I was climbing a rocky trail up the mountain behind our property at the weekend and spotted these tiny little yellow flowers; another perfect subject for my macro lens. The round leaved yellow violet, was actually smaller than my thumb nail and was just glistening in the late afternoon spring sun and growing in a small patch of dirt amongst granite rocks and salal on the water course trail, surrounded by coniferous forest.
Last week’s warm Easter weekend sun had many out in their gardens and we were no exception. The sun also brought a dormant wood ant colony back to life on the edge of our property and gave me the perfect opportunity for some macro photography. Every spring the ants gather and set about rebuilding their ant ‘apartment’ block and on several occasions I’ve then witnessed a black bear come along and devastate these mounds in next to no time. The bears are able to use their acute sense of smell to lock on to pheromones released by the ants as they communicate. The ants and especially the larvae or ‘brood’ are extremely nutritious and full of protein for hungry bears fresh out of hibernation, but they have to endure a lot from the nipping ants for just a few grams of fat.
The Western Screech-Owl (Otus kennicottii), a beautiful bright eyed small owl only growing to about 8 inches tall and fairly common throughout Southern BC & Vancouver Island. This little fellow unfortunately hit a car one night, but was rescued and now resides at the Mountainaire Avian Rescue Society in the Comox Valley. MARS is a non-profit bird and small mammal rescue centre that does an exceptional job on a shoestring budget. They had their annual open day on Saturday and this year it included the successful release of a rescued & recuperated bald eagle. This little owl however cannot be released as it damaged its right eye and lost the use of its right ear in its collision with the car, so would not be able to hunt properly if released. You can join & learn more about MARS here: www.wingtips.org
With snowcapped coastal mountains for a backdrop, this humpback whale took a dive as we watched on from our boat in Johnstone Strait late last summer. Humpbacks are now returning north from their winter grounds off Mexico and Hawaii and can often be seen from February onwards in the waters off Vancouver Island.
Sadly here in BC yesterday we once again saw the start of the trophy hunting season. Figures released on Friday show that in 2011, grizzly bear deaths alone, (those reported anyway) rose by 21% on 2010. Of the 383 bears killed, 334 (a little over 87%) were at the hands of trophy hunters. Grizzly bears aren’t the only bears hunted for trophies, black bears don’t get off lightly either. More on this can be seen here: www.vancouversun.com/news/Grizzly+deaths+increase/6390972/story.html
This photo shows a female grizzly bear and if you look closely I’m pretty sure you can tell she’s a female, but she is not safe from the hunters gun either. Although they ‘request’ hunters not to, the BC Government allows hunters to kill females also. So even new born cubs indirectly, can and will end up dead because of the actions of some trophy hunters, resident and non-resident of BC.
It’s time trophy hunting was stopped. Please sign the following on-line petition at: www.gopetition.com/petitions/trophyhunt.html And/or email the BC Premier and let her know it’s the 21st century and time trophy hunting ended: premier@gov.bc.ca
Thanks for your support we must end this sooner rather than later.
With Mother’s Day coming up fast, I thought I’d show you this picture which seems to suit this special day so well. This was a mother black bear with one of her two cubs taken in the spring of last year. The cub, along with its sibling would have been born around January time in mum’s hibernation den. I found them walking along the shore of a BC coastal inlet, quite relaxed and searching for mussels and rock crabs amongst the intertidal zone.
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These tiny seabirds use camouflage when it comes to breeding time. Seen here in their tawny breeding season colours that blend in with their preferred nesting location. These birds are becoming endangered, primarily because their nesting habitat is dwindling rapidly – they depend on old growth forest in which to build their nests and have been known to fly several kilometres inland in order to find the right nest site. After the breeding season they return to their more common dark grey/black and white non-breeding or winter colouring, which is in common with their close cousin, the ancient murrelet. These are a timid bird and when you see them on the coast you have to use some stealth tactics of your own to get a little closer – once they see you they will turn their backs and swim away.
With the arrival of spring, bears and wildlife in general along the BC coast will be waking from their winter slumbers. Hopefully many of the bears I got to know last year, whilst spending so much time on the coast,will have made it safely through the winter and maybe some will be emerging with new cubs, born way back in January! This mom, photographed here enjoying an afternoon siesta with her two 18 month old cubs last summer, will be rising from hibernation with them for one last time – towards the end of spring she will likely leave them to a life of fending for themselves and go in search of a new mate. Hopefully I’ll be there to see how they get on for their first few months alone… and will let you know.
California Sea-Lions are winter visitors to parts of the BC Coast and have usually headed off south to breed by late spring. Weighing in at up to a sprightly 400kg they are much smaller than their larger and more common cousins the Steller Sea-Lion, which can hit the 1000kg mark. I was lucky to photograph these three playful pinnipeds in a coastal inlet in early May last year.
The Hawaiian Black-necked Stilt is an endangered species of the Hawaiian Islands, primarily due to habitat loss. It is the only shorebird to breed in the islands, all other shorebirds, such as the Pacific Golden Plover, which, like the humpback whales is a winter migrant from Alaska, are non-breeding visitors.
I came across a group of these birds in a marshy shore area on the southwest side of Maui, more commonly reserved for egg-laying turtles. More of Maui’s wildlife can be seen in the Maui gallery.
