Great Blue Heron III
In direct contrast to the startlingly calm water in my last post, this blustery spring day is full of wind. The tide is out quite a bit more so I slosh out to the edge of the water to find a few great blue heron, and some seagulls, fishing away with delight.
Fish after fish the heron catches, as if at some kind of oceanic smorgasbord.
Those wonky feet, its amazing they don't trip on themselves
this seagull makes me laugh, I don't know what its trying to do, bring up some clams maybe? but its paddling in the muddy water much like an excited child in gumboots after a heavy rain. Meanwhile the heron catches yet another fish. Amazing.
The wind picks up considerably. I look around the tidal flats to find I am the only person out there. I can't bring myself to leave yet, the clouds keep parting intermittently to allow the most wonderful sharp spring light to shine down. A group of ducks pass by in the shallow water behind.
Its just me and this one windswept heron now. Well, except for more ducks in the background. Even they seem to be heading back to the shelter of shore. S/He seems to have eaten its fill and is just enjoying the ever-changing weather, as am I.
That's enough for me, I'm starting to freeze. Its off home for a hot cup of tea. I'll be back another day.
-Keta
Great Blue Heron II
Heron are much easier to photograph than eagles. They might startle or stop fishing for a bit while watching my approach warily, but often my sneakiness pay off and they don't fly away. Even if they do its a short distance off and I can sneak up once more.
To me heron are not as interesting a subject, I can't perceive of different personalities the way I can with the eagles. Heron pretty much all act the same way, while eagles generally seem to have some objective in mind.
There's no denying however, that under the right circumstances great blue heron can also be quite pretty. On this morning the water is so unusually calm, its hard to believe this is the ocean!
I'm really sneaking and careful here because the tide is not out very far and if these heron decide to fly away I will likely not be able to follow them. I circle around to get a different angle, different background.
a little less dreamy with the freighter in the background
more for the backdrop of the mountains. the heron does look really great in the early morning light but i'm quite a distance off so the shot does not have the good detail of most of my others.
I love the way the bubbles are coming up from . . . its beak? The fish it just dropped?
-Keta
Great Blue Heron I
Sometimes when I am out at the low tide at Spanish Banks in English Bay in Vancouver I don't see any bald eagles at all. I can always find some Heron fishing so have gathered quite a few photos.
The two species enjoy an uneasy relationship, sharing the plentiful fishing grounds in the harbour but also competing for food. Bald eagles don't hunt great blue heron, although I have seen a juvenile eagle 'practice' diving at a poor heron that was just trying to catch a few fish close to the beach for about 20 minutes. The heron just kept ducking his/her head with each successive dive without moving from its spot. Also an eagle will sometimes decide to chase a heron through the air in an effort to get it to drop its prey.
Its more a game of dominance, with the eagles clearly on top but the heron outnumbering significantly. There was word out of the heronry in Stanley Park last season that the eagles were poaching the heron eggs. So while eagles don't hunt adult heron, they are motivated to keep the heron population down. More fish for themselves that way!
At the favourite fishing ground on all of Spanish Banks, the sand bar.
A typical Vancouver cool-ish spring day, perhaps a bit too soon for outdoor activity but nobody cares about a little chill after being cooped up all dark, rainy winter.
A bit further west I got a lucky capture of a heron stretching in the brisk ocean breeze
before it decides to fly quite close by me
Another time I go down quite early in the morning, the water is so calm and the light is really great.
Closer to shore I manage to get a shot with the trees reflecting green on the water mixed with a reflection of the heron as well.
More to come!
-Keta
Bald Eagle Mates Playing
It's so funny, after following and watching these eagles so closely I start to make up stories about their behaviour. They may not be human beings, but there are times I SWEAR where they act like little kids!
One thing they do, which seems to be like a game, is try to unseat each other from the highest tree top. Like one of the bald eagle mates will be sitting up in a tree nicely for hours, just taking in the view and occasionally grooming itself. Eventually the other one will come in from waaaay up high in the sky, circling, they might call to each other, then the one flying wants to land in the EXACT spot that the other is! Even though there are several very nice, very tall trees right there to choose from!
I have seen them do it a few times . . . once I saw the female actually nip the male in the leg when trying to get him to move. But actually that was nesting season (February) and I think she really wanted him to go get some more sticks for the nest. He just moved to a different branch, not before giving her a rather annoyed look, and she went ahead and took his spot!
Just like little kids, they only want that chair because the other kid is sitting in it.
I'm at the Jericho bald eagle nest site, the male is in a tippy-top branch of a fir tree. It's been well over an hour, when suddenly the female becomes a tiny speck in the sky, high above.
