Photography

Photos I’ve taken of scenery, interesting objects and other things.

Birding, November 15, 2025: Seagulls snacking, coots cuddling, grebes ghosting

Where: Piper Spit, Burnaby Lake (Burnaby), Tlahutum Regional Park (Coquitlam)
Weather: Cloudy, 11-12°C

It was a relatively brief afternoon of birding, thanks to ever-changing weather conditions. As it turned out, the weather was better than expected, with only a wee bit of drizzle at the start and then the sun even appeared several times.

Piper Spit, Burnaby Lake

Gray on gray, with a few rowers out on the lake.

We started at Piper Lake, which was unusually busy. Maybe people are feeling claustrophobic staying inside all the time by mid-November, so any non-rainy weather is good enough to get out. Or maybe everything on Netflix sucks right now. Whatever the case, there were plenty of gulls and plenty of people. But none of the people were feeding the birds, so hooray for that.

Speaking of feeding, it’s spawning season, which meant two things:

  • The occasional salmon carcass
  • Seagulls tending to the above

I took photos.

No new exotic species were on hand, and even the wood ducks seemed relatively scare. The only geese were flying overhead. But we seem to have two semi-new regular groups now:

  • Dowitchers hanging out in the shallow/muddy area to the west of the pier (they shift as the water level of the lake rises and falls)
  • Cormorants gathered off to the east–close enough to shoot, but not very close

The seagull population has also grown, likely due to the salmon. Maybe seagulls and geese don’t get along, which is why the geese are elsewhere.

In even shorter supply were sparrows and similar birbs. We did see a fair number of song sparrows–or maybe just the same one following us around. But others were much more scarce. Admittedly, we arrived via the Nature House entrance, which meant we had a fairly small area for seeing birbs.

Teals, mallards and coots were well-represented, with two coots swapping out their usual drama for some gentle affection. Probably followed later by drama.

Tlahutum Regional Park

Coquitlam River and reflection.

We got a window of golden hour shots here, when the sky cleared enough for the sun to poke out for several minutes. This gave us some fairly snazzy landscape shots. By the time we were leaving, it was back to gray, dim, and getting dimmer.

In the air, we saw little, other than crows and a juvenile bald eagle way up yonder. In the water, we fared better, with a group of common mergansers in the river (where we’ve seen them before), and the main pond had an assortment of shovellers, gadwalls and a trans-dimensional grebe.

I say this because the grebe was fairly close to us–a rarity to begin with–but before either of us could line up a shot, it dove. I observed its direction and speed, and made a rough calculation on where it would surface. It did not appear in that spot. Nor did it appear in any other spot. It just vanished, apparently, gone through the portal back to the grebeverse, denying us a single shot. Perhaps to compensate, a coot came up close to provide a few glamour shots, coot-style.

In all, a fine afternoon out, especially given the original forecast.

The Shots

Shot with a Canon EOS R7 with 18-150 mm kit lens and 100-400 mm telephoto.

Soon™.

The Birds (and other critters)

Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:

  • Dark-eyed Junco
  • Red-winged Blackbird
  • Ruby-crowned Kinglet
  • Song Sparrow

Waterfowl and shorebirds:

  • American Coot
  • Canada Goose
  • Common Merganser
  • Double-crested Cormorant
  • Gadwall
  • Great Blue Heron
  • Green-winged Teal
  • Long-billed Dowitcher
  • Mallard
  • Northern Pintail
  • Northern Shoveller
  • Pied-billed Grebe
  • Wood Duck

Common:

  • American Crow
  • Assorted gulls
  • Rock Pigeon

Raptors:

  • Bald Eagle

Non-birds:

  • Several ex-salmon
  • A single fuzzy caterpillar

New shoes, old leaves, my feet

Taken after my run yesterday. I had someone ask me where I’d been, in reference to my tanned legs, and I answered, “Running.” Which is true! I put zero effort in getting a tan, it just happens. It’s my favourite kind of tan.

Also, the best tag I could find for this was “urban scenery”, which is in regard to the paving stones, not my legs.

Birding, November 8, 2025: Mild marshes and chatty chickadees

Where: Reifel Bird Sanctuary (Delta) Piper Spit, Burnaby Lake (Burnaby)
Weather: Sun and high cloud, 8-13°C

Reifel Bird Sanctuary

View of the marshland, with Rusty (the pipe) barely visible.

Finally, the weather cooperated long enough to get in a day of birding, during the few hours of daylight we currently are afforded under SST (Stupid Standard Time). There was even sun, at times.

