for the birds

Existential crisis or not, what right do I have to ignore my blog? Since I have no words, I'll post a few photos taken here,


at Reifel Bird Sanctuary, last Sunday.

After the great size 11 black Converse hunt, we revived our mall-worn spirits with dim sum, then spent a couple of hours in the sunshine on Westham Island. One kind gentleman pointed out this amazing creature

a little off the beaten path. Was he napping or just being coy? The place was overrun with Mallards, Chickadees and Red-winged Blackbirds, including this lovely lady,



trying desperately to look as renegade as possible in her very un-blackbird-like plumage. It didn't work, though, as anyone with a field guide can spot her as the female of the species in just a few flips of the pages.

There were a lot of raptors to be seen, not surprising as Delta has the highest concentration of raptor birds in all of Canada. There were Golden Eagles, Bald Eagles, a Peregrine Falcon (hunting even) and hawks. I even thought I saw a few hedgehogs hiding in the ponds.

And ducks -- oh so many ducks: Northern Pintails,



American Widgeons,

and this odd-looking black duck. I had to spend a fair amount of time farting around on-line to discover that this was no duck, by George, but an American Coot. And not an old one.

This guy is like the ugly duckling, only bigger and uglier, trying desperately to fit in with the cool ducks. He was so embarrassed he wouldn't even show his face:















All birds have distinct personalities. Teenage boys are no different: