First (bird-watching) day of 2016

I drove to Steveston with my mother today for an afternoon walk.  We stopped at a couple of places to do some bird-watching.

I miss this view.

Getting a taste of spring in BC

While most parts of Canada are under deep snow and freezing temperatures, the west coast has been experiencing springlike conditions.  My mother and I went for a drive/walk to West Dyke Trail this morning to do some bird-watching.

View from West Dyke Trail with Snow Goose (Chen caerulescens) scattered across the land.  I took this image with my new phone (Xiaomi HM Note 1W) which has pretty good camera capability (13 megapixels).

Pretty good day - wildlife-wise

This Glaucous-winged Gull was staring at me when I arrived at Phoenix Pond in Steveston. Looking around, I realized there was a dead salmon in the water below.

Photographic Post - Swans, Cows, and Collared-Dove

Mute Swans at London's Landing

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.

Quick glance at the Richmond Maritime Festival

My mother and I went to the Richmond Maritime Festival this afternoon. Despite living in Richmond for many years, this is the first time we attended this event.

A nice day with many Yellowlegs resting on logs.

Bees, Tulips, Eagles, Flycatcher(!) and Blossom

It is such a nice day today. Perfect day to go bike-riding.

Look at the view! Only a few clouds in the horizon.

Bird- and blossom-watching in Steveston.

In the afternoon, I drove my mother to Steveston to buy groceries. We went there via Dyke Road to see some wildlife along the way.

Common Mergansers resting on a floating log.

Pink Blossoms and Gold Finch

Another beautiful sunny day without any clouds in the sky.

Saw a pair of Common Mergansers swimming towards the Phoenix Pond.

Blossom-watching at Garry Point

The weather has been pretty bad the last couple of days; thankfully, the rain ceased this afternoon and there were even some blue skies as well.

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.

B's of the day: blossom, bumblebee, and bittern

A much nicer day compared to yesterday. Is spring break going on right now or something? I am out of school for so long that it such a surprise to see so many kids outside during school hours.

Sunny day.

Spider, Wasp, and Blossom

First thing I did today was head out to the South Dyke Sharing Farm to see if I can I find and observe some critters. But most of the gardens are still not yet planted, so it was pretty barren with dead vegetation from last year.

I didn't see much except for these spiders running around the dried dead grasses, which form excellent hiding spaces for these spiders. I think I have seen them before near the Terra Nova Sharing Farm, quite abundant and common.

Blossoms are here! Good day to be out

Besides seeing the American Bittern today, I also saw many interesting things.

First, the blossoms are here! Despite seeing them every year, it's still exciting to see these beautiful flowers. I took these from the Phoenix Pond in Steveston, but they are starting to blossom everywhere in the city now.

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

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

Snipes and Coyotes

Another bike ride to Terra Nova today. Passing the large group of Mallards and Coots.

Handsome Mallard male.

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.

Gulls at low tide

Biking along the South Dyke Trail, I noticed this immature Bald Eagle on the tree.

It seemed to be perching awkwardly, so I looked at its talons and noticed it was only perching on one foot and withdraw its left foot. It was difficult to tell if it is injured or something because it looks alright. I hope I am just imagining it.

Windy day so calmer waters on the wharf

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

Abstract photos for a strange day

In the afternoon, the sky was covered by thick clouds in the north but sunny in the south. I quickly pedaled to the library in Steveston to return some books. Afterwards, I took my time slowly pedaling back home.