The main themes at Reifel mid-fall seem to be:

  • Chickadees everywhere, with most of them thinking every person is holding seed
  • The Canada geese have fully retreated, with many in a nearby field adjacent to the sanctuary (interestingly, a group of eight or so Sandhill Cranes were also in the same area–and we haven’t seen the “local” cranes for some time. Hmm, I say!)
  • The Wood Ducks have also seemingly vacated or hidden themselves
  • All the marsh grass is now sad and yellow

The feeders are now full of seed and suet, so most of them are seeing action, which can make for easy-ish shots. I say easy-ish because it is never exactly easy to capture a chickadee. We did not see any squirrels trying to dive onto the feeders, though that may come as the weather gets colder.

We saw the first Buffleheads of the season, which was neat, though they were not very close, which was less neat.

In all, it was a fine fall return to Reifel.

Piper Spit, Burnaby Lake

The lake, now with (more visible) water, and looking moody.

There was a family feeding birds at Piper Spit and Nic gave them the what-for! The father pretended that they hadn’t seen the multiple large signs saying NO FEEDING, including one that was literally feet away. But I guess you gotta say something when someone calls you out.

The lake level was quite low, with the west side of the pier now a large muddy patch, and the lily pads retreating enough to give the lake a more lake-like appearance. I shot artsy shots of the clouds and water.

There were also gulls on hand, probably attracted by the desiccated remains of salmon that had spawned, or tried to spawn, but ended up in the same place: dead.

Thinking back, I’m not sure that we saw any Canada geese here, either. Making up for them were plenty of Mallards, some Green-winged Teals and Wood Ducks. And, of course, coots.

With light starting to fade (see above, re: SST), we bade goodbye to the lake, but it was nice to finally get in some birding again.

The Shots

Shot with a Canon EOS R7 with 18-150 mm kit lens and 100-400 mm telephoto.

Gallery of shots:

The Birds (and other critters)

Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:

  • Anna’s Hummingbird
  • Black-capped Chickadee
  • Dark-eyed Junco
  • Fox Sparrow
  • Golden-crowned Sparrow
  • House Sparrow
  • Red-winged Blackbird
  • Song Sparrow
  • Spotted Towhee

Waterfowl and shorebirds:

  • American Coot
  • American Wigeon
  • Belted Kingfisher
  • Bufflehead
  • Canada Goose
  • Gadwall
  • Great Blue Heron
  • Greater Yellowlegs
  • Green-winged Teal
  • Hooded Merganser
  • Long-billed Dowitcher
  • Mallard
  • Northern Pintail
  • Northern Shoveller
  • Ring-necked Duck
  • Sandhill Crane
  • Wood Duck

Common:

  • American Crow
  • Assorted gulls
  • Rock Pigeon

Raptors:

  • Bald Eagle
  • Northern Harrier

Non-birds:

  • A very few pollinators
  • Chonky gray squirrel

I got new shoes and took a picture

Not of the shoes, but of False Creek, as I was there a few days ago. The weather was very pleasant, so I took the time to stroll the area after acquiring said shoes (Peregrine 15s, for running, which feel nice and cushy as new shoes should).

False Creek, with downtown Vancouver and BC Place Stadium in view.

Calm is the bomb (also, an MRI update)

Calm is the bomb. Serene is keen.

These are thoughts I had today while out on a walk. It is mild out and we are between showers. I’ve been thinking about how the world at both the macro and micro levels are somewhat of a dumpster fire, and how that makes me angry. But I need to recognize that anger and do things to channel it productively. And I will, starting with this post by writing the thought out.

***

Also, here is my MRI update:

I got a call from the doctor today (phone appointment) and correctly predicted a few things:

  • The MRI would be inconclusive (it was)
  • Further testing would be needed (it is)
  • Said tests might include a biopsy (this was mentioned)

What the doc confirmed:

  • The mass in my chest (about 2 cm around) is not affecting anything else around it
  • It has not changed size since the CT scan back on (checks blog entry) January 9th
  • It could be a tumour (cue Arnold saying, “It’s not a too-mah!”)
  • If a tumour, it could be cancer (benign or otherwise)

I am not overly concerned, because I had recent blood work that came back negative, this lump has not grown, nor has it had any impact. But you never know, and that’s what makes our bodies so mysterious and magical.

Next up:

  • Another CT scan
  • Consultation with a thoracic surgeon to see what they think
  • Possibly a biopsy, depending on the above
  • Ice cream. I’ll need ice cream at the end of this.

In conclusion: Our meatbag bodies are kind of dumb. Here’s a nice fall photo:

A few more fall fotos, October 17, 2025

Taken before and after my run today, and shot on my iPhone 12, now five generations behind the curve (and loving it).

Leafy river trail.
Burnaby Lake, from the turtle nesting area (turtles not included).
My feet before the run. Yes, I need new trail runners.