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.

Assorted photos from the weekend at school

This weekend, I was at school proctoring a final exam and grading lab reports.  Not fun but just something that always had to be done at the end of each semester.  I brought my camera and tried to take some photos when I go outside for a break.

I found a relatively interesting staircase inside the Faculty of Social Sciences Building.

View from the bottom.

Wildlife observed (so far) this week

Now that the weather is getting warmer and sunnier, I went out to a few different spots this week and brought my camera with me.

Strathcona Park (Tuesday)

I went out to Strathcona Park during lunch break.  I had the 40-150 lens on my camera, and I was practicing the continuous auto-focus (with tracking) on the gulls.

Mallards (Anas platyrhynchos)

Bird-watching at Sawmill Creek Constructed Wetland

I was debating where to spend some time outside this long weekend, especially because the public transit schedule is different every single day.  Looking at eBird, I realized there was a bird-watching spot very close to where I live called Sawmill Creek Constructed Wetland, so I searched for instructions on how to get there this morning and walked there right after.

The main purposes of this man-made wetland are to collect run-off water and de-silt the water before it flows into Sawmill Creek.

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.

First nice weather of April

Yesterday's constant rain was probably Mother Nature's way of saying Happy April Fools. Regardless, today's nice weather made up for it.

Seeing birds up-close: robin, cormorant, and falcon

Another day of gorgeous weather! Look at the beautiful blue sky.

Pretty good birding afternoon at Garry Point

I thought it would be colder today, apparently not. Maybe because I had another sweater and a warmer pants on. Nonetheless, it was another beautiful day out.

The first birds I saw were four Killdeers in this field sticking their bills into the water.

AM: Vancouver, PM: Finn Slough

My mother and I won a couple of tickets to Vancouver's 19th Annual Wellness Show and it was our destination for the day (and Sunday, as it turned out). It was our first time attending this event, so it was quite new and we didn't know what to make out of it. However, given that we had free tickets and was given a bag with free goodies each and sampled lots of delicious food, I'd say we had a good time overall.

Afterwards, we headed outside to enjoy the beautiful views.

Not a cloud in the sky.

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.

Windy day so calmer waters on the wharf

Today was sunny but extremely windy, which made biking to the dyke quite a workout.

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.

Cityscape and bird-watching from Jericho Beach

Today I went to Vancouver to pick up a reference letter from one of my old professors for my application to Trent University. Since she lived close to Jericho Beach, I decided to walk down to it and take some pictures.

It was a cloudy day with raining clouds gathering together, and so it seemed more appropriate to have black-and-white photos to tell a more interesting story.

Peaceful North Shore Mountains.


The city from afar.

No Franklin. And no lens cap.

It was a sunny Sunday and I headed out to Steveston again to try and see if I can find the Franklin's Gull again.

On my way to Steveston, I stopped at the dock to see if I can spot some eagles.

Then I heard an eagle calling, and so I quickly took out my new lens, opened the lens cap, accidentally dropped it on the ground, and watched it rolled through the cracks onto the platform below.

And there it lays on its new home now. Gosh darn it!!! These squeeze lens caps are always a nightmare of mine, it's so easy to fell off that this is just waiting to happen.

Walked along Iona jetty

I drove to Iona this afternoon and decided to walk the entire way along the jetty, which I haven't done before.

Definitely a nice day to take on this task.

Saw a grebe along the jetty. Probably a Western Grebe.

Minoru Park & Biked to the dyke

Yesterday, my co-authors in Taiwan received our submitted manuscript on our study about the breeding biology of the Taiwan Barbet in Taipei Botanical Garden. We had good remarks, but we also needed a lot of revision and re-analysis of the results. They scanned they copy to me and now my goal is to get as much revision and rewrite as possible in the last 15 days before I leave for Ontario without internet connection or land-line telephones. Wish me luck!

But first thing in this morning I went to Richmond centre with my mother for our weekly grocery shopping.

Once again, we strolled in Minoru Park before heading to the Public Market.

Minoru Chapel with gorgeous blue sky. Some people call it the Olympus Blue (for the blue color that Olympus cameras produce). Cool!

Arrival of cherry blossoms...

My mother and I visited Steveston this afternoon to buy some seafood and fruits. Near the bus stop, cherry trees were already blossoming! My mother think they are at least one month ahead of past years.

The pink flowers goes great with the blue sky background.

Close-up on the flowers.

Then we went to the dock first to check out the fishing boats. Since most of them haven't arrive yet, we decided to take a stroll along the waterfront first.

We saw several Common Mergansers, as well as one female Bufflehead.


Most birds were shy and pretty far away. The closest a bird got near us was this Double-crested Cormorant.

Bald Eagles across the river.

Then we arrive at the bridge and the outlook area.

Where the Mallards and Wigeons were dozing off in this gorgeous sunny day.

The usual male Bufflehead was around, but this time he has a female beside him. I wonder if it was the female I saw earlier.

In the midst of the peacefulness was this female Belted Kingfisher, circling around the water and continuously diving into the water. It caused quite a racket among the ducks. I wish I was able to photograph it's gracefulness diving into the water...

Then the kingfisher disappeared. But appeared again and flew on to the tree where a Great Blue Heron was also nearby. Can you spot the two birds in this picture?

One last look at the (white) cherry blossoms before we set out what we were here for - shopping.

365 days ago (2009-02-19) ...
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Blue Sky-watching Friday

I arrived a bit early in downtown this morning, so I was free to take some photos from my usual spot.

Then during the lunch break, I went out to enjoy some sunshine by the waterfront.

There were two dogs in that sailboat wearing life-vests.

Gorgeous day.

A Pelagic Cormorant was quite close to me today. The water rocked while I tried to take its photo.

Another sky-watching photo.

I like the lighting on the building and the blue sky in the background and the green field below (not well-captured by the camera).

New art at Habour Green Park - Skin of Time. I wish I know how to take a good photo of this art piece.

Weekend starts tomorrow. Enjoy, everyone.

365 days ago (2009-01-22)...
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Gray Friday at Harbour Green Park

A pretty gray day today. I went out to Harbour Green Park for a stroll during the lunch break. After a short while, a light drizzle started to come down and so I went to buy lunch and went back to the office to have my meal.

Pelagic Cormorant

Unknown Gull (Larus spp.) Juvenile

Have an enjoyable weekend, everyone!

365 days ago (2009-01-08) ...
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Quick stroll to Harbour Green Park

Almost every morning in downtown, on my way to the office, I always walk in front of the building where I see this fantastic Christmas Tree with two life-size figures in the lobby. I have no idea who they are but always wanted to take a picture. Well, I finally get the chance to do so this morning.

Santas? Or two of the Three Wise Men?

The office is quite quiet today as almost everyone is gone for the rest of the year. Oh yeah, did I mention I will be working here for another week or so in the new year?

Anyways, on my lunch break, I headed out in this chilly weather to go to the Harbour Green Park to get some fresh air after being couped inside the office for so long and staring at the computer the whole time (with a few breaks here and there).

Cloudy, but at least it's not raining

Double-crested Cormorant (Phalacrocorax auritus) with the yellow bill.

A lucky shot of the gull in the air.

A Pelagic Cormorant catching fish. I actually saw it caught and ate a fish, I was too amazed to photograph it. The fish was a pretty good-sized too.

That's all I did today. I will be taking my holiday break from now until the beginning of the new year, so hopefully I will have more time to blog everyday now.

Happy Holidays!

365 days ago (2008-12-23) ... About my trip to Orchid Island from August 18 - 20, 2008. Good times with sunny skies, salty sea air, and skin-burning sunshine! Ah!
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