Blacktail Buck (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus)

In yesterday's post I promised we would look at ducks today but I had such a wonderful meeting with some young Blacktail bucks out at Esquimalt Lagoon yesterday I have postponed the duck post until tomorrow. I was in a deserted old orchard on the backside of the lagoon happily snapping away at either a Hairy or a Downy Woodpecker. (I haven't figured out which yet.) As usual when I am focused on photographing a bird I am pretty much unaware of anything else. So when I looked up from the camera viewfinder I was surprised to see this young buck strolling past. I just stood there and he took a good look at me then went on with his browsing, apparently deciding I wasn't a threat. A few minutes later another young buck joined him and they both nibbled the nearby greenery for about twenty minutes. These small deer are becoming so numerous around here and in some parts of the city that some people consider them pests. But whenever I see them like this I always feel like I've been given something.

Natural Framing

I've always liked the feeling of photos where the scene is framed by something within the photo itself. Here some branches arching over the path nicely frame the wooden floating walkway that crosses one end of Swan Lake. A number of unusual birds have been reported at Swan Lake recently but when they heard I was coming to see them they all took the day off. Only my good friends the duck family showed up so we'll have a look at some ducks tomorrow. Swan Lake, oddly enough, doesn't have any swans although there are lots of swans in lagoons along the coast near Victoria.

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On top of the page today is a new header graphic. Hope you like it.

New Header

If the above photo looks familiar it is because it is the photo I processed to make the header photo for this blog. It's been up there now for almost exactly three years and someone recently suggested it was time for a change. The main building pictured is now the Robert Bateman Centre but when the photo was taken the bulding had been vacant for about a year and was in the process of being transformed into its present functions. I haven't decided what to use as a new header graphic so any suggestions are welcome.

Victoria Classic Boat Festival

Victoria's Inner Harbour hosts two boat shows each year, one in the spring - the Floating Boat Show, mostly up-market boats - and the Labour Day Weekend is a boat show for those who love wooden boats of all kinds, particularly power boats such as Classic Chris Craft. The latter is the Victoria Classic Boat Festival. The photo above was taken on Friday as the boats were assembling in the Inner Harbour. There's more teak in the harbour on this weekend than an acre of Thai forest and it's all beautifully waxed and shined.

McNeill Bay

You would think that it is endless sunshine in Victoria if you only had Victoria Daily Photo to go by wouldn't you? But no, here is lovely McNeill Bay in Oak Bay on a recent rainy day. - Fern