Sunday, March 1, 2015

Mostly Bird Critters

Posting the week's critters to Saturday's Critters (thank you, Eileen!) and I'd-Rather-B-Birdin. (thank you, Anni!)  If you enjoy critters and birds of every imaginable variety, these are two excellent memes to visit.

Cormorants on the Brush with Illumination sculpture in False Creek..
gave thanks for the sunny weather a few days ago.
We've been watching this hummingbird lately..
and call him Henry.
I'm hoping he hangs around for a while longer.
Perhaps, he will even raise a family in the area.
As we watched Henry, this eagle flew high overhead.
Henry didn't appear to be worried for his safety.
The Cormorants..
flew back and forth between the Cambie and Burrard Bridges..
This bee was our first..
of the season.
I've been trying to catch Henry in flight.  So far, not very successfully..  :)
A Lost Lagoon visit was fun a few days ago.  A Blue Heron worked on balance skills, 
and Wood Ducks lined up on a log.
It took a while to finally catch the heron with eyes open.
This mallard aggressively chased off competitors for his lady love.
There were just a few American Coots.  
We saw four Mute Swans.
This one was moving at an incredibly fast pace, 
rushing to the dock and then spinning around .. 
perhaps in an effort to impress the ladies and intimidate competitors.
Love the curve of the neck..
and patterns in the water.
Chick-a-dees approached, 
but we had forgotten to bring along treats for them.
Black Jack has no interest in birds, but..
this critter definitely caught her attention.
I spent some time watching this bird.  I'm wondering if..
s/he was a juvenile Towhee, or perhaps, more likely..
a Fox Sparrow.
Whatever the id, s/he sure was cute.
I love this tipsy photo of Bill and Black Jack on a rock.
Black Jack sat nicely for about two seconds :)
We had the definite feeling that birds were watching us..
at least as closely as we watched them.
This Australian Blue Heeler puppy was in the dog run at Olympic Village Park. 
He was having a wonderful time letting off steam though he ran full force into the fence at one point.  His human, to my distress, laughed.  She told us he is a "Teacup" and will grow only a tiny bit larger.  My understanding of "Teacups" is that there is no such official breed, and that it is simply a backyard breeder ploy to sell more dogs.  
This article, titled Cuteness Kills: the Case Against Teacup Dogs, seems to back up my view.  I won't ever be buying a "Teacup" but hope this little guy will have a good life.
We saw this very busy robin just a few minutes later.
And yesterday, on another walk, we watched these two crows attempt to open a pizza box.
The one on the right seemed to have the best approach, 
but the one on the left..
had other ideas.
Fortunately, this box was empty (healthier for the crows).  The first bird walked away, perhaps deciding it would be best to let his/her (young) partner learn by his/her mistakes :) 
Sorry about multiple posts today.  Just trying to catch up.  Many, many thanks for visiting!

9 comments:

  1. loved all the birds and ducks! cute fuzzy pup! i like that fox sparrow!

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  2. Hello Carol, what an awesome variety of bird sightings.. I love the Eagle and the Wood Ducks, Towhees and the cute hummingbird! So many favorites.. And of course your Black Jack is always a treat to see. I have never heard of a teacup breed? Thank you for linking up and sharing your post, have a happy week ahead!

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  3. There are so many cute critters beautifully photographed that it is hard to pick a favourite. The mute swans really caught my attention, however. In some ways, they are more majestic than the eagle flying overhead. I remember advertisements in magazines for tiny dogs with pictures of them sitting in teacups. I have not seen such ads for quite some time but even dogs bred unscrupulously need a good home.

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    1. Thanks so much for the comment, Maria. You are so right that we would wish a good home for every pet, but the backyard breeder situation is a real catch-22! When we buy the dogs (that often live in unbearable conditions), it encourages these breeders to continue and many more dogs suffer than the few that make it to good homes. Wish I knew the best answer to this one.

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  4. I love your bird and wildlife shots, beautiful.
    We had a welsh corgi when we were kids and when she first came home she fitted in a teacup but not because she had been bred small. That was just her, she was a normal size. I don't like what is happening with some dog breeders and think it is a real shame.
    Thanks for coming over for a visit and your kind comment.

    Diana

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  5. Great catch, pretty bird! Exquisite pictures!

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  6. Love your actions shots of the lovely swans! The wood ducks are beautiful, and now I am missing our hummingbirds that are assuredly in warmer climates!

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