She circles several times calling. I wait with the camera, hoping for a moment when I can get them both in the frame. She's coming in fast, within a few seconds she goes from being a tiny dot to this majestic creature swooping in for a landing. The male just watches her come.
Since her mate doesn't move, she lands in a branch below him.
There's a bit of an exchange between them, then the females seems to decide she WILL have this seat and wafts up flapping away. The male seems resigned to knowing he is going to have to give it up so takes off, I can almost sense his attitude, "You won this round but next time it will be me that takes the good seat!"
The female folds herself in comfortably for a nice, long sit.
The male heads across the soccer field to the other side of NW Marine Drive for the cottonwood trees. Its like she is in the family room (the nest tree) so he's going to hang out in the living room.
Some awkward shots of him flying over me a couple of times . . .
. . . the light is really good so even though the captures are kind of funny they're still worth sharing.
After a while he settles into a comfy seat in the cottonwood trees. Sometimes they have a bit of a chat across the field, or they may just sit quietly in their separate rooms presiding over their territory until evening.
With this nice moment passing between our wild bald eagle mates at the Jericho Youth Hostel in Vancouver, BC Canada I decide to leave them alone. I'll come back with the camera another day.
-Keta
Jericho Wild Bald Eagle Mates
Now that low tide summer days are over, I am concentrating my attention on the bald eagles' nest at Locarno Park by the Jericho Youth Hostel in Vancouver. Sometimes I stand around the group of trees where the nest is for hours without seeing anything. Other times the eagles are so active I can't even capture it all with my camera.
Today I am able to get a few good shots. I step onto the soccer field across the street from the eagles' trees and immediately spot one of the mates, the male I think, coming in for a landing. I just barely have time to rip my camera from its case, pull off the lens cap and power it up to snap a shot.
I'm quite pleased with my split-second reflexes!
With such a good omen of timing, and the fact that the clear blue winter light is really good for the camera, I decide to hang around for a while. Despite the cold.
The bald eagles are quite busy, they appear to be working on building the nest. They are taking turns hanging out in the cottonwood trees across NW Marine Drive (where the nest used to be) and the group of trees above the Parks Board yard where the nest is now.
The male eagle flies past with a rather large branch for the nest. The shape of the wing tips in mid flight looks kind of cool.
Then the other mate flies past me quite close. The wings look almost purple in this light.
Busy bald eagle lifts off from the top of a tree next to the nest tree.
I follow the eagles across the street to the cottonwood trees. Luckily the trees are bare of leaves at this time of year so I am able to get some clear shots.
Kind of a weird angle swooping down from above, this shot is of the eagle's underbelly. It looks kind of in reverse the way the wing is bent.
In the cottonwood trees, I think this is the female bald eagle mate. She has a rather cross look on her face as her glance passes over me!
Well, that's enough for today. It's been hours and I'm a bit frozen, the sun is going to start going down and I need a nice hot cup of tea to warm up. I will return another day soon to visit our local wild bald eagles nest.
-Keta
Wild Bald Eagle Close Up!
After all my luck this season with the adult bald eagles, the various juvenile bald eagles and even the bald eagle baby from the Jericho nest, I hardly expect to see any more when I step out onto the tidal flats at Spanish Banks in English Bay (Vancouver) for one of the last low tide days of the year. The water is quite close to shore compared to the record lows of June.
Instead of trying to get to the sand bar, favourite fishing spot of bald eagles and great blue heron alike, I walk west, parallel to shore. Its a hot sunny day and the beach is filled with noisy families enjoying the late summer day. On the tidal flats are a few adventurous dog walkers and other die hards.
I turn a corner and am astounded to see an adult bald eagle - looking rather wet - sitting comfortably on the sand! Not 30 meters from shore. I simply can not believe my luck. The bald eagle sees me but doesn't even flinch. I approach carefully, camera at the ready.
Its head is wet, probably from fishing. When I'm able to look closely at the shot, I see there is a piece of seaweed stuck in its beak, with a drop of water dangling on the end.
It looks perfect enough to be a postcard!
Detail of just the head. Wow, wow!
A quick glance about gives me confidence that there are no clueless people, or unruly dogs, coming this way to chase my subject off (as often happens). I have time to change lenses, and to set up a nice shot that includes the bald eagle's reflection.
S/He's turned its head the other way for this one.
I'd like to get more but something sends it flying off.
My days of wandering the tidal flats are numbered, until next year. At least I will still have the bald eagle nest site at Jericho to visit!
-Keta
KetaDesign
Juvenile Bald Eagle and Crow
I skirt by the bald eagles' nest by the Jericho Youth Hostel at Locarno Park in Vancouver but don't see either of the adults or the eagle baby. As expected. The adult eagles have taken the newly-fledged eagle baby up after the salmon run. They will likely return without him, then take a break through the winter before they start nesting again in February.
