The Swallowed Anchor 2

A couple of years ago I posted a photo of this quaint house opposite the West Bay Marina. I took another photo of it yesterday when I was going for breakfast at the Queen Mary Restaurant at the Marina. The house is looking rather more decrepit now and anyone who wants to see it should make a visit to the West Bay Marina soon. It is slated for demolition. HERE is a good article about the history and future of this unusual old house. The name of the house, The Swallowed Anchor, is nautical lingo. To "swallow the anchor" means to retire from a life of sailing.

Morning Fog

Fog rolled in from the Strait of Juan de Fuca this morning and obscured Shoal Point and James Bay. This photo was taken about an hour ago from the viewpoint in front of the Swallows Landing condominiums above the West Bay Walkway.

At Rest

On the West Bay Walkway.

Common Merganser (Mergus merganser)

These Common Mergansers (Mergus merganser) were part of a group of about 8 diving for their breakfast yesterday morning in Sailor's Cove, Esquimalt. That's an adult male leading a pair of females or perhaps juveniles since they resemble females. There were only two adult males in the group of 8. While I always like to see these Mergansers, I must confess that what I like best about this photo is the wonderfully loopy reflections of the sailboat masts on the water around them.

Female Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus)

I've mentioned before that Hooded Mergansers (Lophodytes cucullatus) are one of my favourite ducks and I've posted several photos of the male of the species because his dramatic coloration makes him easy to identify. The female of the species is not so strikingly attired and since these Hooded Mergansers are often in company with other ducks whose females are also camouflaged I am always a little reluctant to post photos of the females of the species for fear of wrong identification. In general I believe the drabber, browner based plumage of females makes them less visible when on the nest, providing a distinct adaptive benefit. Above is a female Hooded Merganser, the mate of the male Hooded Merganser to the left.

West Bay Walkway Itself

Since it has become my favourite morning walk these days I've been posting a lot of photos taken from the West Bay Walkway. Here are a couple of photos of the West Bay Walkway. The photo above is near the western end of the walkway. Here it crosses a little stretch of shallow water where one can look down into the intertidal zone. To the left you can see the same stretch of the walkway from further east.

Buffleheads (Bucephala albeola)

The lovely little diving ducks are called Buffleheads (Bucephala albeola). They were swimming and diving quite energetically offshore of the West Bay Walkway when I noticed a large Harbour Seal (right below) approaching them.

The seal dived and a few moments later all the ducks were in flight. Seals are occasionally known to opportunistically attack sea birds and I suspect these little ducks must look as inviting from beneath the surface as they do above. The event was a little reminder that the animals we observe in these peaceful natural scenes probably see their environment quite differently from how we view it.

Telephoto Fun

Lately I've been enjoying my longest telephoto lens. It's a 500mm reflex lens and is most useful for birds. Yesterday's posted photo of the Hooded Mergansers was taken with this lens. These birds were so far out in the water that with the naked eye I could do little more than guess at their identity. Yet thanks to modern technology I was able to capture the relatively sharp image I posted. Today's photos were both taken with the same super telephoto lens and I selected them to show the kind of distortion that comes about with long lenses like this. In the photo above, of course, the sun is about 10 times bigger than it appears in reality. It's a great effect- it makes it look like a blistering hot morning in mid-summer instead of a cold autumn sunrise. The photo below is more of a curiosity for locals to consider. In the foreground is the shoreline from Saxe Point (on the left) to Macaulay Point (on the right) with Fleming Beach and Buxton Green closer to the middle on the right. Where it starts to get weird is what's further back - many of Victoria's trademark buildings in apparently odd locations and looking larger and closer than seems possible. If you look carefully you can see Craigdarroch Castle, the Rocklands water tower, Christchurch Cathedral, the Empress Hotel, the Legislative Assembly Buildings, the Sussex Building and others.

Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus)

I was pleased to see some Hooded Mergansers (Lophodytes cucullatus) yesterday when out on my walk. Above are a pair of males. These beautiful little diving ducks re-ignited my enthusiasm for bird-watching nearly two years ago when I first saw them in the midst of a long gray December. I think they must nest further north and fly south to winter around here since I generally see them during the winter months.

Sailor's Cove Sunset

Here are two shots of the same scene, Sailor's Cove - above, just before sunset yesterday and, to the right, just after sunrise three days ago. We tend to see sunrise and sunset as similar events in that they both bring more colour to the sky. However, I am discovering that because they happen on opposite sides of the horizon, they have quite different effects on local landscapes. Though the above photo was a rather gray evening, if you compare the early morning version of this photo on the right it will provide a good example of the differences between sunrise and sunset at this location.

