Monday, September 15, 2008

My Birding Adventure

I wanted to spare anyone reading this blog my long winded drivel of the last post and make a little cartoon/photo entertainment today, but darn! my computer illustration program is ancient and acting like a fussy old man. It's newest cantankerous rebellion is deciding to only measure things in MILLIMETRES and if I try to select otherwise, it beats me with it's cane and throws mashed peas at me. I know it just wants to sit there, do nothing and think of the good old days of its youth (when Bush was only a governor). I fear it won't survive another hardware upgrade. Pooh I say, pooh!

so anyhoooo.....

The past weekend I was overjoyed when everyone in my family said yes to my suggestion of visiting the Reifel Bird Sanctuary on Westham Island. This is a beautiful area of protected wetlands in Ladner, BC where the Fraser River meets the Pacific ocean. 280 species of birds have been spotted there, so I was anticipating some spectacular photo opportunities.


At the entrance I immediately was taken with my first bird encounter. Ducks and lots of them. I bought a little bag of seed for each of my daughters. These boisterous birds are used to being hand fed.

Walking along the trail, more ducks appeared ahead, ready to be fed.

And then... more ducks.

I could hear other birds, I knew they were somewhere out there, but...

At last, at the end of our visit, I spotted some different birds...

Leaving the gift shop, we were again accosted by ducks. I didn't like the shifty look about them. They were moving closer...

and CLOSER...!

Quickly, we made our escape off the island away from those swarming ducks!

The lesson to be learned, the best time to see a variety of birds at the Sanctuary (without a good pair of binoculars) is the spring (nesting time) or winter, when a lot of species have migrated there. Or right now... if you just love ducks.

6 comments:

patricia said...

I'm laughing out loud as I type this! Your post is hilarious. Thanks for making the effort to create the comic-strip adventure. Sorry it was nuthin' but ducks and dead stuffed birds. You'll have to go back in the spring for the sequel.

Oh, and your eyebrows are lovely.

Caroline said...

You made it sound fun whether it was what you'd been hoping for or not...

andrea said...

Great photos and ... ummm .... good commentary. :)

We found that going in spring was better than going in September, too. We went in something like March of this year. Can't remember -- but I did blog about it!

Ellen said...

Patricia: I have CorelDraw version 16th century. It would have been sooo much better if the damn thing worked.

I'm already planning my winter and spring trips! As for my eyebrows, sometimes they seem to be there and sometimes not. It's like they're 'mood ring' eyebrows, changing from translucent to light beige depending on how I'm feeling.

Caroline: It was a lot of fun. A must see place I think for people visiting these parts.

Andrea: What? you didn't like my commentary? IT WAS ALL TRUE! And when I go back there in the winter, I'm picking you up along the way and bringing you with me for protection. I can tell you're braver about these things.

Melody said...

I too am laughing out loud. Great post as usual. I agree with the shifty duck thing though. I have always found them to be a bit frightening...perhaps it's those short little legs

Ellen said...

Mel: And I let some eat from my hand for the first time. And you know what? they're slobbery! like a dog! I thought that hard beak would feel entirely different, but I guess if you hang out in ponds all day..