I head out on the tidal flats at Spanish Banks to find any of the other adults or maybe some of the juvenile bald eagles I have seen through the summer. Usually I head straight to the water's edge, but today I think I spot something interesting closer to shore still quite a ways west of where I am now. As I make my way closer I hope nothing sends it into flight before I can get there with my camera.
I am lucky that there are not too many people in the direct vicinity. Most beachgoers today are either taking in some rays on the sand or out at the edge of the low tide, a full kilometer into English Bay. There is a juvenile bald eagle perched on a log, with a pesky crow in attendance. I sneak up carefully, moving around so I can get a shot of both of them.
It really gives some perspective as to the eagle's size.
(pesky crow peeking out from behind the log, like it knows it's a big pain in the butt!)
Eventually the crow flies off and the juvenile bald eagle has a moment to itself, gazing out over the open ocean. What does it see, I wonder?
(check out those claws, do NOT get in the way!)
As usual with the juvenile bald eagles s/he is soon on the move. Again with a pesky crow in attendance. This shot gives another demonstration of the size difference.
A funny shot from behind of the juvenile bald eagle landing.
Soon s/he flies back to the trees. I wander about on the tidal flats for a bit before heading home. At one point another juvenile bald eagle flies over head, is it a new arrival or is it in some of shots of previous days?
Summer is waning, we're well into September now. Low tide days are becoming fewer, and the tide doesn't go out nearly as far so I have to be really quick. Not sure what the coming weeks will bring but I will be out with the camera as much as possible!
-Keta
Baby Bald Eagle Hunting
I can't resist returning to the bald eagle's nest site at Locarno Park by the Jericho Youth Hostel (Vancouver) to see what my eagle baby is doing. It's only been a few days but I miss him. I visit the clump of trees where the nest is first but can't see or hear him. I wander over to the beach to check his favourite tree above the path.
It's quite early in the morning, about 7:00, but there are already a few people about on the beach. I run into another regular eagle observer, who tells me I have missed some amount of activity in the past few days. Darn! Isn't that always the way?
It seems that the bald eagle mates have decided its time for their eagle baby to fledge from the nest and start fending for himself. They stopped feeding him a few days ago. The fellow even tells me he saw the male adult eagle deliberately catch a seagull out of the air right in front of the eagle baby, who was busily occupied with his usual repeated calls for food, and ate it right there without sharing any! Apparently when the eagle baby flew to where his papa was eating the adult took the prey and flew away.
The baby bald eagle is not in his favourite tree, but rather high up in a much taller tree, calling away almost frantically. The adult eagles are nowhere to be seen. I can feel the excitement welling up in me, something important - and hopefully wonderful - is going to happen here today. It sure was worth it to come down so early!
None of the other people out at the beach even notice the wildlife activity. I have the camera ready and am watching for any signs of flight or motion from the eagle baby.
He takes a first tentative swoop around the beach (he's in the white circle, it's not a very good shot but I just want to show the surroundings).
"on silent wings" is not a joke . . . those people enjoying an early morning coffee on the beach did not notice the eagle flying right in front of them.
The eagle baby returns to a tree for a bit of a think.
He takes off from the branch suddenly and starts . . . almost as if in a rage . . . . trying to chase down whatever seagulls and crows are right there on the edge of the water. I frame the camera to get some houses in the background but miss, don't even notice that the waning moon had snuck into my shot!
Seagull screaming for its life, with good reason - notice the white seagull feather in the baby eagle's claw.
Of course these wily shorebirds manage to elude the baby eagle, who then returns to his tree top perch and calls and calls and CALLS to his parents for food.
The male adult eagle returns, takes a spot at the top of a neighbouring tree and just sort of looks out over the water as if this is an ordinary day. The baby eagle can't stand it anymore and decides to make his demands for food more insistent.
Baby cries and cries, Papa pays no mind.
Eventually the adult eagle flies off again. The baby pouts for a while then starts to try hunting once again.
I set myself at the midway point of this activity so far; between the lifeguard stand in the first photo and the two trees the eagles have used so far, with the ocean in front of me. The baby eagle is really frustrated, and must be almost mad from hunger. This is a very important time in their development and going without food for several days must be a real hardship.
Soon the eagle baby gives up and is headed back to his tree top perch. Now is my chance, I am down on one knee in the sand to steady the camera. The eagle baby is flying directly towards me
(this series of shots is within just a few seconds, seriously *click* *click* *click* one after the other)
darn, missed some wing feathers on the right side
Does he look angry in the eyeball or is it just me?
One more shot but unfortunately the eagle baby is actually too close (I had the telephoto on, 75-300mm) so its out of focus. I swear on my life that if I had stood up the eagle baby would have flown right into me. That close.
