All My Blogs

Kathryn enjoying her new e-bike on the Okanagan Rail Trail near Vernon, BC. Kathryn wears many hats in her life, in all ways.  Physically, she has two in the photo and another three or four at home or in our trailer.  Metaphorically, she has many more. She is my wife, an amazing thing given who I am.  She could have married anyone, yet she chose me.  We will celebrate our 38th anniversary this year. Kathryn is the mother of my children.  Two kids, now both in their 30's, that we are very proud of and thankful for.  She helped shape their personalities and moral codes. She is well educated, a teacher, and an instructor for the blind.  She has made a huge difference in so many lives.  And her enthusiasm for helping others goes on despite her retirement. Kathryn is my friend; she was my friend first and then my wife.  We camp, play games, walk, ride bikes, watch shows, and eat together.   She loves God.  We go to church, attend a ...

Swan Lake near Vernon - it was a perfect evening for shooting a sunset. Whenever I shoot sunsets, I change my camera's metering system to spot.  There are three, sometimes four, different ways that your camera has to measure light.  The standard one involves the camera reading light from numerous places in the scene and determining an exposure value (EV) based on that information.  This is the Matrix, Multipattern, Multisegment, and Evaluative metering systems found in some of the different camera brands.  Spot metering is different and records the light coming in from one point in the scene and uses that to determine an EV. OK, what's an EV?  An EV (exposure value) is a number, usually expressed as an integer, and may go as low as -6 to +18 and is measured in stops.  A stop is a doubling or halving of light and is usually expressed in seconds (1/2 to 1/4 is a change in time by one stop) or aperture (f/5.6 to f/4 is a change in light coming through the lens...

Queen wasp sits atop her throne - a small open-faced nest that she has been building. It's spring, and nest building has begun in earnest, not just for birds, but for insects of all types.  Included in this throng are the Hymenoptera - and more specifically, the Vespids.  Vespidae are the paper-wasps, so called because they construct nests out of chewed-up wood pulp that they turn into "paper." The formulation of the substance nests are constructed of is simple.  Wood pulp, from dead trees or wood from boards (fence boards are a favourite), is created by using the hardened jaws to shred small amounts of fiber.  It is mixed with the wasps' saliva creating a fluid-like pulp akin to papier-mache.  It is then applied to a surface and shaped, where it will dry and harden. The thing that makes this work is the saliva.  It is rich in proteins, specifically proline, which acts as a binding agent.  The saliva/fiber mixture is applied in thin layers and dries qu...

Canadian geese hiding in long grass help them protect their nest. In order to successfully raise offspring, they have to be protected during all stages of their development.  From egg to hatchling to fledgling to flying, they are at risk of predation.  There are other dangers too, but the largest comes from animals that would fill their stomachs with defenceless creatures under the care of doting adults. We walked through Vernon's downtown park along the improved pathway that allows pedestrians and cyclists to get from there to the Okanagan Rail Trail by Kalamalka Lake.  The town recently improved the meandering stream with rock, grass, and deadwood.  The gravel banks were a perfect place for killdeer to nest and raise their young.  I must have seen 12 or more breeding pairs, their nests cleverly hidden in the low berms.  It also happened to be a place the crows had discovered as they swarmed the killdeer in the attempt to drive them off their nests and to ...

Male (bottom) and female (inset) northern harriers photographed at Swan Lake Bird Sanctuary, Vernon. I was fortunate enough to photograph both sexes of northern harrier today.  Early in the morning, I walked the 1.8 km pathway in the sanctuary and later on, my wife and I kayaked beside it.  I photographed the male on my walk and the female while kayaking. Between the two of them, I took 48 photos.  They ranged over a wide area and the two photos above represent the best of the bunch.  I also got a photo of crows harassing the female, but they are too blurry to present here.  These two images are the best shots I have ever gotten of the northern harrier. Females are larger and dominant to the males, but males may breed with multiple females.  While the female tends the nest (which is on the ground), the male provides food.   Every time I see one, I have the sense that it may be an owl.  These birds have the most owl-like face of all the raptor...

