Vancouver III

Ok, Andi studied the maps and after we explored much of Vancouver proper, we rented a car and began to explore north of the city. We took a ferry across English Bay to Vancouver Island to see the cities of Nanaimo and Victoria. We had friends who gave us a list of things we had to see and do, and one of the things was the Nanaimo Bar. Imagine the disappointment on the face of poor Andi when we discovered that meant the desert, Nanaimo Bar, not the bar with drinks.

At Nanaimo, we saw a smaller ferry that would take us to the little island that populated with the rabbits with floppy ears, but it was too cold for us, and Andi's foot was still hurting and everything indicated there was a bit of walking to do once we got there. So, we found a nice place to eat and spent the night at the hotel. (This was the hotel we were staying in when we took the pictures of us smoking cigars and drinking wine).

Andi found a place on the map called Esquimalt Lagoon, (pronounced Es-kwy-malt), so we drove to it. There we found a spot on the one side of a bridge that gave us a view of the lagoon, but the bridge was closed to vehicular traffic and we had to go quite a ways around to find the other side, (which of course looked better).




That was alright, as when we drove through this residential district we were stunned to see a small herd of deer roaming the neighborhood. They were nonchalantly munching grass, scratching, and doing things that deer do, all in someone's front yard. I told Andi that was why none of the people there had lawnmowers, yet their lawns remained well manicured.
I (I didn't think they would let me get much closer than this so I snapped the shot, it shows the three of them together.)
(This is the Mute Swan posing nicely for us).
(This is the Trumpeter Swan giving us his best Clint Eastwood "Do you feel lucky..." look).

We moved past the deer and found the roadway to the other side of the lagoon, and Andi drove down to where I saw some Swans preening in the shallows near the road. She stopped and I hopped out with my camera and binoculars. I moved slowly and tried to get off the roadway and down the small embankment as quickly as possible without scaring the group away, then stealthily made my way toward the Swans, and Canada Geese milling about with them. It was kind of funny, because by the time I got down to the shoreline, it became very apparent the birds couldn't care less if I was there or not. They were busy preening and were not particularly concerned about my presence at all. They looked up from time to time, then blithely went back to doing their thing. So much for my skills.


They allowed me to get nice and close and I took a bunch of pictures of these large and beautiful birds. The day we were there, there were about five or six Swans. Three were in this group at this time, one Trumpeter Swan(Cygnus buccinator), and two Mute Swans, (Cygnus olor). Both "lifers" for me. As you can see from the photos, they are much larger than the Canada Geese, (Branta canadensis). This may give you an idea of their size, then you can extrapolate this to the size of an Andean Condor that my boys (Taylor and Austin) have seen in Patagonia. The Condor is the largest bird in the world with over a 12 foot wingspan and a body larger than even these swans. The boys said they saw several flying at a time each day they were in Patagonia. It must have looked like something pre-historic!

This was exciting enough for me, but as I got to explore the lagoon further, I saw over 20 Great Blue Herons, (Ardea herodias), Glaucous Gulls (Larus hyperboreus), many Mallard Ducks, (Anas platyrhyncos), Caspian Terns, (Sterna caspia), Barn Swallows, (Hirundo rustica), two Belted Kingfishers,(Ceryle alcyon), a couple Black Oystercatchers, (Haematopus bachmani), and of course, two Bald Eagles, (Haliaeetus leucocephalus).
(I just liked this view. I thought it would make a good painting.)
(At the top of these trees was a Bald Eagle calling to another that was soaring about the area.)
(This is the Black Oystercatcher. They use that chisel-like bill to open and eat mussels and other bivalves on the shoreline).
(As we were leaving we saw this pair of Mute Swans swimming with their babies across the lagoon.)

I had a great time there. There were shorebirds, waterbirds, sleeping birds, hunting birds, parenting birds, just birds everywhere. People came down to walk, walk their dogs, play with their kids on the rocky shore, have lunch or spend some quiet time in a beautiful setting. It was great!!

Oh, I also saw a small Garter Snake slithering through the grass on my way to the Swans.

Andi took advantage of the time and lovely setting to read one of her books, while I was snapping photos and talking to the birds, "Work with me baby, turn your head, get the glint of sunlight in your eye. That's it! Hold it!"

Tomorrow I will talk about Swan Lake and the little Nature Center we found there.

You might be a birdnerd if... you leave your significant other reading in the car on some lonely road, while you traipse around in the grass and mud trying to get a better picture of a bird.