First visit to Paulik Garden

Didn't make a post yesterday because I was attending our office's Christmas Party and didn't go out to take pictures. Today, I was feeling kind of heavy-headed from all that wine that I drank last night, and so I didn't venture as far as I would have liked during the weekends.

On Friday, our local newspaper had an article on Paulik Garden, which I always find interesting and want to visit but never really have the chance. Anyways, with my condition today, I decided to keep my trip short and local and start with Paulik Garden. The weather was great today - sunny with few clouds (although I heard from my mom that it rained a bit in the morning - while I was still asleep).

Apparently Rock Paper Lizard also visited Paulik Garden today (in the morning) and had more interesting stories to tell that me. Nevertheless, now that I have visited it, the garden is indeed a special place in the midst of all the new condos surrounding it. I guess it is becoming a refuge spot for birds of that area.

The different types of habitats (for all kinds of birds) in Paulik Garden.

A butterfly "hotel" for the non-migratory butterfly species (during the winter) here in Lower Mainland.

One of my favorite things to do now - exercise my neck by looking up magnificent tall trees and taking pictures.

I only saw the common birds in the garden today, such as American Robin (Turdus migratorius) and Dark-eyed Junco. I also saw a large bird flying over me while I was taking pictures of something else. The bird flew to the tall trees and disappeared, and I couldn't find it again. Such a shame because I think it might be an eagle or an owl.

The quite abundant robins in Paulik Garden.

A bird that seems to be a robin, but it doesn't have that bright orange breast, so I am quite confused now. Maybe it's a different species all together.

Even though I know they are quite common, I still can't resist taking pictures of a fellow mammal, especially one that's giving me such a cute pose.

Slug


Lady bird resting/hiding inside a tree hole.

Afterwards, I decided to walk north because it seemed that the Garden City Community Park is quite nearby and I thought why not pay a visit while I was in the neighborhood. The first thing that I noticed when arriving at the park was the fewer number of waterfowls in the ponds. I guess the Canada Geese have continued with their migration, leaving behind the usual mallards. Mallards usually travel in a group, but I was paying attention to a smaller group of non-mallards. This group consisted of: Green-winged Teals (Anas crecca), a female Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus), and a male Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata). I guess you can even call them a group of misfits.

However, the most exciting sighting of the day was this pair of muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) - a medium-sized, brown, aquatic rodent that build dens on the water just like beaver. But one distinguishable characteristic is their vertically flattened tail, which was clearly observed when I was watching them swim. They were feeding on some kind of plants in the pond. Never seen a muskrat in person, I was running around the pond trying to get decent picture with my digital camera. And these were the best that I got.

While I was on the bus heading home, I saw the clouds turning into a beautiful orange due to the sunset. So I skipped my bus stop and rode the bus all the way to Steveston to watch the sun set (in the windy cold temperature) in Garry Point Park.

Pleasant walk on a pleasant day

Today's weather was extremely cooperative when it came to taking a nice stroll along the dyke. If I knew it was going to be this nice, I'd probably go farther (southward, e.g. Boundary Bay) to do my weekend exploration. But who can be certain about anything when we are talking about Vancouver's weather. If I knew, then I'd bike instead of walk, but again, who's for certain.

Today had nice clear sunny breaks and the blue sky peaked down at us when the clouds were kind enough. But for most of the times, the sky looked like the pictures below. Not extremely pretty, but at least it was pleasant enough that I didn't have to use my umbrella at all.

Seemed that many creatures were enjoying this temporary break from all that rain we had in the last couple of days.

Such as this Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus).

I came across this unidentified insect today when I was at the Terra Nova Natural Area. I took several pictures before I poked gently at it and only to find it dead. Another creature dead, sigh.

Now that most of the leaves are gone, it is quite interesting to see the "treasures" they hide during spring and summer, such as these bird nests. I am pretty sure the top two pictures belong to a Bald Eagle (since I saw one resting beside it last month). The bottom two, I don't know. I always find it amazing to be able to identify birds by their nests, sort of like a tracker identifying tracks of an animal.

As for the creatures that were out and about, these were what I saw.

European Slug (?)

Painted Turtle (Chrysemys picta).

Today's the first time I observed a turtle in Terra Nova thanks to the two dads and their children.

Dad #1: "Can you see it?"
Child: "No."
Dad #2: "Maybe I will throw something at it to make it move then you can see."
Me approaching.
Dad #2: "Maybe I won't."

This Great Blue Heron was staying on top of a dirt mound looking all magnificent and proud. Then it got spooked by me (or vice versa, when it gave out its raspy hair-standing call) and flew to the ponds.

Chasing after it, I came across some surprises. Many Mallards, as well as these two birds: Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata) and Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola), both of which are my first observations this year.

A. clypeata (male) can be identified by its green head, white breast, brown sides, and more importantly the large and spatulate bill that is longer than its head. The Bufflehead stayed quite far away from me to not get a close look or take a good picture, but it should be a female with the smaller and elongated white patch on her head.

By then, I was already three hours into my short stroll, so I turned around to head back home and see if I can get more pictures of the turtle. But it was already gone when I reached the spot, at least I already got some decent pictures.

This is what I mean by the large quantity of rain dumped on us these last couple of days. There should a cement floor to that railing where you can stand there and watch animals, but it has already overflowed to the point of covering the floor. If that's the case, then Richmond is much lower than the actual sea level (than normal). Scary.

Ah, such a pleasant day full of firsts. I love it!
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