Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Central Texas Hummingbirds

Adult male Ruby Throat
Photo by Karen Arquette

Migration seems to have begun. Karen was reporting that 80 to 100 hummers a day would visit her feeders this summer. Yet, recently, the numbers have dropped to around 30 or 40 a day. Flowers are still blooming. The feeders are still being filled. These jewels are tanking up for their flights south. We will enjoy them all we can.



Immature male Ruby Throat
Photo by Karen Arquette

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Wednesday, August 20, 2008

Swallowtails and Butterfly Bushes



This Texan was very impressed with the Butterfly TREES on Galiano Island and the attendant Swallowtails. Back in Texas our butterfly bushes grow to about three feet tall, having to struggle with intense heat and dry conditions. However, in British Columbia the rainfall and milder temperatures must make a tremendous difference.

This picture, by my spouse, was taken on the grounds of a delightful pub where we ate lunch.

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Saturday, August 9, 2008

Sandhills and Mud Flats

The end of July and the dog days of summer in Texas found us escaping to the cooler regions of the continent. We visited our neighbors to the North, crossing into British Columbia at the Peace Arch. I spent a day at the George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary. This sanctuary is located just south of Vancouver off River Road. Much of the sanctuary was the homestead and farm of George Reifel. He donated the land to the Province on two conditions: that it be maintained as a migratory bird sanctuary and that it bear his father’s name forever. Much of the sanctuary is salt marsh and wetland. A portion of the old farm is still planted to supply food for waterfowl. There are plenty of easily walked trails and observation blinds and a tower. Red Breasted Nuthatches, Wilson Warblers, Spotted Towhee, and Common Yellowthroat darted around the trails. Tree Swallows were abundant. Bald Eagles and a Red Tail Hawk flew over the area. Canada Geese and Mallards and Pied Bill Grebes were found in many ponds. Waders such as Long billed Dowitchers, Yellowlegs, Semipalmated Sandpipers, and Western Sandpipers were evident. At one point I sat down under the tower and looked over the mud flats. These Sandhill Cranes walked right up to me.


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Sunday, August 3, 2008

Kites

Photo by Bryan Stone

Kites

Wonder; wander, winsome ethereal thoughts,
To soar as a Kite and gain from such perspective,
To defy gravitational limitations and their implications,
To see the future and watch it unfold,
To see the horizon and beyond, perhaps,
Would that it could be.

RCS

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