The eagle baby returns to his tree once more, I am on the verge of having a heart attack at the excitement, and maybe two or three other people on the beach begin to notice what is going on.
I have blown off two rolls of film and spent over an hour here. Eagle baby is just making a real ruckus up in his tree and I decide its time to go. I head up the hill home almost giddy with happiness.
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Later that morning I am out in my yard having a cup of tea still enjoying the morning's work, when I hear the eagle baby. I actually for a moment think I have lost my mind. I live directly up the hill, ten blocks from the eagle's nest, and also up from the Spanish Banks tidal flats.
I put down my teacup and go up the back steps to look around, still not exactly trusting my sanity. Then I look far up into the sky and I see the eagle baby and the adult female, his mama, way, waaaay up in the sky circling. I can feel the joy coming off him. It seems like he has just realized what its all about, and instead of calling for food is calling, "I'm an eeeeeeeeeeagle! I'm an eeeeeeeagle!!". I run to get the camera but don't bother taking any shots. It would just look like two spots against a blue background.
I never see my eagle baby after that. The adults take him that very afternoon up the coast after the salmon run. Usually eagle mates have to lead their chicks away from the nest, or else they will compete for food with the next year's babies.
I'm sad my eagle baby is gone, but glad the cycle of nature is continuing. Besides, it's going to be another low tide day soon and I my juvenile bald eagle friends to try to find at Spanish Banks!
-Keta
Three Juvenile Bald Eagles!
After the delightful success of yesterday I am back down at Spanish Banks for the low tide, looking for eagles. Maybe I'll get lucky and get some more really good close up shots of a juvenile bald eagle!
Hey . . . is this the same one as yesterday? Kind of looks like it by the colouring. It just sort of whizzes by though, so I don't get a chance for more shots.
I head out to my favourite sand bar, that forms out by the shipping channel in English Bay. It's a good half hour walk. As usual I keep my eyes open for any eagle sightings on my way out.
As I approach the sand bar I see another juvenile bald eagle, this is a different one for sure. It has much darker colouring and a completely different shape from the one I captured images of yesterday. Also it's head, I mean it has a totally different face. It will be easy to spot in the future!
It's quite skittish of me, as the other juvenile bald eagle from yesterday was. I pretend I am just walking past, but kind of skitter sideways - like a crab almost - keeping my head turned away. Maybe it won't notice that I'm actually getting closer. Hey man, I'll try anything! I've even walked towards an eagle backwards, spinning around at intervals to snap a shot.
This juvenile a slightly preoccupied with a fish in its claws.
Even still I can't get nearly as close as I'd like. It takes off, making its way down the sand bar (towards the west).
Forgive the graininess of this shot, the juvenile bald eagle really is a bit of a distance off. I just can't resist snapping a photo of the moment it makes a landing.
I don't have the heart to try to get close once more, because I just know I will end up making it fly. It should really get a chance to eat its lunch in peace. Besides, if I become too much of a pest the bald eagles will acclimate to being frightened of me and I don't want that. I want to come down and be able to sneak up reasonably close for some quality shots well into the future.
After a while I give up on hoping another eagle will land on the sand bar. The tide has turned anyway, I can see the water is coming back in. I head back to shore, but instead of walking the entire distance on the freshly exposed sand, I head directly to the beach nearest me (Spanish Banks West).
I've barely set foot on the path when something unusual in a low tree nearby catches my eye. Just like my baby bald eagle at the Jericho nest site (I'll going back in a few days, don't worry I haven't forgotten the little guy!), this juvenile bald eagle is sitting in a low branch of a small tree just above the path. Right on the edge of the beach.
This is the lightest-coloured one I have captured images of yet. The golden colours through me off a bit, various passers by stop to chat with me as I am taking photos and we discuss whether it's a golden or a bald eagle. It is, of course, a juvenile bald eagle. That is three distinct juveniles within a relatively small distance in one day! I'm so excited right now.
I love it when the bald eagles look right at me. I feel like I'm really interacting with nature.
Hmm, that's some pretty sharp eyeballs.
The ever-present pesky crow (or two, or three, or dozen).
Finally after a long time and many shots the juvenile bald eagles decides to go do something more interesting and takes off from the tree. Pretty good action shot!
The juvenile bald eagle has lifted off from the tree top, starts to pass over me. Again that sharp eyeball.
Kind of a weird angle, awkward shot as the eagle flies over me. I decide it's a female, for some completely unknown reason.
Well, it's been another great day for the camera during low tide at Spanish Banks in English Bay (Vancouver). I will be returning once again, to see what our lovely local wildlife has to offer.
-Keta
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