A bird looking for a photo opportunity!

So Tuesday while at Vancouver's Stanley Park I was about halfway between the tennis courts where the herons are nesting and Lost Lagoon where most of the waterfowl are found. Here is this crow which appeared to be more than just anticipating a photo opportunity, it wanted to be in the photo. The bird is either an American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos), with a length of 17.5 inches, wingspan of 39 inches and weight of one pound (450 g), or it is a Northwestern Crow (Corvus caurinus) which has a length of 16 inches, a wingspan of 34 inches and a weight of 13 ounces (380 g). You be the judge. As for the photo opportunity, perhaps the bird was also mesmerized by its reflection in the camera lens. You decide. Enjoy this series of images.

So there are more photos to follow. I hope you have enjoyed these.

Wood Ducks - Aix sponsa

On visits to Vancouver's Stanley Park I've seen a pair of Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa) and on Tuesday of this week I got some excellent photos of them. I found them not too far away from the southern end of the Lost Lagoon. In the above image the male is on the left and the female on the right.

Here is another closer look at the pair of ducks.

The above image shows the female alone. I love the colours. How about you?

Then there is a shot of the male with even more colourful plumage! Enjoy!

Swans: A visit by a friend...

Tuesday afternoon was a chance to visit the Lost Lagoon once again. The sunny weather was excellent for that. One of the mute swans definitely had to pay me a visit. This series of photos resulted.

Notice the wake left in the water as the swan moves quickly ahead.

Here is a close-up shot. I hope you have enjoyed these photos and will visit again. There are more images of the park's varied creatures to share.

Spring Flowers in Stanley Park - Vancouver

Tuesday, Stanley Park in Vancouver was a pallet of colour as seen in these images. All photos were taken with a Sony DSLR A100 digital camera (10.2 megapixels). The photo above is of rhododendron flowers that were taken with my HP Photosmart R717 digital camera during the past week.

A cherry tree near the tennis courts and a close-up shot of the blossoms in the photo below.

The image below shows more blossoms. Even the moon made an appearance. The clear blue skies certainly helped to make excellent photos.

Below is another close-up shot of flowers on another rhododendron shrub near the tennis courts. These flowers were also taken within the last week using the HP camera.

Magnolia flowers in bloom on a tree above. Below is a close-up shot of some of the lovely flowers.

Looks like another magnolia below. Lovely colour.

A lovely display of magnolia above and the red flowers of a rhododendron brighten up a spring day.

These white blossoms look wonderful, don't they?

Well, I'll have more photos later. Plenty of waterfowl and other critters were seen that day as well. I'll post those photos later after my supper. Enjoy these images and comments if the mood strikes.

Shaughnessy Park - Vancouver

Early Tuesday afternoon I had an appointment near Granville and 16th in Vancouver. Since I was running ahead of time I decided to visit nearby Shaughnessy Park on The Serpentine Boulevard. The taller daffodils are now in flower as seen in the image above.

These rhododendron blooms are nice complete with a bumble bee.

Here is another smaller bee on a flower nearby. Enjoy this small sampling of images taken on a Sony DSLR A100 digital camera. More to follow.

A Spring Sunday in Vancouver

Sunday we had a break in all the rain plus the sun made an appearance, so I went into Vancouver for the afteroon. These photos were taken along West Georgia Street at an apartment complex as I was nearing Stanley Park. Beautiful to see the cherry trees and spring heathers in bloom.

Here is a closer view of the spring heathers (by the height likely Erica x darleyensis varieties) and the cherry blossoms. In the background are magnolia trees (saucer).

Enjoy these photos. There will be many more since I was in Vancouver's Stanley Park again Tuesday afternoon using my new Sony DSLR digital camera. Expect some more awesome images. Till later!

Ships, ships and more ships...

Ships of all sorts pass through the narrows at Burrard Inlet to the port of Vancouver all the time. It could be a freighter or a cruise ship. Perhaps it could be a ship that blends in with the water and the surroundings making it hard to see or identify. The above photo shows the obvious freighter but look at the puff of grey smoke and see where that is coming from. If you look carefully, it's a frigate, the HMCS Calgary.

Or the ship you see might be a freighter. Many of them pass through the narrows.

Or it might be a very large, colourful cruise ship passing through the narrows and heading out to sea. This one is like a floating city making the highrise condos of West Vancouver in the background look small by comparison.

Then there are the numerous freighters that wait their turn to enter the harbour such as these in English Bay. I will post more images of ships as they become available. Hopefully you have enjoy these!

Tuesday Afternoon in Hawthorne Rotary Park

Although it was raining Wednesday in the lower mainland of British Columbia, tuesday was quite a different story. The clouds broke up enough in the afternoon to give us clear blue skies and sunshine. I decided to take advantage of the cooler but breezy weather and walk down to Hawthorne Rotary Park at the other end of my street. So many robins were seen that I didn't have enough fingers to count them. The above photo just shows us some of our friendly visitors. There were robins everywhere!

Then there was spring heather in full bloom where ever one looked as these two photos will attest.

The rhododendrons are in bloom also but many more plus azaleas are yet to follow. The photo below is just a teaser.

The squill are in flower as well. Such a beautiful shade of blue!

Below are just a few daffodils currently in bloom to brighten up an early spring day.

The hyacinths are in flower too. Hopefully spring will come where you live soon, if it hasn't come yet. Perhaps these photos will give you inspiration for things yet to come. Enjoy them!

Enjoy your Spring!!!