Songhees Point at Night

Last week I posted some views from Songhees Point during the daytime. Here's a shot taken a few nights ago from Songhees Point looking across the harbor towards the Legislative Assembly Buildings. This photo is a bit of a tribute to technology since it is a hand held shot - Look Ma, no tripod! The technology here is in my camera. On the "Hand Held Twilight" setting it shoots at high ISO (6400 in the photo above) which enables a relatively fast shutter speed (1/80 second in this case). High ISO like this usually results in a photo with lots of noise (noise in a photo is like television "snow" or static, random pixels of odd colors). My Sony deals with this by shooting 5 exposures in rapid succession and cancelling out the noise by merging them all. The end result is the photo above. The five exposures are automatic and very fast to minimize blurring due to movement (this camera will take 10 frames a second so 5 exposures take about a half second). It can take multiple exposures at this speed thanks to translucent mirror technology. Unlike normal single lens reflex cameras the mirror does not need to flip up when the shutter is opened because it is translucent (not transparent but clear enough to allow light to pass through). Since it does not need to wait for the mirror to flip up and down between shots, the shutter can open and close much faster.

Night Lights

The Westsong Walkway is beautiful during the daytime but it's magical at night too and part of the magic is these lovely ball lamps that light it. They're probably not the most efficient lighting available but they've certainly got style.

Winter Light

The sun goes down so early now, that our afternoon walk turned into an evening walk, but this makes for lovely light. - Fern Long

Poutine

This is poutine. It's a national favorite, which originated in Quebec. How can you go wrong with french fries loaded with fresh cheese curds (tasting somewhat like mozzarella) and a gravy sauce? We had ours at a little place in Esquimalt called La Belle Patate and it really feels like a little slice of Quebec. - Fern

Elk Lake Autumn

As Fern mentioned a few days ago, the autumn leaf colors this year have been especially brilliant although the leaves are rapidly falling this last week since we've been having hard frosts in the mornings. Here is what they looked like yesterday at Elk Lake in Saanich. This is another example of a lovely little chunk of wilderness within 20 minutes drive of downtown Victoria. It looks so pastoral it's hard to believe that Highway 17 is just behind the trees on the right hand side of the photo.

More Victoria Icons

Yesterday's view from Songhees Point was taken facing west. Today's photo is taken from the same point facing east. It's kind of a junky grab-bag kitchen sink photo but I like it because so many of Victoria's icons are visible - the Johnson Street Bridge in its permanent half up position, totem poles, the ubiquitous seagull front and center, Swans Hotel, the harbour and a few boats.

Westsong Walkway

Songhees Point is a good place to get an overview of Victoria because you can see many of the city's features simply by looking in another direction. Today's photo was taken from the same point as yesterday's but here we are looking west down the outer harbour. That's the start of the Westsong Walkway on the right. When it enters Esquimalt it becomes the West Bay Walkway and in the far distance on the left can be seen the houseboats and sailboats of Sailor's Cove and West Bay Marina.

Inner Harbour Autumn

Though there has been a real nip in the air, the last few days have been so bright and sunny that it has been impossible to resist going out and enjoying the fall colors. This is one of my favorite views of Victoria, the Inner Harbour from Songhees Point.

One More From Cairn Park

As 'Paul from Powell River' commented yesterday, Cairn Park is one of Victoria's tiny jewels, so for you Paul, here is one of the many fabulous views from near the top. The colors this fall have been phenomenal haven't they? - Fern

Blustery Days

I began to express my love of this season, and declare it "my favorite" but I believe I did the same thing in the summer and before that in the spring etc. This was taken on a late afternoon walk in Cairn Park. - Fern

Remembrance Day

This years ceremony down in front of the Legislature Buildings was a wet and cold one. The Canadian Scottish Regimental Association Pipe Band provides today's portrait. - Fern

Gyarah Murti

On this Remembrance Day weekend I've been thinking about Gandhi and the Salt March he led in 1930 and how, thanks to Gandhi, civil disobedience has become an increasingly popular and effective way of effecting social change. The group of statues above depicts Gandhi at the head of the Salt March. I photographed it in Delhi in April of this year.

