Posts Tagged: Wildlife
Snail’s Pace
It’s the little things, y’know?
On the way to work this morning I saw a snail crossing the sidewalk. It had a very pretty shell, pale yellow with a sharp black stripe. Right in the middle of the sidewalk it was, halfway between the bushes by the McD parking lot and the cool shady bushes by the side of the road.
Two things you only see at night
Last night was the first installment of the Celebration of Light. I was exhausted from work and volleyball, possibly coming down with something, and I actually considered not going. But hey: I’m right next to the beach, it was Canada Night, and I’d get to see how this new camera of mine handled fireworks.
Verdict: awesome.
A Heron by Still Creek
This morning, I just happened to see a Great Blue Heron by Still Creek, about fifty feet from Gilmore. There wasn’t anyone nearby, so I approached very slowly and quietly.
Caw!
Hey, remember the last time I blogged about crows? Back then I was just on one of their commuting routes. But my present job happens to be very near their roosting grounds around Still Creek and Willingdon. Until recently it was still dark when I left work, so I had so I walked past, oh, a couple of thousand crows, I’d say, settled in the trees along Gilmore Ave. And that’s just a suburb of Crow Central.
Lost Lagoon
I gotta say, being unemployed in the West End at this time of year has its up sides.
For my birthday, I got a power outage
On Monday morning, the power went out in part of Gastown and downtown. Specifically, the part where my work was. Surprise holiday! I spent it walking around a bit, running some errands, and going to the Art Gallery. There was an exhibit on comics, anime and cartoons which… but more about that later.
Today the power was still out. So, I called up my friend Sandra (who had the summer off, being a teacher) and we hung out for the day.
Ode To A Juvenile Bald Eagle I Saw Perched By The SeaBus Terminal Friday Morning
O little Bald Eagle
(Well, not that little, you might have been three feet long)
I saw you from the escalator as I exited the train
Just sitting there, huddled against the rain
Quietly looking around
At everything and nothing
Flown The Coop
They’re definitely on their own now. Since late last week, none of the juveniles have touched down on the roof for more than a few minutes, and haven’t even been fed by their parents. At least as far as I could see. Even the runt I worried about so much is flying like a pro, its flight strong, its gliding smooth as silk. It’s such a joy to watch them go after seeing them grow up. Funny to think just a couple of months ago they were still downy little chicks with useless wings and ravenous stomachs.
Up, Up And Away
Holy cow, it’s flying!
And not just little Kitty Hawk laps around the roof, but soaring beautifully, higher even than my floor. It’s still got a lot to learn–it’s flapping too much, using up too much energy, and when it does try to glide its wings are all twitchy and hesitant; also, the landings need work–but damn that’s impressive. Just a week ago it was confined to the rooftop, and now… the sky’s the limit.
That’s Natural Selection For You
I was off for the first week of July. When I came back on the 9th, I found the nest on the cathedral tower had ben abandoned. My theory—shared by my neighbour, who’d also been keeping an eye on the birdies—was that the metal surface on which the nest was built just got too hot, and the chicks cooked. (Yeah, it’s not always survival of the fittest. Sometimes it comes down to dumb luck.)
The Blessed Event
They’re here! They’re here! The eggs on the bell tower have hatched sometime last night, and the nest is now home to three adorable seagull chicks.
Bell tower? Yep: in the last couple of weeks I noticed another seagull nest, built on the southwest corner of the Cathedral’s taller bell tower. But since it’s almost exactly at eye level with my work, I couldn’t see the eggs.
And now they’re shacking up
Well, that answers that question.
A couple of weeks ago I wondered where the two gulls would settle down. Turns out they settled down right on the roof where they consummated their union. At least I assume it’s the same couple—not to sound speciesist or anything, but seagulls all kind of look alike to me.
Today I saw two seagulls doing it
Heh. Well, it’s that time of year. They were on a roof, across the street and a few storeys below my window. The male was sitting on top of the female for a couple of minutes after a co-worker pointed them out. Just… sitting there. Not moving, no bamp-chicka-bamp music. Then he flapped his wings a bit, and the female scooted out from under him. They hung around the roof for a couple of hours. Frankly I was a bit disappointed, but I assume they enjoyed it, and that’s what counts, right?
Weaver
I’ve got a new pet.
About a week ago, I noticed a big Orb Weaver spider had settled outside my living room window. It’s a beauty, a bit over 1cm long not counting the legs, with pretty patterns of brown and orange on its abdomen… and the impressive web itself, a couple of feet across, spun in the traditional spiral pattern that gives these beasties their name.
Corvids Are Cool
Every evening before dusk, I can see hundreds of crows flying past my workplace on their way to roost in Burnaby. They stream past, cawing to each other, either alone, in small groups, or in larger murders. (That’s the correct term, incidentally. A murder of crows, an unkindness of ravens, a parliament of rooks, a tiding of magpies—that last one probably referring to magpie counting rhymes. Damn, but Corvids have cool collective nouns.)
