Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris)

Disappointed by the lame wild bird photos I've been taking lately, I decided it was time to head into the countryside once more. I went out to Esquimalt Lagoon yesterday and gorged myself on the birds. I am sure these birds are aware that the lagoon is a migratory bird sanctuary since they seem to be less fearful every time I visit. The photo to the left will give you some idea of the richness and tameness of the bird population there. You can see two kinds of swan (Mute Swans and one black-billed Trumpeter), a Canada Goose (just behind the Trumpeter Swan), pigeons, a male Brewer's Blackbird (extreme lower right), mallards, and gulls. In other parts of the lagoon I also saw American Wigeons, Pintails, Killdeer, Great Blue Herons and a Belted Kingfisher. Above is my favorite shot of the hundreds I took. These are European Starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) in their winter outfits, not perhaps quite as striking as their spring and summer coats but still beautifully patterned and displaying a shifting iridescence that always makes me slightly envious - we humans are such a dowdy bunch in comparison.