Beach Pianos

The first thing I saw when I arrived at Cattle point yesterday was this gaily painted piano. It's one of a set of five painted pianos that are part of the Oak Bay Arts Alive Program. There are also a dozen sculptures scattered around Oak Bay. We'll have a look at one of the sculptures tomorrow. Shortly after I took the above photo a man came along and sat down and proceeded to play, really beautifully. Later on my drive around the shoreline I came across another of these pianos, this one on Willows Beach, pictured below. To find out more about the Arts Alive Program, click HERE.

Teeter-totter

When Fern and I were at Cattle point last week we noticed this crow. Fern said, "Look, he's got a teeter-totter" and as we watched he walked from the low side of that board to the center and then when it began to dip he continued down until it rested in the puddle and then he took a drink. I don't know what kind of advantage he gained by this but for whatever reason it seemed like he knew perfectly well what he was doing.

Waiting for Spring

Like me, these gulls at Cattle Point are waiting for spring.

Rail Fence

I've posted photos of these rail fences in other parts of Victoria before. This one protects an environmentally sensitive area that is being restored to its natural vegetation on Cattle Point. I quite like these fences when you consider the options often used by institutions - I'm thinking of that ghastly orange plastic netting used sometimes to block public access. Chain link fencing is equally ugly and these rail fences are actually quite attractive as well as being functional.

Drone

The Pelagic Cormorants I posted yesterday were not the only things in the air when Fern and I were at Cattle Point on the weekend. A tiny insect-like buzzing alerted me to this little machine. I must confess to a love-hate relationship with these drones - I hate it when someone else is flying one overhead but I'd love to have one of my own for aerial views.

Pelagic Cormorants

I was happy to see these Pelagic Cormorants (Phalacrocorax pelagicus) while out at Cattle Point on the weekend.

Cattle Point 2

As mentioned by Benjamin yesterday we managed to capture some of the glorious but brief sunshine we had on Friday. I love being by the ocean on days like this but it can feel almost overwhelming to try to do it any justice so my solution was to head into the bushes. Yup, next time you're in a beautiful location and there's some lady standing in a prickly bush it's probably me. Someone's got do it I figure. - Fern

Cattle Point

Fern and I took advantage of a warm sunny afternoon on Friday to head over to the eastern side of Victoria and visit Cattle Point. In Victoria's early days (mid-19th century) cattle were offloaded here to swim ashore. That brilliant blue in the above photo is just how the ocean looked - in fact, it was so blue I was tempted to turn down the saturation a bit to make it seem more realistic.

Cattle Point

Because I live in Vic West I tend to focus on the western side of Vancouver Island. But one place I like to visit regularly, Cattle Point, is on the eastern shore of Victoria. It's a great place to birdwatch, especially at this time of year when the autumn migrations are taking place.

Crown Brodiaea (Brodiaea coronaria)

While out at Cattle Point last week I was pleased to see this brightly colored wildflower scattered quite thickly among the dry grass above the shoreline. This is Crown Brodiaea (Brodiaea coronaria).

Cadboro Bay from Cattle Point

I visited Cattle Point on the eastern shore of Victoria to see if there were any shorebirds there. It's a beautiful viewpoint, especially for looking north towards Cadboro Bay, which view is pictured above. I didn't see any shorebirds aside from a few Black Oystercatchers but thanks to a friendly birder who alerted me, I was able to add a new species to my life list, the Rhinoceros Auklet (Cerorhinca monocerata). The photos below are only suitable for identification. My only excuse for such poor photos is that the Rhinoceros Auklets were so far offshore as to be little more than black dots to the naked eye and not much larger through a 500mm supertelephoto lens. However, in the photos below the distinctive white eye plumes and projecting horn at the base of the upper bill are clear identification features.Cattle Point seems to be a good place in general to view some of our urban wildlife. The photo below shows a Northern Otter, a Crow and two Canada Geese sharing a bit of rocky shoreline, quite unconcerned by a photographer and a class of primary school students roaming around in the near vicinity.

Willows Beach

Another one of Victoria's favorite places for a stroll is Cattle Point, where these photos were taken looking towards Willows Beach. The sun bathers and sand castle builders are gone but there are still lots of folks out walking their dogs in the crisp November sunshine. - Fern

Garry Oak Meadows

On a walk at Cattle Point Park I discovered that just inland of the water is a beautiful wild space of mossy rocks, and big old oak trees. When the leaves began to fall at this time of year I once again become enamored with the twisted and gnarled branches of these iconic trees. - Fern

Willows Beach Sunrise II

Cattle Point, where I took yesterday's bird and animal photos, marks the northeastern end of Willows Beach. It is the point of land jutting out on the left hand side of the above photo.

Cattle Point

I was going to post another sunrise photo today but I realized that they are a little like cupcakes - one is fine but a steady diet is a bit overwhelming. After I had glutted myself on sunrise yesterday at Willows Beach I went down to the end of the beach marked by Cattle Point. I was amazed by the variety and busy-ness of the wild life off that point. All these photos were taken within a few minutes.

Above is a female American Wigeon. There were lots of Mallards as well and a few other kinds of duck but the latter were so shy I was unable to get close enough to identify them. On the left, poking about among the rocks was a Black Oystercatcher. These birds always amuse me because they seem to be trying to be inconspicuous but those eyes and that beak are a dead giveaway. To the right, seemingly traveling in tandem, are one of our local seagulls and a Harbour Seal.

There seem to be more than the usual number of seals around lately. I see one or more pretty well every time I am down near the shoreline. Last night while on the West Bay Walkway I spent about a half an hour watching one dine off a dense school of thousands of small silvery fish that were swimming directly below the walkway.

Mount Baker

It was a beautiful day yesterday so I thought I would sample the bird life on Victoria's eastern shores and went over to Cattle Point. While I wasn't lucky enough to see any birds I'd not seen before, I was rewarded with this spectacular view of Mount Baker in Washington State, USA. The mountain is always there but the atmospheric conditions seldom render it so large and clear. Wikipedia has a good article on this lovely local volcano.

Honour Roll

Just above Cattle Point is this memorial to Oak Bay residents who lost their lives during World War II. Generally these memorials depict armed soldiers and it is nice to see one that recognizes the grief and sorrows suffered by those who were left behind. It perhaps serves as a better reminder that we'd be wiser to remember the pain and suffering that war brings rather than glorify its heroic aspects.

Have a seat!

A beautifully clear and sunny day today so I went for a long ride towards the southeastern side of the city. I tend to focus a bit on the western side because I live there and it is convenient. But today I wanted to go over to Cadboro Bay to see a sea lion that had apparently taken up residence there. No sea lion, but that's another story. I spent a little time at Cattle Point (above photo), named because it was the drop-off point for cattle being shipped to Uplands Farm when this area was rural. The bench featured above looks out over Georgia Strait as in the photo below.