Sunshine Coast

First off, i'd like to say what a rip-off BC Ferries is.
Now that i've got that off my chest Sunday was the day we decided to head over to the Sunshine Coast to see about Rock Sandpipers.
Ever since i got my first shot of one at Mission Point (just before Sechelt) in early 2010 i've wanted a re-match.
I had planned to go after them in December but then the lens broke and everything was thrown in the air.
I figured i might be too late for them now but it was still worth it since Black Oystercatcher, Surfbird, Black Turnstone, Black Scoter are the other attractions, along with gulls, crows, goldeneyes etc.
Didn't get any Rock Sandpipers on Sunday and we waited a while for the loose flocks of turnstones to come in to roost on the descending tide. Saw a Surfbird in the mix but not much else alas.

Black Oystercatcher

Other notable birds that morning included Barrow's Goldeneye, Black Scoter and Northwestern Crow.
I was laying down the whole morning to get a low angle.

Spotted Towhee

 

Went out this morning around the shore, Whytecliffe park was a dud, no birds but a bunch of divers, Ambleside was quiet as well, Maplewood was more productive and this Towhee was the best of a meager bunch. 

Black-crowned Night-Heron

Went out to Reifel on Sunday with Audy and had a walk around and renewed our yearly memberships.

At the entrance i was lucky to get one of the 5 night-herons out in the open and took some shots of this cool bird.
Don't know why they choose to winter here but we get them at Reifel every year (i could think of some warmer places to hang out myself)...

Merganser Saturday

Had a nice quiet morning at Hastings Park and while waiting for hoodies to appear spotted a nice Common Merganser as well.

Too bad the Hooded Merganser never came in very close, oh well.

Weekend Birds

Ok, my nightmare is over, lens is fixed and i've finally gotten out with it to check it all out, seems good.

I decided to take a break from internet forums for a while as i was (still am) busy re-doing one of our bathrooms top to bottom, as well i discovered facebook and no sooner had i joined than my life started to crumble apart at the seams because of it   (long story...)
the break has been good though, i feel like a kid again and know i have two months to make up for shooting-wise

anyways...
Decided to head out to Iona first morning back, i was almost nervous about shooting again it's been so long
I was surprised by the amount of fog when we arrived at Iona but i was determined to shoot something.

Here is something to post here finally, been a while, like i said, it was really foggy, almost white-out conditions, but i can't resist a grebe at close range

 

 

Well, after my first day back on Saturday in the fog didn't quite satisfy me shooting-wise, i decided to stay closer to home on Sunday.
I have only been back to Maplewood once since the accident (which occured there) and i went back to the spot where the lens fell over and re-claimed the area again .
Typical Maplewood winter morning, the Golden-crowned kinglets were the highlights as far as birds go.

Later, i headed over to Ambleside, i wanted to shoot some goldeneyes

Guess Who's back?

Booyashaka!

Guess I Got My Swagger Back

Today was a beautiful sunny day, it was a Friday as well and i felt good for a change. I decided to hassle the Richmond Nikon location by phone today about my lens, i had visions of my fixed lens being left neglected on a shelf somewhere in Toronto while i was jonesin' big time over here on the west coast. As usual, i had to leave a message since no one ever picks up. It's all good cause i got a ring-back a while later from my homeboy Tim at Nikon Richmond with the news that he had my lens in his hands! He had gone and picked it up just then!
I think i made it to Richmond in record time, all the while listening to music really loudly in my car, nodding my head along with every beat.
Life is sweet sometimes : )
See you in the field, i'll be hanging with my peeps (literally) getting back in touch, i miss those feathered creatures, the ones that come to our feeders are cool but the wild ones that make you work for the shot are the ones i desire.

soon, very soon

 White-tailed Sabrewing

So yeh, i'm getting psyched because the parts for my broken 500mm f4 lens have arrived from Japan and the technicians are working on it right now in Toronto.
my nightmare is almost over!
a buddy at work wanted me to make a hummer print for him to frame so i processed this one for him.
looks pretty nice at 11" x 8 1/2" : )

A cover, one day perhaps, but not today.

Oh man, what a drag, i was just contacted by one of my fav birding-related magazines about the possibility of them using ($) this image.

Get this, it was under consideration for a cover! 

I scream Doh! because said image is stuck on a Lacie 1TB external HD piece of crap that died prematurely, i have no way of retrieving the first 4 or 5 months of 2009 and i knew this would come back to bite me one day, sigh.. ; )

 

Pine Siskin

 Pine Siskin (Carduelis pinus)

 Happy belated new years everyone.

Being without my 500mm f4 sucks, Nikon has had it since November 28th so i'm hoping it won't be too much longer.
shot this with the 80-400VR last weekend, didn't like the leaf behind the bird and felt it distracted too much to post the shot originally.
Shots are slim to none lately so i thought i'd post it anyways, and the leaf doesn't bother me so much after all. : )

Bling Bling

An update on the situation with my lens -
I phoned Nikon Canada yesterday and was told that the repair was on hold pending the arrival of parts required from Japan. I was also told that it usually took anywhere from 2 weeks to 4 weeks for the part to arrive once ordered.
I knew it wasn't going to be an easy fix, i'm not at all surprised that Nikon Richmond sent it to Toronto for repairs.

