Pigeon

Last weekend (Sunday) while in Stanley Park in Vancouver I saw this pigeon. It was the unusual colouration in the feathers that caught my eye. This bird was spotted along a pathway near Lost Lagoon. - Volker

Nature at Lost Lagoon

After the English Bay Beach visit two weeks ago, I also went on to see Stanley Park. Above is the Beech Avenue entrance, one of many ways to enter the park. Below is a photo of the lawn bowling facilities not far from that entrance and close by the tennis courts.

Above, the great blue herons are in their nest in the trees by the tennis courts. The growth of the foliage on the trees makes it harder to see the birds and their activity. The photo below shows a hydrangea flower just starting to bloom.

Above is an image of the water fountain in Lost Lagoon. Below are a series of photos of the Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina) which has a length of 5.25 inches, a wingspan of 13.5 inches and a weight of 0.49 ounces (14 g) according to The Sibley Guide to Birds (National Audubon Society).

The photo above shows a great blue heron in flight across the lagoon and below is a painted turtle with its head sticking out of the water. I did see another turtle but it was not in a good position to take a photo.

The bird above is a female red-winged blackbird. This one flew off into a tree nearby and then flew at me from behind. I could feel its claws on the back of my head as it flew past. Then below are a couple of images of the swans. The second photo is of a swan organizing the greenery on its nest.

Below is a series of photos of wild bees (Bombus likely) plus one of a honeybee (last images).

Float planes are flying overhead all the time as you can see in the photo above. There the shrubs and trees are alive with activity as can bee seen with the chickadee in the image below.

The next series of photos shows female mallard ducks and their young (ducklings). I hope you have enjoyed seeing these photos of the activity at Stanley Park's Lost Lagoon in Vancouver, British Columbia.