Backyard Birds

  
 

Today was the first day for my new woodpecker feeder.  Nothing more than an 18 inch x 3 inch diameter piece of cherry my neighbour, Brenda Lee, was gracious enough to give me.  I drilled 7/8 inch holes about 2 inches apart at the top end of the log and filled it (well, Denise, my wife filled it) with seed, mixed with peanut butter.  To keep my nemesis, the squirrel, at bay, I placed a 17 inch circular piece of aluminum plate on the top and screwed it into the log with an eyebolt.  Within an hour, I had 3 birds clinging to the log (2 woodpeckers, and one Northern Flicker).  By the time I got my camera out, the flicker was on the ground searching for food.  I found this odd, as I have never seen them as ground feeders.  The woodpecker photo was highlighted with a flash and Flash Extender from a distance of about 40 ft.

Dog Mountain

One great thing about living in British Columbia, is that there are spectacular views everywhere.  For those who know me, know I am not partial to snow, and cold weather.  However, since moving to BC, I have been introduced to snowshoeing.  Actually, to clarify, I would never have tried snowshoeing if I knew there wasn't something to photograph.  It can get darn cold here.  Once, my wife and I took a hike on snowshoes, in Manning Park (east of Vancouver), at -19C.  Believe it or not, we actually saw a mosquito.  I tried to photograph it but it was in a hurry.  I did manage to get several photos of a spider walking on the snow.  I suspect the sun caused the tree bark to heat up and the critters hibernating inside thought it was spring.

This photograph was taken after hiking from Mt. Seymour to Dog Mountain, north of Vancouver.   We were part of a local group from Wanderung.   The view was outstanding the whole way up.  The couple to the right, in the photo were having lunch and admiring the view.  Don't blame them.

Again I used my reliable Nikon D200, and 17-55mm lens with a Moose Peterson Circ/Pol filter.