Kalamalka Lake Provincial Park - from the lower trail at the point.  Taken with my iPhone 15 Pro. It used to be that I would pack two cameras, one with a long lens meant for wildlife and the other with a mid-range zoom used for landscapes and portraits.  Now that I pack an iPhone with me, I rarely bring my second body and mid-range zoom.  It has become redundant.   The iPhone is capable of shooting 48 mp raw images, not unlike my mirrorless Z7ii camera.  It has a zoom range of around 16 mm to 300 mm or so and can take filters such as polarizers or magnifiers for macro.  It is much easier to carry, fits in a pocket, and has the additional functions of being a phone, source of money, and entertainer.  So, do I need my second body anymore?  In fact, can I get along with just the iPhone and lose my long-lens camera too? The answer highly depends on what it is you want to do.  While I am impressed with my iPhone's ability, it has serious limi...

Spotted sandpiper surrounded by flying midges I saw a pair of spotted sandpipers this morning.  They seemed to be a bonded pair as I witnessed one of them bobbing and spreading its wings in what appeared to be a courtship dance.  I got some decent photos of one of them (above) and a set of images (below) of it finding, catching, and eating a relatively large insect. Spotted sandpiper finding, catching, and eating an aquatic insect. I mostly see spotted sandpipers by themselves, although I have seen them with a chick.  This is the first time I have seen them together as a pair.  It is interesting that the males tend the nest while the females are protectors of the territory.  The females may breed with more than one male.  The females are also the ones that engage in courtship behaviour, not the males.   Thanks for reading.      www.ericspix.com

The full moon gave an ethereal cast to the willow trees at Swan Lake near Vernon. It's early May and we are camping.  It was 27° yesterday; the evening managed to cool down to 11°, an improvement from the near-freezing temperatures we had last week.  The clear skies beckoned me to photograph some sunsets and, at 2:00 in the morning, the call to pick up my camera was too loud to ignore A full moon in a clear sky presents a great opportunity to play with long exposures.  I shot the above photo at f/5.6, ISO 100, for a full minute.  I turned the long-exposure noise reduction off, as the low ISO kept the electronic noise in check.  Besides, I hate waiting around for the camera to finish the NR Job.  There are good NR filters that can be applied in post as well. The scene looks entirely different in the day.  I photographed it earlier from a similar position.  It's amazing how the world looks at different times.   Swan Lake an hour before sun...

The problem with building roads near lakes with turtles in them. Imagine my horror when, after finding what I thought was a child's play toy turtle, I discovered it was a dead baby western painted turtle.  Ran over by a car.  It was maybe 1.5 inches long with a shell about an inch wide.  The little guy was probably only hours from being hatched when it got flattened.   The city of Kelowna is busy putting a road through Munson Pond Park.  In spite of the protests, media coverage, placard waving, and letter writing, the road project began.  While it is true that the road is quite a distance from the pond itself, western painted turtles are known to dig their nests significant distances from the water.  This ensures safety from flooding, for the embryos would die if covered with water.  It makes it harder for predators to find the nests because the potential area for their locations has grown significantly.  And it allows the turtles to fin...

Although they look like mosquitoes, chironomid flies are harmless; they have no functional mouthparts. In the mud, muck, and mire of a lake bottom, you may not expect to find anything living.  However, closer inspection may turn up red, maggoty-looking creatures.  Hundreds of them.  These are the larval forms of chironomid midges - a non-biting fly that lives only to breed and lay eggs in the water. The larvae are red because they are packed with hemoglobin.  The protein is used to extract every bit of oxygen from the oxygen-deprived environment where the midges live.  The feed on the decaying matter at the bottom of the water body, although some species may filter particles from the water, some are predators.  There are many species of chironomids in the Okanagan (this was photographed at Wood Lake, near Winfield).  I do not know this particular species. Many fish and invertebrates feed on the larvae, actively foraging for them.  After they have ...

