Snug In A Bed of Queen Anne's Lace

Well, as usual summer seems to be ending when it's hardly begun but the signs are inescapable. Here's two in a cozy arrangement. Like many flowering plants the Queen Anne's Lace (Daucus carota) pictured above is going to seed now. I enjoy the look of these clusters of tiny, spiny seeds and while photographing them I came across this one with a grasshopper nestling inside. There are about 11,000 species of grasshopper so I am not going to attempt to identify this one.

American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis)

Today's photo is a species new to me though it's not an uncommon bird. It's an American Goldfinch (Spinus tristis) photographed on Saturday on the northern shore Esquimalt Lagoon. This has become one of my favourite spots to look for birds. It's on the grounds of a condo development that got stalled. The development sits right on the edge of the lagoon bird sanctuary and includes large areas of blackberry bramble patches and an ancient orchard. What appeals most to me however is a very large partially dead tree standing solitary in a field of swamp grass and thistles. I've noticed that this tree is a favourite resting place and staging platform for many different kinds of birds that pass by on foraging expeditions. I've seen species such as Brown Headed Cowbirds in this tree that I've not seen anywhere else. So now what I do is set up my tripod and camera fairly close to this tree and wait. Voila! Before too long a bunch of these American Goldfinches arrived and perched in the tree while preening and resting. Then they began to make short trips foraging in the thistles and eating thistle seed before returning to rest and digest in the tree. Several other species of birds came by but the day's highlight were the American Goldfinches.

Morning on the 'Hat

There are a few spots to pull over when you are driving north up the Malahat and this is the view from the first one looking across the Saanich Inlet to the Peninsula and the Gulf Islands beyond. Spectacular! - Fern

Shadows

Here's another of my 'famous' pictures of nothing. Yet it's very satisfying somehow. - Fern

Some Ducks

Ah, for the days when I imagined that bird identification was simply a matter of checking off significant features. What I am discovering as I plunge a little more deeply into actually trying to identify birds is that they wear different costumes at different times of the year as well as at different times during their lives. So any given species may have a a half dozen different costumes depending on its gender, age and whether it is breeding season or not. Thus I can tell you that the duck on the left above is a Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata) because of its very distinctive large flat bill. But I don't know its age or gender for sure. The yellow eye makes me think it's a male but the orange-ish bill makes me think it's a female. And though I've checked with several reputable field guides I can't really tell for sure whether it is a juvenile or an adult in non-breeding season plumage. In breeding season the male's distinctive plumage makes gender id easy and there don't appear to be any juveniles around at that time of year.

On the right above is a Wood Duck (Aix sponsa) but once again, for similar reasons, I am unable to be sure whether it is a male or female or a juvenile of either gender. Thanks to the internet I can check these identifications with more knowledgeable people on a local birding forum. I'll let you know what I find out.

Both of these ducks were photographed a few days ago at Swan Lake Nature Sanctuary on the outskirts of Victoria in Saanich.