bird bonus blog (BBB)

Bonus blog:  BBB

  birds in action Vancouver edition 

 While in the Vancouver area l had an opportunity to get some birds in action doing regular old bird things like … a heron catching a fish, flipping it down it's beak and swallowing it, crows and seagulls chasing a bald eagle, Canada geese and goslings making their way across a park and into the water as well as some other shots of other birds. So I decided to make a BBB (birder bonus blog). Mostly pics.  If you're not that interested in bird pics you can just skip it and wait for the next travel update.

On to pics:

birds at Porteau Cove 

Oystercatchers 

Canada geese 

surf scooters 


female common merganser 

Steller's Jay 

Yellow-rumped warbler 

bald eagle on the point

Two bald eagles being chased by ravens 

Blue heron flying by the point looking for the perfect spot to land

goslings in the park

Mom and Dad with the wee ones

Uh oh…one’s starting to “explore”…

Mom has her job shooing them across the busy bike path

Meanwhile our explorer is just noticing that he's about to be left behind … “Wait! Wait! Wait! mom! I'm coming…”

not to worry, the geese seem to parent in pairs, dad is following up, keeping an eye on the little “explorer”

Wood ducks.  they are striking in their coloration. 

admiring his reflection 

these goslings are a little older

a heron fishing                                  looking here and there for tasty bite …

wait … is that something…

yes …

success 

Now, how to get the fish from the end of the beak and down the throat?

At this point, the fish is still very much alive and if the heron loses its grip … the fish is gone.

Oh, see? He almost lost it.

The heron goes through a series of quick side to side movements with its head and neck while actually tossing the fish up his beak

When it finally gets up to his “mouth”, he swallows the fish whole (see the distended lower mouth)

and it makes its way down that long throat (note the thickened section in the middle of the neck)

Yum, yum.

And the process starts again

Sometimes it's harder to keep the fish going down the throat and the heron has to use gravity and water to help it slide down

Now that that one's down, time to look for another …

 ah, the life of a heron

More pics of exotic birds from the Bloedel conservatory (just a reminder, these are rescue birds)

This guy apparently decided it was time to groom those gorgeous top feathers. Look how carefully he (or she) can separate out just one feather at a time to groom.

citron-crested cockatoo 

green -winged Macaw

blue and yellow Macaw

I was hoping to ID these next two birds …but alas cannot.  So I guess we'll just have to enjoy how bright, bold and interesting they are.


We came upon these sweeties while hiking at a small remote pond

I know I take a lot of butt shots … but that is one of the cutest little butts I've ever seen. ❤️


That's it for the Vancouver edition of the BBB. I hope you enjoyed it. I was mesmerized by the heron fishing and could have watched that for hours. I love to watch animal behavior and try to determine the purpose. So fascinating.

Next blog: British Columbia: traveling north. Stunning mountains, giant waterfalls, quiet lakes …wilderness. Clouds, mists, breaks of blue skies and sunshine. And a few encounters with people and wildlife.

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