Instead of using a timer or remote, I used rear-synch flash and just walked into the shot. I have written about rear-synch flash before (click here to see), but my desire to play with the feature came with a new goal - to photograph myself without using a self-timer or remote release.  It's easy enough on an iPhone - just switch cameras and you're in business.  But you would not be able to do this with an iPhone because of the anemic flash output and the distance I am away from the camera. Of course, another way to manage this is to have a helper push the button on the camera.  However, I was on my own playing with the evening and decided to try this.  Then again, there was the fact that it was a 15 second exposure.  I am not as fast as I used to be, but I could never manage the feat of jumping off the pier and running into the shot in a 60th of a second, not to mention having any kind of composure when the flash fired. I particularly liked the clouds with the f...

  Lori and Grant with their custom-made 6x6 LMTV camper. Now that's ambitious!  I met Lori and Grant here at Wood Lake RV while we were camping.  They had just come off a long stint from the Northwest Territories.  Their fully-equipped Stewart and Stevenson M1088 tactical vehicle was lovingly put together by Grant, a heavy-duty mechanic, now retired.  Their idea - drive the behemoth across Canada, bring it to Europe, and then travel a few more continents. They plan on taking three years.  Now, that's more than the 800 days alluded to in my title, but the idea is there.  Travel the world, see amazing things, spend time together, and do it while they are healthy. I applaud their gumption.  It is no small task, but I believe they are fully capable of it.  First of all, their camper of choice carries 600 gallons of fuel.  Then there is their obstacle-crushing ride with the ground clearance and tenacity of an elephant.  If that wasn't en...

Bald eagle, Common loon, Red-winged blackbird, Osprey, Tree swallow American coot, California quail, Brewer's blackbird, Great blue heron Wood Lake boasts quite a population of birds.  On the isthmus between Kalmalaka Lake and Wood Lake, there is a large, undeveloped area with marshes.  Then there is Kaloya Provincial Park, a sanctuary for many bird species; I photographed the only caliope hummingbirds I ever saw there.  The Okanagan Rail Trail is surrounded by woodlands or set beside water and is also a haven for wildlife.   There are numerous campsites for weary travellers; we are staying at Wood Lake RV Park, a place we have spent many a day at.  The creek running through the campground is a protected waterway for Kakanee salmon.  Numerous birds rely on the creek for water; a number of ducks breed there.  Yesterday we saw a pair of wood ducks there. The birds in the image above were photographed by me, and they are representative of what I saw ...

Mallard, Killdeer, American Goldfinch, Black-capped chickadee, Osprey, Cedar waxwing California quail, Great horned owl, American robin, Downy woodpecker We have stayed at the Wood Lake RV Campground 5 different times now.  As always, I keep an eye out for any birds (or other creatures) in the area.  The ten species above are just a portion of the birds I have seen at or from the camp.  Not included are the many house sparrows, starlings, flickers, and other waterfowl I have seen.  The fact is that the place is alive with birds, especially in the spring. The reason is simple enough.  The park provides two important criteria required for breeding - nesting sites and food.  The nesting sites are largely from old willow trees that have a host of holes in them; dozens, if not more.  The food comes from the stream, lake, trees, and grassy areas that the park boasts.   Another bonus is that the Okanagan Rail Trail is down the street (maybe a mile a...

A moth fly I found in my house - I froze it and brought it out to photograph it. A species I have never seen before - they were not in the Lower Mainland or in Alberta, but they seem to live out here in the Okanagan.  They are small, only a few millimeters across, and blackish. I only ever see them in the spring, and never more than one or two of them.  They are called drain flies or sewer flies because the larvae live inside the empty space of drains.  They are called moth flies because of the fuzzy moth-like wings they have. They seem to peak in April, which was when I found this individual.  The adults lay their eggs in damp environments that have encrustations present.  This is where the word "drain" flies come in.  Think of a shower that hasn't been used in ages.  The drain will be empty, unused for a long period of time, with a P-trap (that S-shaped pipe under a drain) that is either empty or low.  The flies can sense its presence (be one wi...

