold when I was walking along the Rideau River.

Male Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)

Christmas Bird Count 2015 (Ottawa) & Return back to BC

Hello from BC!  I returned back to BC early yesterday morning for the holiday break.  Before Tuesday, I participated in the Ottawa-Gatineau Christmas Bird Count on Sunday with mostly the same group of people as last year.  As you may already know, it has been a warm December in Ontario and the weather is completely different from the previous year.  Compared to last year, our section did not record as many species, although the region as a whole has received a record number of individuals, with more than two-thirds of the total count (about 25,000 individual birds) being American Crows and Canada Geese (read the news report here).  Unfortunately, I stupidly forgot to put my freshly-charged battery into my camera and was not able to take any photos of the birds we saw.  In the end, I only snapped two photos with my phone.

The starting point of our bird count early in the morning.

Driving around Richmond

After dropping my father off at work, my mother and I went to Iona Beach to do some bird-watching.  Besides the swallows flying back and forth over the pond, it was a pretty quiet day, bird-wise.

A couple of Mallards on the water, including this female duck and her six ducklings.

AAA trip to Amherst Island, Ontario

Trent's Avian Appreciation Association (AAA) has been planning a birding trip to Amherst Island for quite a while now, and I was glad to take a break from sorting my insect collection and go outside for a much needed birding experience. Amherst Island is an island in Lake Ontario and accessible by ferry (or air) and is home to many species of owls during summer and winter.

Leaving Peterborough around 8am.

Fourth Annual Richmond Raptor Festival

Today was the 4th Richmond Raptor Festival. August is a great time to be back in B.C. - lots of sunshine and happening events.

Held at Terra Nova Community Garden

Insects from Iona Beach

I drove my mom to Iona Beach Regional Park to check out some wildlife before we went over to pick up my father from work.

Nice weather today. I am beginning to think that birding in the summer is not as exciting as spring or fall (when the birds are passing through during migration). We saw a lot of swallows, some gulls, and some ducks.

Hits (Eagle and Hawk) and Miss (Snake)

I didn't stay out too long this afternoon - only went for a short bike ride to the dyke, Finn Slough, then back home.

Weather today.

Fly with cool eyes

Another fair weather day.

Very low tide. It was actually pretty steep walking from the 'dock' down to the floating platform.

Blossoms and then Cooper's Hawk

First thing today was going to London Heritage Farm to find myself some critters. I didn't see much until I reached the back corner of the farm and saw bees flying towards it.

It's a Bee Yard!

Away...Again

Sometimes life is just like today...one day, everything was going your way, and the next day, nothing is going your way. I am talking about wildlife watching, of course, although I can't really complain because I still saw quite a lot.

Today's weather was gorgeous!

Better day than expected

It was a better birding than I expected, given that it was spitting rain when I left the house and a few more times while outside.

Unstable weather.

Wordless Wednesday - Biked to Finn Slough again

Birding at Finn Slough - Bird of the day: TUVU

Another bike ride to Finn Slough to get the much-needed exercise/birding.

Along the way, I saw lots of Mew Gulls and other gulls circling around in the sky.

Many Golden-crowned Sparrow feeding.

Bird-watching in Terra Nova with mother

I drove my mother to the library this afternoon. Afterwards, we went to Terra Nova to watch the birds.

I first saw the female, but only this male was photograph-able. The head shape makes it look like a Lesser Scaup, but I can't be certain. [Edit: It's a Ring-necked Duck, thanks to Frank for the identification.]

Biking to Terra Nova

When I was pedaling towards the dyke this afternoon, for some reason, I felt so out of shape. Maybe it was because I was moving against the wind or maybe I just need to work out more regularly.

Anyways, today was relatively sunny with blue skies.

Good wildlife-watching day; Bad photography day

Life sometimes like to play funny tricks on you. For example, today is incredibly cloudy and a bad day for photography, but yet I saw so many cool critters, e.g. Muskrat, lots of raptors, Mink(! - no photo). Sigh, blurry photos will still serve as a good day.

First, I saw a Muskrat eating vegetation in the ditch. First Muskrat of the year!

My fav. kind of winter - cold and sunny; biking to the dyke

Today, my dad bought me a few things for me to prepare the harsh winters of Ontario - winter jacket, snow boots and a warm pair of jeans. Not the kind of things I usually use here in B.C.

In the afternoon, I biked to South Dyke Trail, almost to Finn Slough, then back home. Today's my favorite kind of winter - cold but sunny, and almost cloudless too. Great day for a photo outing, except that my digits get cold very quickly.

Beautiful day at the dyke trail. Many dogs and their humans out enjoying the nice weather.

Cloudless.

Birding Saturday

On this sunny Saturday, I biked to South Dyke Trail and then to Finn Slough.

Not a cloud in sight.

After taking the photos of the view above, I got a feeling that someone was looking at me. Turned out it was this hawk - not completely sure if it is a Sharpie or a Cooper's.

Short Birding Outing at South Dyke Trail

Originally I had many ideas of places to go to test out my new lens, e.g. Reifel, Bloedel Conservatory, etc. But in the end, after waking up late, sorting out all the photos, and writing yesterday's blog, it was pretty late in the afternoon, so I just biked to South Dyke hoping to see some wildlife along the way.

While walking my bike in the "dog park" I heard many birds and came to several trees with bird feeders. I quickly took my camera out and snapped away!

Most of the birds were House Sparrows, Downy Woodpeckers, Chickadees, Bushtits and several others that I don't know by sound.