October 19, 2013: Life On The West Coast

365 Project, Day 108

Here is my day 108 submission to my 365Project:

This afternoon I was invited to go on a whale watching trip with my good friend. We've both been working in the whale watching industry out of Victoria for nearly two decades but because we always worked for separate companies we have barely spent much time on the water together. Fortunately, she had enough space on the zodiac she was driving for me to come along for the ride. 

We had a fabulous afternoon watching two different groups of humpback whales (Megaptera novaengliae), a species making a comeback to the waters around southern Vancouver Island. It was such a treat to have, yet again, some more up close and personal observations of these amazing animals!

I got this photo of one of the half dozen animals in the area surfacing with a small recreational fishing boat cruising past in the background and I loved how it really shows how intertwined the humpback whales and the lives of people on the west coast are...this whale was feeding on fish and these fishermen were probably heading in from an afternoon of fishing.

Interesting fact of the day:
Prior to commercial whaling activities on the coast of BC humpback whales were abundant in BC but the intensity of the whaling activities through the early part of last century nearly drove this species to extinction. For nearly 3 decades, sightings of humpback whales were rare in BC water however ongoing studies conducted by researcher up and down the BC coast have revealed they are making a recovery. 

In 1998, my first season working in the whale watching industry in Victoria, I saw one humpback whale briefly and everybody in the industry was incredibly excited. From that time onward sightings of this species has increased every year with re-sights of individuals and even females returning to the area with one or even two calves!

To read more about the recovery of humpback whales around southern Vancouver Island check out this Humpback Whales Making a Splash Off Vancouver Island article. 

You can also read and download the Fisheries and Oceans Humpback Whale Recovery Strategy at this webpage.

Splashing around!

Humpback whale feeding

Typically the underside of a whale's tail fluke is used for identifying individuals but often the left and/or right dorsal fin shape and any scarring it has can also be used

Tail dive

I love shots with the water flowing off the whale's tail as it dives. Note all the gulls feeding alongside the whale.

These fishermen got a bit of a surprise when the whale surfaced not far from where they were fishing

It's markings like the ones you can see on the underside of this tail fluke that allow researchers to identify and catalogue individual whales

This is one of another group of two whales we observed...notice how the dorsal fin is quite different looking from the other individual

This curious Steller sea lion (Eumatopia jubatus) came quite close to check us out

Sea lion nostrils :)

October 17, 2013: Brewhouse Lights

365 Project, Day 107

Here is my day 107 submission to my 365Project:

This afternoon my friend and I went for another lovely bike ride along the Galloping Goose Trail (this time now owls...but we were looking!) to Swan Lake Christmas Hill Nature Sanctuary, where we stopped to enjoy the afternoon sun and watch birds and river otters (Lontra canadensis). When we returned from the lake we were thirsty and hungry so stopped for a drink and snack at Canoe Brewpub on Victoria's beautiful inner harbour. 

It was a lovely evening and, despite being a cool fall day in October, it was still warm enough to sit outside on the patio (be it with a heat lamp once the sun set!). I realized shortly after the sun set that the building was being lit by colourful lights that would alternate at times; I liked the lights on the brick so snapped a few photos. 

Canoe Brewpub with red lights on the brick - I liked how the red on red seemed to really stand out and contrast with the blue sky and reflection of the sky in the windows

Fun fact of the day:

The building which houses the Canoe Brewpub is a heritage buildling and was originally called the 'City of Light' building. It was erected in 1894 to house the coal-powered electric generators which powered Victoria's streetlights. 

Canoe Brewpub with blue lights on brick

Canoe Brewpub with green lights on brick

Views around Swan Lake...we saw at least half a dozen sea otters swimming in the lake but, unfortunately, they were too far to photograph

October 16, 2013: Hoo Are You Looking At?

365 Project, Day 106

Here is my day 106 submission to my 365Project:

While riding my bike today along the Galloping Goose Trail, one of Victoria's bike paths, I happened to look up and there, just a couple of metres above the trail, was a Barred owl (Strix varia) looking down on everybody walking and biking by (most people didn't even notice!). Unfortunately, it was very close to dark and I didn't have my zoom lens but I still managed to grab this shot with my 80 mm lens at ISO 4000!

Fun fact of the day:

Barred owls often live near water in large, mature forests made up of deciduous and evergreen trees where they will nest in tree cavities. Having moved into old-growth coniferous forests in the Pacific Northwest Barred owls now compete with the Threated Spotted owl (Strix occidentalist). 

Here are some more photos of the Barred owl:

October 15, 2013: On The Move

365 Project, Day 105

Here is my day 105 submission to my 365Project:

I spent another afternoon wandering around Beacon Hill Park to see what I could capture in photos. It was a lot of fun watching the peacocks and squirrels and ducks and the lighting was lovely. Here is a shot I grabbed of this peacock, whose tail and head feather's were just coming in, on the move through the park.  

One of many peafowl inhabiting Beacon Hill Park

Fun fact of the day: 

The term "peacock" is usually used to refer to both male and female birds but, in fact, the males are "peacocks" while the females are called "peahens" and the two combined are called "peafowl".

Read more about Peafowl on the National Geographic Peacock webpage.

 

It was lots of fun watching the Eastern grey squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) running around grabbing nuts and stashing them

Going down for another nut :)