Fleming Beach

Whoo - I just about forgot to make a post today. But here's a shot from the end of the Fleming Beach breakwater that will give you a hint of what the weather was like today. I'd almost forgotten the sky could be so blue.

Saxe Point Park II

Here's another shot of one of the views offered by Saxe Point Park. It looks much better with blue skies and fluffy white clouds but our weather lately has been cold, wet and gray. Meanwhile the cold part of our country is basking in summertime temperatures. I guess it's only fair since we had such a balmy winter while they experienced a series of record-breaking snowstorms.

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Happy Easter!

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No More Mr. Nice Guy

Despite the good press robins have been receiving on this blog I have recently noticed distinctly hostile and aggressive behavior. It reminds me that beneath that romantic springtime nesting and mating is a fierce competition for mates and territory. I've lately seen some genuinely vicious aerial combats and feathery fisticuffs between robins. There is a definite martial edge to their cheeping and peeping. And on the ground the normally mild-mannered robin adopts a stance that clearly says, "You want a piece of me?"

Saxe Point Park

I've been taking a lot of photos lately in Saxe Point Park, of birds and flowering plants, but not many of the park itself so here's a view from the park that I often enjoy when I'm checking to see if there is any action in the eagle's nest. That nest is at the top of a tree just out of sight above and to the left in this photo. We are looking up the west coast of the island here with the area known as Metchosin visible across the water. Out of the frame on the right is Esquimalt Harbour and the naval base.

Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator)

While out at Esquimalt Lagoon the other day I noticed an impressively big swan among the other swans and ducks along the shoreline of the lagoon. It wasn't until I got home and had a good look at the photos I'd taken that I realized that this bird was not just bigger but was different in other ways from the Mute Swans that are usually seen around the lagoon. The bird above is a Trumpeter Swan (Cygnus buccinator), the largest native North American bird. It's only slightly larger than the Mute Swan (Cygnus olor) but the latter is an introduced species that has escaped captivity and naturalized itself. I've included a photo of a Mute Swan on the left to show the differences in bill color and shape.