I am mildly fascinated1Can one be mildly fascinated by something? I say yes. by how often when I go out birding or for a walk along a trail, I will find a random piece of clothing–a cap, or a glove (almost always just a single glove), a shoe (yes, usually a single shoe, too), sometimes a jacket and occasionally, a pair of pants, any of these, stuck to a branch, or laying on the ground. And I wonder, how did these things get left behind?
With some clothing, I can imagine various scenarios. For example, you might take off a glove to do something a glove interferes with, like using a smartphone, so you take it off, set it down, then wander off while still using the phone. By the time you remember the glove, you’ve travelled far enough to ask yourself, “Is it worth going back for?” and decide no, it isn’t. And so the glove stays in its new home, until it gets absconded by a crow or returns to the earth (in 500 years or something).
I am less certain about how pants get abandoned.
But here is a photo of a glove left on the railing of the 1001 Steps staircase in south Surrey, taken on February 10th. I converted it to black and white to artsy it up.
Right where you expect to see them, unless they are ingesting or burping out passengers. This one was flying so low overhead that I had to actually pull back with my telephoto lens to get the whole thing in.
This was taken at Sapperton Landing on another unusually balmy midwinter day, as part of an experiment to find out what’s up with my camera.
(I think I found out. More test results soon.)
I don’t recognize the livery, but you could probably find out on the internet.
On Saturday, our birding took us to the northern end of Richmond, which meant we were near the airport, with planes and jets were regularly taking off and landing nearby. This meant I took many photos of planes and jets taking off. Enough to fill an entire gallery. And here it is!
Air Canada jet approaching YVR
Chopper against a bright sky
Yellow whirlybird
Seaplane against a dull and cloudy sky
Air Canada Express
A jet directly above Richmond Nature House
WestJet prop plane
WestJet airliner with red light glowing along the engine and undercarriage
Shot yesterday (Jan. 23) on my iPhone 12, on a gray, wet winter day.
The Brunette River, misty and rising. The tent on the far bank is now gone.View from the bridge on North Road. The construction on the left is for the new Millennium Line maintenance yard, set to open in 2027.Ducks in the field at Lower Hume Park. The crows and gulls got very twitchy when I stopped to take photos. The ducks just kept sticking their heads in the muck.
This is a work in progress, but you can now go to an actual Birding Photo Galleries page and find two–two!–galleries ready for your birb-y pleasure. There is also a very plain link to the galleries in the sidebar over to the right.
Where: Centennial Beach (Delta), Piper Spit (Burnaby) and Tlahutum Regional Park (Coquitlam)
Weather: Partly sunny, 3-8°C
The Outing
Our first birding outing for 2024 started at a rather chilly Centennial Beach, with a brisk wind and the tide in, so shorebirds, while present, were not nearby for good photo opportunities.
But we did see a bunch of golden-crowned sparrows, a northern harrier we didn’t have time to get shots of, and a bald eagle in a tree by the parking lot. Unfortunately, the perspective meant all I could do was catch a shot of its butt. I also got a shot of a robin’s butt. It was a butt kind of day.
After rounding out our trip there with shots of some good peeps (wigeons), we headed off to Richmond Nature House, where there was no parking at all, and two other cars waiting for a spot. Sadly, we had to move on, and went next to Piper Spit.
As compensation, we got a visit from a handsome Steller’s jay, and also a bufflehead that, rather than hanging back like they usually do, actually came in close to the pier, allowing us to get our best bufflehead shots ever. There were also a lot of gulls hanging around, trying to pull unspeakable things out of the water when they were not strutting around, proudly showing off the golf balls and other spherical objects clutched in their bills. Gulls are weird. We also saw our first Canad geese in a while. They are also weird and we have the pictures to prove it.
Even though it was already golden hour-y by the time we finished up at Piper Spit, we still went to Tlahutum, where we did see more golden crowns, some mergansers and another bufflehead (!) Generally the number of birds was small, so we mostly took shots showing off the setting sun.
In all, a decent outing to start the year, with cool but mostly sunny weather.
Taken on the way to exciting uptown New Westminster and converted to black and white for extra spookiness. When I saw the crow land on the gravestone, I wished I’d had my camera (again), and not just my phone.
OK, Nic pointed out that the “12 Days of Christmas” apparently begin on Christmas Day, which means the last one of these 12 days is today.
Still, I feel this does not explain the preponderance of so many Christmas decorations that are still up. Some yards are still chock-full of inflated Santas, and festooned with sparkly lights. The lobby of our building still has the Christmas tree up. It’s just weird. It’s all going to clash with Valentine’s Day marketing soon. Not that people decorate their yards for Valentine’s Day. At least not yet.
Anyway, ho ho ho from New Westminster!
A snowman very happy to still be around on January 5th
I took this photo on the way to the store today. I like the clouds and the contrast of bright light and shadow. It would have been better if I’d had my camera and not just my phone. It’s not great, but it’s okay. So here it is!
My reflection, with phone, in the Brunette River (October 27, 2023)Coming up into the light at Hume Park, post-runBurnaby Lake, early winter, with Burnaby Mountain to the left.
