Deck shots

Next door

Downy Woodpecker, North America’s smallest woodpecker

Female preening

Foraging for insects

Fish Crow flyover

Aerial acrobatic flying

Snowy Egret foraging in the shallows

Signs can be amusing if not informative

Red-bellied Woodpecker in our oaks

Male burying a nut in the oak

These woodpeckers are attracted to noises that resonate.  We’ve all heard males tapping loudly on metal gutters, aluminum roofs or even automobiles whole trying to attract a mate.

Note on the female the red on the head does not come all the way to the bill , leaving the forehead gray in color.

Discover the Island: Egmont Key NWR, 11-4-18

Ruddy Turnstones

As their name implies, they often turn over shells, beach debris, crab shells, sponges, etc when looking for food

They are very long-distance migrants

Mates usually stay together for more than a year, and nests are simply shallow scrapes on the ground.

Snowy Egrets

These birds often choose urbanized nesting locations over isolated ones, because isolated locations usually have more predators.

British Columbia: 9-18

California Sea lions

Hauled out on log rafts

These were the only California Sea Lions we saw.  Typically we only see Steller Sea lions.

They have a very prominent forehead 

Town of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island

Adult Bald Eagles

Dolphin shots from our Deck

Brown Bears at Hidden Falls Fish Hatchery on Baranof Island, SE Alaska: 7-17-18

Even though grizzlies are considered a subspecies of brown bear, the difference between a grizzly bear and a brown bear is fairly arbitrary.  In North America, brown bears are generally considered to be those of the species that have access to coastal food resources like salmon and are therefore larger.  Grizzly bears live further inland and typically do not have access to marine-derived food resources and are therefore smaller than brownies.

Besides habitat and diet, there are physical and (arguably) temperamental differences between brown and grizzly bears.

Large male brown bears in Katmai can routinely weigh over 1,000 pounds in the fall.  In contrast, grizzly bears in Yellowstone National Park weigh far less on average.