Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon)

I managed to catch this Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) from a little closer than usual recently. And, as you can see, the Garry Oak leaves are definitely adopting their autumn colors.

Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)

Here's another bird that likes to hop around upside down. This is a Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens), probably a female since the males have a red patch on the back of their heads and I couldn't see any red on this one as she hopped around looking for bugs in the bark. (Click here to see some shots of a male Downy Woodpecker.) She was sharing the same Garry Oak as the Brown Creeper we looked at a few days ago. They actually seemed to be hunting together since they arrived together and departed at the same time.

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The West Bay Walkway continues to provide an amazing amount of wildlife sightings for an urban environment. This morning on an hour's walk I saw a Harbour Seal, 3 Northern River Otters, 2 Belted Kingfishers, 5 Hooded Mergansers, a Great Blue Heron, small flocks of European Starlings and Robins, a Chestnut-backed Chickadee, as well as a wide variety of joggers and walkers.

Mushroom Season

Mushroom season has only just begun now but there are already a few of the smaller kinds of fungi visible on the forest floor, Above is one of my favorites, the Toothed Jelly Fungus (Pseudohydnum gelatinosum). I don't know if these guys glow in the dark but they certainly glow in the daytime. I think I also like them because they are one of the few fungi I can identify. The brown mushrooms on the left belong to that much larger class of fungi that I cannot identify. If there are any mycophiles out there perhaps you can suggest what kind of mushroom they are.

Vista 18 Restaurant

I had the pleasure last week of dining at Vista 18, a restaurant that sits atop the Chateau Victoria and offers splendid views in all directions, as well as delicious food. The view above is facing west towards the Metchosin Hills with Sooke beyond. The Legislative Assembly Buildings are on the left, some of the Fairmont Empress Hotel in the center and a bit of the Inner Harbour visible on the right. Click on the photo if you want to see the large panorama (3000 pixels wide) and scroll around in Victoria's skyline. There are also some nice views if one looks down instead of out such as Saint Saviour's Church (right) nestled between some of the newer highrise hotels and condominiums. The Vista 18 Restaurant used to be called The Parrot House and thereby hangs a tale...(Click here if you want to know why it was called The Parrot House.)

Brown Creeper (Certhia americana)

This tiny little bird is a Brown Creeper (Certhia americana) and here he is pictured hunting for insects in the bark of a Garry Oak overlooking the West Bay Walkway. I was thinking this was a fairly insignificant bird and then I realized what he was doing. Remember, in the above photo he is hanging upside down. As he poked here and there in bark crevices, he hopped upwards. The more I think about it, it seems, like the flight of the bumblebee, to be impossible. Why, as soon as he lets go with his feet, doesn't he plummet towards the earth? Well, all I can say is that he doesn't, and he makes this defiance of gravity look easy. Wonderful!