The estimate for repairs and delivery came out to $600 so it will be repaired, i'm hoping to be back in full effect January 2012, missing a lot of quality shooting opportunities at the moment though.

I suppose this forced break has made me reflect on how much i really love photographing birds and getting out into nature, Audy actually said that maybe i would be happy enough to just go bird-watching, it's just not something i can do though, i would be too miserable if i was ever without a camera when a good bird suddenly posed in front of me in good light.
Sure, i've got the 80-400VR and will use it when i need to (Clay-colored Sparrow) but i don't enjoy using it, my 500mm is a part of me, we have been through so much together - Thailand twice, Texas, Arizona, California, Ohio, Trinidad, Tobago not to mention the frequent weekly after-work/weekend excursions here in BC.
It's weird too, i kind of think that when the lens comes back we will be even closer, it's back was effectively broken, the side impact of tripod falling over broke it into two pieces, there were many broken plastic bits inside the lens as well though the glass and body exterior were spared any viewable damage.
While i didn't break my back, i did damage my spine from years of mountain biking and had surgery and even though i walk with a slight limp now because of it,  it hasn't slowed me down much.
I don't expect that this injury to my 500mm f4 AFS-1 will slow it down either once i have it back in my arms.

I'm old-school, i remember bombing down the steep single-track trails of the north shore back in the early 90's on rigid front forks! = Off-Road Toad bikes reprezent! =  full suspension was still a dream, back then, you really had to know how to ride, nowadays i imagine the kids just bomb over everything on their plush full squishee bikes LOL.

Now to the "bling" part of this post, the crash was so severe that my beloved Jobu BWG-Pro gimbal head suffered. The cast aluminum swing arm attachment was torn in two upon impact, don't quite still know how that happened but i knew that there would be no problem getting a replacement part from Jobu and emailed then with a pic to demonstrate.

Jobu is a Canadian company that specializes in making high quality equipment for professional wildlife photographers. Their Black Widow Gimbal - Pro head was the bomb, and i used it and slightly abused it during it's many adventures. I also loved that it was green.
Anyways, Jobu got back to me right away and one thing led to another and i'd now like to introduce you all to the BWG-Pro 2 head, the ultra-bomb, i'm stoked of course, but what really makes me nod my head in appreciation is the fact that they sent me one of their factory-only green heads as a replacement!

I had seen the Pro 2 head in the stores earlier in the year but it was always in black, the retail colour.

The improved CNC'd swing arm is a big improvement i think and i can't wait to test it out with my 500mm f4 in the new year.

props to Jobu!

My Top Shots of 2011

Every year i start a couple of threads on my local birding forum and ask people to post their top shots of the year.
I thought i'd post my top 3 shots from BC and my top 3 shots from US/World for 2011 on my very own blog.
Hope you enjoy!


Bohemian Waxwing - Maplewood Flats, North Vancouver.
A pre-valentines day gift to me from nature, on Feb 13th



Northern Shrike - Iona, Richmond.
This pic was bought by Birdwatching magazine and used in the December issue, gotta like that, right?



Red Crossbill - Maplewood Flats, North Vancouver.
It was a toss-up between this and a Red-necked Phalarope, crossbill wins cause it was shot on my home turf.



Blue-winged Warbler - Cuyahoga Valley National Park, Ohio.
I was using Matthew Studebaker's PDF guide to shooting locations in Ohio and he described a particular area of the park where these warblers were known to have territory every year.
I got looks of them the first day but it was the second day (i went back the next morning) that really stands out to me as one of those special moments.
I made a print of this shot and it turned out really nice if i say so myself



Purple Honeycreeper - Asa Wright Centre, Trinidad.
This must be my favourite bird from Trinidad.
I was able to get some close looks by working the feeders, it just looks so exotic



Copper-rumped Hummingbird - Cuffie River, Tobago.
The hummers on both Trinidad and Tobago were quite amazing, even with a number of species males holidaying in Venezuela, the opportunity for close looks at even the most common species (this being one of them) were worth taking.
I made a print of this gem and it hangs by my desk at work, to remind me of why i work

Clay-colored Sparrow

Took the 80-400VR out after work today since i needed to do some shooting and it was so nice.
I stayed on the shore and hiked in the snow at Mount Seymour looking for Pine Grosbeaks and White-winged Crossbills, both of which would be lifers. I must have been the only guy in hiking boots up there
I'd like to say i got a shot of a White-winged Crossbill but photo proof is inconclusive, more than likely Red Crossbill.
Aw well, at least i made it back down without slipping once

I decided i need a sure thing to make me feel better, and made my way to West Vancouver to check out the Clay-colored Sparrow coming to a feeder. The address is posted on the Bird Report BC website for those interested.

I was the only person there and would like to thank the owners for their hospitality towards birders, i didn't see them the whole time, but thanks







I haven't mentioned yet here that my tripod fell over a few weeks ago now and broke my 500mm f4 lens in two.

Nikon Canada surgeons in TO are working on it as i type these words, my estimate from them for stupidity was $600. 

A lesson learned. 

Now let's hope they fix the lens soon, i'm missing my baby ; )