Adam J. Blake

I went out birding for the first time in a couple weeks to finally go see the Tropical Kingbird out at Brunswick Point. Like the Ash-throated Flycatcher this bird is nice enough to hang around near the parking lot. This was my first time seeing this bird in North America; the last time I saw this bird was at a banana plantation in Costa Rica.

This week we have a Hoary Marmot sunning himself on a rock. Both Whistler Mountain and the town were originally known as London Mountain but were renamed after these lovable husky squirrels that are also known as whistlers or whistle pigs. Whistler Mountain is not the only mountain to be named after these animals. Just outside of the townsite the Jasper SkyTram ascends a mountain known as the Whistlers.

Brandt's Cormorants

Phalacrocorax penicillatus, Phalacrocoracidae
Inshore Waters, off Tofino, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
September 20, 2014

Black Oystercatcher

Haematopus bachmani, Haematopodidae
Inshore Waters, off Tofino, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
September 20, 2014

Common Murres

Uria aalge, Alcidae
Pelagic Zone, off Tofino, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
September 20, 2014

Pink-footed Shearwater

Puffinus creatopus, Procellariidae
Pelagic Zone, off Tofino, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
September 20, 2014

California Sea Lion - ♂

Zalophus californianus, OtariidaePelagic Zone, off Tofino, British Columbia, CanadaNikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6September 20, 2014

Juvenile Sabine's Gull

Xema sabini, Laridae
Pelagic Zone, off Tofino, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
September 20, 2014

Herring Gull

Larus argentatus, Laridae
Pelagic Zone, off Tofino, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
September 20, 2014

California Sea Lion - ♂

Zalophus californianus, Otariidae
Pelagic Zone, off Tofino, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
September 20, 2014

Black-footed Albatross

Phoebastria nigripes, Diomedeidae
Pelagic Zone, off Tofino, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
September 20, 2014

Ocean Sunfish

Mola mola, Molidae
Pelagic Zone, off Tofino, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
September 20, 2014

Humpback Whale

Megaptera novaeangliae, Balaenopteridae
Pelagic Zone, off Tofino, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
September 20, 2014

Northern Fur Seal

Callorhinus ursinus, Otariidae
Pelagic Zone, off Tofino, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
September 20, 2014

Brown Booby

Sula leucogaster, Sulidae
Pelagic Zone, off Tofino, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
September 20, 2014

Fin Whale

Balaenoptera physalus, Balaenopteridae
Pelagic Zone, off Tofino, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
September 20, 2014

Northern Fulmar

Fulmaris glacialis, Procellariidae
Pelagic Zone, off Tofino, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
September 20, 2014

Flock of Sabine's Gulls

Xema sabini, Laridae
Pelagic Zone, off Tofino, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
September 20, 2014

Fishing Boat Feeding Frenzy

Pelagic Zone, off Tofino, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
September 20, 2014

Laysan Albatross

Phoebastria immutabilis, Diomedeidae
Pelagic Zone, off Tofino, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
September 20, 2014

Black-footed Albatross

Phoebastria nigripes, Diomedeidae
Pelagic Zone, off Tofino, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
September 20, 2014

Laysan Albatross

Phoebastria immutabilis, Diomedeidae
Pelagic Zone, off Tofino, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
September 20, 2014

Tofino Coastline

Pelagic Zone, off Tofino, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
September 20, 2014

Lone Cone

Inshore Waters, off Tofino, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
September 20, 2014

Orcas

Orcinus orca, Delphinidae
Inshore Waters, off Tofino, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
September 20, 2014

Lennard Island Lighthouse

Inshore Waters, off Tofino, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
September 20, 2014

Sooty Shearwater

Puffinus griseus, Procellariidae
Pelagic Zone, off Tofino, British Columbia, Canada
Nikon D5100, 70-300 mm f/4.5-5.6
September 20, 2014

Last month Sara and I were lucky enough to grab spots on a follow up Pelagic Cruise organized by Russell Canning after the great sightings from the previous weekend. Our skipper for the day was the owner of the Tofino Whale Centre John Forde. We departed from the Tofino docks at around 07:45 in somewhat foggy conditions for our over 7 hour pelagic cruise. [click to continue…]

While Sara and I were staying and Green Point, I took advantage of the dark skies (lack of light pollution) to try my hand at some star photography. This photo captures parts of the constellations Perseus, Auriga, and Camelopardalis in the middle right, lower left, and upper left respectively. The bright star in the lower left is Capella, the third brightest star (its actually a system of 4 stars) in the northern sky.

I’m pleased with the results but it took a lot of trial and error to get the exposure right and get the lens focused to infinity. Not being familiar with 500 rule at the time, I need to tweak my settings to avoid the startrails that are visible when you zoom in on this photo. If I was to take this shot again I would shoot this with my wider but slower kit lens using a faster shutter speed and higher ISO to avoid the trails. I also learned how important post-processing is for getting astro-photographs to pop. Without the adjustments the images look dull and a bit orange (you can hover your mouse to show the unprocessed image)

This weeks photo is from a recent pelagic cruise out of Tofino. The Laysan Albatross is the less common of the two Albatross species that occur in British Columbia. This bird was truly a sight to behold. We chased the bird for over 10 km at a speed averaging 40 km/h and we just able to keep pace with the Albatross. We lucked out and relocated the bird later in the day feeding with a large aggregation of other birds behind a fishing boat, where it provided great views for the whole boat. When I was processing the photos from the trip I noticed an orange band with black lettering on the birds left leg. Does anyone know who might be interested in relocating this bird?

I was finally able to get out to Boundary Bay today to see the Ash-throated Flycatcher (a BC rarity). There was another birder camped out in the flycatcher’s usual spot with a telephoto lens, making the bird easy to find. It was cooperative perching low but in the open. You can see my decent record shot above, but if you want to see some great photos of the bird check out this blog post.

I took this shot along the Yew Lake Loop by some picnic tables where you can regularly find these Gray Jays, living up to their alternate name, bilking hikers out of their trail snacks. They can be easily called in by “pishing” and will even take food from your hand.

Doing a little catch up with my photos of the week so enjoy this shot of a Purplish Copper. The Purplish Copper is the most common copper in southwest BC. This copper is one of BC’s butterflies with two generations per year with one flight in June and July and the second in August and September.

This photo shows the first confirmed breeding of Common Eastern Bumble Bees in the lower mainland. This species has been used for pollination in greenhouses since the late 1990s. This photo confirms earlier photo evidence of the escape and establishment of the Common Eastern Bumble Bee in Southwest, BC. There is more information about this discovery here on the E-fauna blog.