Assorted photos in February

Here are some photos I took the past several days.

The Rideau Canal Skateway officially closed for the season yesterday and ended the shortest season on record (18 days).  Thankfully I got a chance to spend some time (walking) on the canal last Friday and to test my new lens.

Updates & Visiting Mud Lake

This week is reading week at University of Ottawa, so there are no classes for undergraduate students, which also means a less hectic week for me.  One thing I was planning on doing this week was looking for Snowy Owls.  The approximate location of the Snowy Owls is not very close to where I live and public transportation does not even come close to the area, so I have been waiting for some free time and good weather in order to make this thing happen.  And today is finally the day!

Another thing that happened this week was that I came across an ad of someone selling one of the lenses that I have been waiting for a while now - the Olympus 60mm f/2.8 Macro Lens.  After some online negotiation and postponing the transaction because of Tuesday's record-breaking snowfall, I finally received this lens yesterday, and it is beautiful!  Because of the two above things, I set some goals for myself today - find Snowy Owls and test the lens.

Long story short, the first goal was unsuccessful because the road where I thought the owls may be found was not the right one and walking along a busy rural road (during wintertime) without sidewalks does not make me feel very safe (just like the time when I tried to bike to Bridgenorth).  After feeling a bit bummed and tired out, I decided to visit Mud Lake and photograph some birds (and macro shots too) instead.

Mud Lake is completely snow-covered now.  I took this photo with my new lens.  It is so much fun shooting with a sharp prime lens (not really the case for my OM 50mm f/1.8 lens).

Rideau Canal Skateway 2016

The Rideau Canal Skateway opened entirely on Friday for first time this winter.  Here are some of the photos I took on Wednesday and today.

It was snowing quite heavily on Wednesday afternoon.

Broken and slowly melting away

Life is a bit hectic at the moment.  Sometimes the only constant in my life is my love for nature, anything else will eventually fade away or break down.  Here are some photos taken during the past two weeks.

I bought a new camera lens during the holiday break - the M.Zuiko 14-42mm f3.5-5.6 II R.  It is a kit lens that usually comes with entry-level cameras, but now I can attach it to my camera without needing an adapter, which makes my camera less bulky and much lighter.

Winter bird-watching at Fletcher Wildlife Garden

I went to the Fletcher Wildlife Garden today hoping to see some birds (especially this one recorded from two weeks ago).  I did not see the owl but ended up seeing many regular wintering species, and most of them were hanging around feeders or trees with fruits.

Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis)

Birding at Richmond Nature Park

Yesterday I went to downtown Vancouver with my mother to get Compass Cards for public transportation.  While we were waiting to cross the street in Chinatown, I was shoved to the ground from behind by a random drunk/addict walking by.  I don't come to downtown Vancouver often, but for whatever reason, I always left with a bad taste for this part of the city whenever I do come.

After the incident, we took the sea bus to North Vancouver just to get away from Vancouver.

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.

Last (bird-watching) day of 2015

I was hoping to do more nature-related things when I came back home, but various tasks took place and I ended up not bird-watching until this morning when I drove my mother to the library to borrow some books and then went to Terra Nova for a walk.

I miss this view.  You can't see mountains and ocean (sort of) in the same view back in Ottawa.

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.

Bird-watching at Arboretum in a (still) snow-free December

Compared to previous years (2013 and 2014), December so far has been very mild which makes being outside (for humans and creatures alike) more enjoyable.  Before going to school today to grade some lab reports, I made a detour to the Arboretum to do some bird-watching.  I came across a spot where several species of birds were bathing and enjoying whatever food they can find.

American Robin (Turdus migratorius) taking a bird bath.