Bufflehead (Bucephala albeola)

Today's post brings up to date the list of newly arrived winter residents with these photos of some Bufflehead Ducks (Bucephala albeola). There are still a few more wintering birds that I have not seen yet this year - Goldeneye Ducks for one. The photo above is of a male Bufflehead. Below are a couple of males and a female. Most of these small ducks (and mergansers) are busy these days flirting and bonding. The males in the photo below are engaging in one of the flirting behaviors. They get low in the water and then chug along at high speed for a short distance, creating lots of showy turbulence to impress the coy female. This is coupled with standing up and spreading the wings impressively. While they flirt and bond at this season, I haven't seen any that were consummating their relationships. I'm guessing that they do not actually mate until after they fly to their summer nesting areas in the spring.

Most Popular?

Great Blue Herons are year round residents here but I didn't see much of this one during the summer and was happy to see him back on his usual perch high in an evergreen tree above the Sailor's Cove end of the West Bay Walkway. He's there most mornings, alternately preening and snoozing in the sun. I'm guessing that these birds are the most photographed birds in North America because they're big, they're widespread, they often live in or near urban environments, and (photographer's delight) they often stand perfectly still for long periods of time. Over the last few years they've appeared on this blog at least a half dozen times.

Common Merganser (Mergus Merganser americanus)

Here's another addition to the roll call of winter residents, A small flock of Common Mergansers (Mergus merganser americanus) who paused near the shore to do their morning toilette. Later in the year, during breeding season, the males wear quite a distinctive plumage but at this time of year these birds pretty much all look the same whether they are male, female or juveniles. In January of this year I posted a photo of these mergansers with the male in breeding dress. These are the most common of three types of mergansers we regularly see here. The other two are the Hooded Merganser and (much less often) the Red Breasted Merganser.

Watching for Breakfast

It's been like homecoming week on the West Bay Walkway this last few days. Shoreline residents I haven't seen all summer are suddenly reappearing in their old haunts. Above is a Belted Kingfisher (Megaceryle alcyon) perched high above Sailor's Cove in the rigging of a sailboat.

The Saanich Inlet

At the summit of the Malahat, on the Island highway is a rest stop which provides a fantastic view, south towards Port Angeles. - Fern Long

Goldstream Park

There have been lots of posts on this blog of Goldstream Park, like this one
and this one. It's worth a visit at any time of year but in the fall, it is spectacular! - Fern

No Bicycle Riding, Dude!

American Wigeon (Anas americana)

Here's another common winter resident, the American Wigeon (Anas americana) (or Widgeon if you prefer). We do see them in the summertime also but there are many more here in the winter. They are almost as ubiquitous as Mallards and share many of the same areas and habits.

Bonaparte's Gull

Every time I think I've seen or photographed everything, something new and interesting pops up. This morning it was this lovely little gull, Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia). It was swimming near another gull. I suddenly realized that it was much smaller than the other gull and I took another look through the telephoto lens. That distinctive spot behind its eye told me I was looking at something I had not seen before. Then, as though it was aware of my intense scrutiny, it spread its wings and took flight. According to Wikipedia, this gull was named after Prince Charles Lucien Bonaparte, a zoologist and nephew of Napoleon.

Look Carefully....

Almost lost amidst the blaze of autumn leaves, this Douglas Squirrel (Tamiasciurus douglasii) pulled my eyes away from the abundant mushrooms near the trail around Matheson Lake. While I am quite familiar with the local Black and Grey Squirrels that live comfortably in our urban areas, I don't remember seeing a Douglas Squirrel before and I am happy to add this one to the roster of local indigenous animals that I have recorded here.

Mushroom Season

Last week I posted a photo of some mushrooms we saw on our excursion to Matheson Lake Regional Park. We went there for the the express purpose of seeing some mushrooms and we weren't disappointed. We must have seen more than a dozen different varieties, including a little clump of Amanita muscaria, a mushroom I have not seen before though I have long wanted to. Unfortunately the Amanitas were all in sad states of decay and being near the trail's edge were mostly tattered and broken so I will not post any photos of them and encourage you to click their name above and see the many excellent photos of them on Wikipedia. I don't know the name of the cluster of ghostly white mushrooms pictured above. I'm still working on how best to identify mushrooms. One of the identifying features of mushrooms is the spore print but to get one you have to pick the mushroom and I am reluctant to do that so I may continue to appreciate mushrooms anonymously....

