I didn't feel up to trekking through the woods to survey the devastation caused by our recent winter storms, so I took a leisurely stroll around the Lagoon instead. It gave me a chance to catch up with a few of my animal friends who live there. I will return to the park for a deeper foray later, though, and post my findings here.
I wasn't ten metres inside the park when I met this little fellow. He was bold at first, but when I didn't have food off he went. Still, he gave me this singular image. Alas, his back was to the sun, so it isn't ideal, though that's just me being picky. The black squirrel is predominant, the gray more rare, the red the rarest of all. I saw no reds on this day, not even glimpsed. This was one of about four grays I saw, and dozens of blacks.
Having learned my lesson I found someone who had food (I don't feed wild animals) and as they gave out food I snapped pictures. This guy stayed around awhile. I sat on a rock, very still, so he'd forget I was there. As usual, I didn't have my tripod, which makes photographing these fidgety little beasts a challenge. Plus it helps to overexpose to photograph a black animal, which can wash out the background. Still, I think I did alright.
I did encounter the raccoon, but by the time I noticed him he'd already sussed me out and by the time the camera was out he was gone into the underbrush. That he was even out in the day points to his having rabies, so I always approach him with caution. I sat down again (this time on a fallen log) and called and called, but he never returned. Instead, I snapped this little guy. They have the funniest call; it sounds like someone blowing a raspberry. In fact, that's what I thought it was at first - some damn kid scaring away all my friends.
The winter's devastation has created a plethora of ground feeding. There were hundreds of these little guys hopping around. As usual, they're also fidgety little buggers, but this one landed in the light. Fujifilm's genius technology did the rest. This is a male; the females were all immensely fat and ready to lay their eggs. They tended to stay in the underbrush to feed or let their mates bring them food. Sound familiar?
Squirrels (even the gray ones) are relatively common in the park, but chipmunks aren't. This little devil was teasing a Pekinese when I took this picture, playing peekaboo then running away as the dog strained against the end of his lead. Hilarious. They must have done this for twenty minutes. I could have watched it for two hours.
Around the time I was sitting with the black squirrel I noticed the lagoon's resident swans across the water; after I left the chipmunk I headed straight there. I got a couple of pictures of him feeding in the rushes, watched as he sailed dangerously close to a wading heron, then sailed off again huffily, faster than a jogger. This is that moment.
And this is that heron. Despite the storms, very few herons' nests were damaged. It's almost like (shock!) they know something we don't. This one was drinking; I took a few pictures between sips, but when I went to take video of him feeding he flew off. The park was filled with herons that day (as it is most days). I have many wonderful pictures of them; one day I'll get one on video.
Most of the ducks in Stanley Park are mallards. This was the only pair of wood ducks I saw this day. Wood ducks are my favourite duck (closely followed by the merganser). I was focused on the male (surprise, surprise) but was pleased when I got this shot of the both of them, with the female not too blurry in the foreground.
At one point I knew the names of over 100 species of common birds, including this one. Knowledge not used will fade, I'm sad to admit, which means I should brush up on my bird books. There are a few pairs of these in Stanley Park, especially in the area where I was. The females are brown where the males are blue, and are nearly as lovely. I also saw Canada geese, chickadees, wrens, starlings, seagulls, Arctic terns, and pigeons on that wonderful day in the park.
I've been a twitcher since I was about 8 years old, but I've fallen out of it lately. This visit (and the snazzy camera that helped me capture these moments) have awakened that interest in me. The next nice day I have off I'm going to Burns Bog, which (for the time being, anyway) is one of Canada's largest remaining wetland areas.
Development is encroaching, though, and the BC Liberal government can't seem to sell off our natural heritage fast enough, so I figure I better get down there while it's still there. Nothing beats a picture of a bird in a semi-wild setting; there's nothing sadder than to see a red-wing blackbird on a mailbox.
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