Sunrise Over the City

A short walk east from where I took yesterday's photo, Sailor's Cove widens out into the broader reaches of the Inner Harbour and provides this view of Victoria's downtown. One commenter yesterday mentioned the fog that came down later in the day. At dawn this fog was little more than a low-lying cloud but it provided enough interference for the sun's rays to allow this photo of the sun as it crept above the city skyline.

Sailor's Cove Sunrise

I usually refer to the western end of the West Bay Walkway as West Bay Marina. The Marina is there but the actual bay in which it is situated is called Sailor's Cove and there is also a Sailor's Cove Marina, pictured above, as well as the West Bay Marina, which is visible in the background. I took this photo about two hours ago just after the sun rose on what looks to be another glorious day. You can see part of the walkway on the left of this photo.

Swallow's Landing II

Yesterday's view of Victoria was taken from the terrace visible in the upper right of this photo. This rather ungainly looking stairway leads from the West Bay Walkway to the two Swallow's Landing condominium towers. While it is not the most attractive stairway, it was designed to protect and preserve the fragile ecosystem beneath and around it known as the Matson Conservation Area, the last remaining bit of the Garry Oak Ecosystem on the shoreline surrounding Victoria's Inner Harbour. This has been preserved in perpetuity by the developer of these condominiums. It's looking a bit frowzy now but this landscape always looks its best in the spring and early summer.

West Bay Marina

A few steps further down the walk pictured yesterday brings the above view into sight. It's the West Bay Marina, the western end of the walkway that begins at the Johnson Street Bridge in downtown Victoria. It's a nice mix of pleasure boats and colorful houseboats. The latter are now called floathomes, and I think it's a good idea to introduce a new term. Modern houseboats are a far cry from early models that were little more than boxes on barges. Some of Victoria's most interesting home designs are floating, both here and at Fisherman's Wharf.

West Bay Walkway

Back in April I photographed this spot and dubbed it "Westsong Walkway." However, just around the corner there is a plaque identifying this as the "West Bay Walkway." The Township of Esquimalt says that the West Bay Walkway, "...connects Esquimalt (from Head Street at West Bay Marina) to downtown Victoria (Johnston Street Bridge)." Part of this beautiful shoreline walkway is in Victoria West and part of it is in Esquimalt. It seems the part that lies in Esquimalt is called the West Bay Walkway and the Vic West part of it is called the Westsong Walkway. Either that or it depends on the direction you are walking: if you are walking east from West Bay Marina then you are on the West Bay Walkway; if heading west from downtown, then you are on the Westsong Walkway. Oh well, what's in a name? A rose...etc.

CFB Esquimalt Naval & Military Museum

Here's another facet of life in Victoria I have not explored before. The trim building above is part of a hospital complex put up in the 19th century to care for military personnel. The entire complex now houses the Canadian Forces Base Esquimalt Naval and Military Museum. There is a nominal charge/donation for entry and a wealth of well-displayed artifacts and documents relating to the history of the military on this base from its founding in 1865. Arranged in a series of rooms in chronological order, displays and dioramas provide fascinating glimpses of military life from long ago to the present. It's well worth a visit especially if you want to understand Victoria's history and the important role played by the military.

Welcome!

When winter's icy winds howl across the frozen wastes we may go for a long time without seeing our friends, but we always welcome with open arms any guests who pass our way....

West Bay Marina

Lovely bright day today and the wind has finally died down so I was able to walk around and take some photos of the neighborhood. I crept and slid down to the Westsong Walkway and took this photo of the West Bay Marina in Esquimalt.

Harbor Seal

Now that the kids are back in school and the weather is cooling down, the tourist core of Victoria is much quieter and I have begun to explore and re-explore areas a little further from the Victoria city center such as Macaulay Point and Fleming Beach in Esquimalt, where I chanced to meet this Harbor Seal enjoying a placid swim near the dock. I like this picture because the seal is looking up at me. As he approached he was focused on the bottom then he bent his head up and gazed at me. A few seconds later he surfaced and had a better look at me. If I'd had a fish (or maybe a ball) we could have had a little more conversation. But since nothing was forthcoming he rolled over and continued his leisurely survey of the bottom. The water is about a meter and a half (five feet) deep here and he was about a half meter below the surface when I took this picture.

The Swallowed Anchor

For those of you who are thinking I am going "overboard" on houses, I say, "Avast there, maties!" because the house above, if you look closely, has a distinct nautical flavor. (And I've left out the one-legged pirate on the roof, standing near the stork's nest.) And while it is a house, it provides a cunning segue into the coming week's naval offerings as Victoria hosts the Tall Ships.

This little jewel of a house, "The Swallowed Anchor," is to be found in Esquimalt across the road from the West Bay Marina. And for those of you who might be wondering, it is an actual house, not a part of some theme park. Rumor has it that it was formerly the home of a retired sea captain who willed it to his heirs with the proviso that nothing could be changed.