All Hallows Eve

This is one of my favorite holidays and carving pumpkins, my favorite part. - Fern

Night Lights

Matheson Lake

Yesterday's photo was taken during a walk in Matheson Lake Regional Park and here is a photo of the lake that gives the park its name. It's a long narrow lake with several rocky little islands. There is a hiking trail that completely encircles the lake and intersects with the Galloping Goose Regional Trail, used by walkers and cyclists. It's a lovely spot and, at this time of year, practically deserted. During the four hours we were there we saw only a few other people.

Matheson Lake Regional Park

Victoria is a lovely city but it also has within a half hour's drive a multitude of wilderness areas preserved as regional parks. While the lakes and trails in these parks are at their most beautiful in the spring, the fall brings another kind of bloom to the forest floors - Mushrooms. Mosses too that have been struggling to survive through the long dry summer now thrive in the cool damp of autumn. This photo was taken yesterday during a beautiful hike Fern and I took around Matheson Lake, near Sooke.

Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus)

I mentioned yesterday the return of one of my favorite ducks, the Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus). Above on the left is the female of the species with the male on the right. Females and young first-winter birds of both genders look very similar so I could be wrong. I was very happy to see a small flock (6) of these birds fairly close inshore yesterday since they have been fishing and flirting much further out since their arrival. However, as can be seen below, they weren't cooperating with the photographer otherwise. All of them were catching up on their sleep and it was a long wait before they perked up and took their heads out of their feathers.

Black Turnstone

As well as fall colors, another positive aspect of autumn is the return of many of the seabirds that spend the winter here after their summer breeding season in the north. The Black Turnstones (Arenaria melanocephala) pictured here breed only in Alaska during the summer and spend the winters further south on the Pacific Coast. Recently I have also welcomed the return of one of my favorite kinds of fish-duck, the Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus). They also spend the summer further north for breeding and nesting.

Dazzled...

...and overcome by the rich autumn colors, Barbie lost her head.

Pigs, lovely pigs.

These two residents of Saanich were enjoying a weekend, just like most of us, involving lots of naps and snacks.

Time Marches On

And yet seed pods, such as these, hold the promise of new growth come spring. - Fern

"Somewhere Saturday" - Red-Cheeked Cordon Bleu

Regular visitors here will know that I sometimes venture further afield than Victoria, on Saturdays. I wish this photo was more competent but I think what it lacks in craftsmanship is more than equalled by the cuteness of this pair of Red-Cheeked Cordon Bleus (Uraeginthus bengalus). The house I lived in then (in West Africa) was surrounded by orange, lemon, grapefruit and mango trees and these two lovebirds were cuddling up in the lemon tree that was beside the veranda that wrapped around the house. I was too busy in those days for much photography but seeing these little birds every morning on my way out the door was so delightful that I took this photo in order to remember them. The song/video below captures some of the feeling these birds gave me.

Victoria Skyline

This building has the style and features of an heirloom structure but it appears to be a new building that echoes features other older buildings in downtown Victoria. And to my eye it does this very attractively and successfully. If any visitors know more about this View Street building I will be grateful for any additional information.

More Autumn

This Vic West street is definitely dressed for autumn. The house on the left is one of Victoria's Heritage Homes and was built in 1891.

October Morning

As one gets older it seems one has ever more call on Robert Burns' consideration of "the best laid plans...." The various exciting photo-excursions I had planned for this week have been shelved in favor of recuperating from a back problem. So I trundled myself out into the backyard this morning and here is what a Victorian garden looks like on this bright and sunny day in October. We had some early morning frost earlier in the week but only a sparkling dew today.

Occupy Victoria!

At this point in time (Monday 17 October), Occupy Victoria presents a peaceful, almost idyllic scene. It's a nice change to see Centennial Square occupied by relaxed citizens being themselves and expressing their views freely as we are supposed to be able to do in a democracy. Surely this is what a city square is for. There's food and discussion and information. If you live in Victoria, drop down to Centennial Square and see what's going on. Click HERE to find out more about the People's Assembly. And HERE's a local news story.

Fall is here.

We went for a lovely walk in Francis King Park today and while the sun was shining, there was no denying that autumn has begun. - Fern

Just Another Day

In Paradise. - Fern