Wasps building a nest inside the sign at Mission Recreation Park by the H2O Center, Kelowna. Wasps like holes.  The voids in dirt, soffit, siding, and even metal structures like the sign housing in the above photo all lure a recently emerged queen wasp in.  Her goal is to find a small entrance, easily guarded, into a cavity large enough to build her coming empire.  She, without any help, forages for nest materials (chewed wood fiber that she mixes with her saliva) and builds the first cells that will eventually house her brood.   Once the initial few cells are formed, she lays an egg in each and then hunts for food.  The developing larvae require protein-rich food consisting of whatever invertebrates are available.  The prey is chewed into a paste and fed to the young.  Now, here is the weird thing.  The larvae emit a sweet secretion called "larval nectar" that is the primary food of the adults.  The adults will also take sugary secretio...

Male northern shoveler duck.  Top:  male's bill and eye.  Bottom:  female. I have written on shovelers before ( here and here ), but I got a nice shot of one the other day at Munson Pond, and I thought I would do it again.  I want to focus on something specific to this interesting duck - its bill. Sometimes referred to as "spoonbills" or "spoonies", shovelers get their various monikers from their somewhat unique bills, at least in the duck world.  Highly adapted, the oversized structures are perfect for filtering out particulates from muddy sediment.  They have rows of lamellae - small bristle-like projections on the top and bottom of their bills.  You can see a good example here .  It remindes me of the baleen that many whale species have to filter out the water and leave the edible contents behind for swallowing. Other waterfowl also have lamellae, but it is particularly well developed in shovelers.  Another bird well known for their l...

Male green-winged teal enjoying the sun at Munson Pond in Kelowna. I have seen green-winged teals on the Pacific coast, but this was the first one I have seen in the interior of BC.  I had a hard time getting a proper photo of it, as I was behind vegetation and not having a lot of success finding a hole where it wasn't blurring the shot.  The advantage was that I could get closer to the ducks without spooking them. Green-winged teals breed farther north, although Kelowna is within their southern breeding range.  Range maps indicate that they are year-round residents here, although this is the first one I have seen since living here for 5 years now. Teals are dabbling ducks, so they feed in shallow areas, consuming aquatic vegetation and invertebrates.  Unlike other dabblers, green-winged teals may shallow dive on occasion.  They do not form bonded pairs over their lifetime as do Canadian geese.  Instead, males and females dissolve their familial interaction...

The hooks on the tick's legs can cling to anything.  Tick length:  4 mm.  Male. This tick used to be on me.  It wasn't there when I got up, but I discovered it after I took my dog out.  I was on the grass for only a few moments, but it was long enough for it to grab hold and find a patch of skin.  I have it in a plastic pill container at the moment; I think I will freeze it and put it under a microscope later.  That should be interesting. I live in Kelowna where these ticks are apparently common, although this is the first one I have ever seen.  They do not carry Lyme disease as a rule of thumb, but are vectors for other diseases such as Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) or rabbit fever ( tularemia ).  Both these diseases are potentially fatal, but can be treated when symptoms start to show.  The good news is that less than 1% of tick bites cause RMSF, and even less for tularemia.  In the US, less than 1000 people contract RMSF ea...

One of a dozen wood duck chicks I saw at Munson Pond yesterday in Kelowna. Now that the deciduous trees have finally come into their leaves, I can say that spring is officially here.  That fact was brought home yesterday while visiting Munson Pond.  A small clearing between reeds allowed me to see the procession of a wood duck family; a line of chicks followed by mom and then dad. I arrived early in the morning. I suspect that the chicks had just left the roost. The order of the birds was unusual in that the chicks were in the lead.  I usually see one or both parents at the head with a dutiful line of progeny following.  The fact that the chicks were leading suggested that they were familiar with the routine. They couldn't have been more than one or two weeks old. Wood duck chicks are born in a cavity, either a hole in a tree or a wooden nest box with a sizable hole.  They are helpless when born, but are able to leave the nest within three days.  They fall ...