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Last Notes

2026-11-02 19:14:47 GMT

Taking A Step Up
Here’s a pretty cool looking black bear just taking his time and taking it easy as he makes his way around the river looking for salmon. Nothing seems to be too much of a problem for him as he takes a step up and eventually over the fallen log lying in the water. At the time, at this particular river system, the salmon were plentiful and the bears in general were pretty relaxed, always observing cordial etiquette amongst each other, but that was it. However, if there’d been no salmon that would have been a different story – little bears like this would have been exceptionally cautious and less chilled.
https://stevewphotography.ca/2026/11/taking-a-step-up/
https://stevewphotography.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/A-Step-Up.jpg
#step #taking #however #nothing
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-30 19:28:54 GMT

Alien Skull!
No AI trickery or magic to create this image, it’s all natural – natural art that is. As with many of my other artistic renditions from mother nature herself, this has had a little twist on to it’s side to help showcase the subject a little clearer. I think, (especially if you squint!) you can clearly see mother nature’s rendition of a possible alien life form’s skull – maybe from a former visitor! In reality, it was depicted here when I spotted a rotting piece of timber reflected off the smooth surface of the water. You can see a few more of these natural creations in the Natural Art Gallery.
https://stevewphotography.ca/2026/10/alien-skull/
https://stevewphotography.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Alien-Skull.jpg
#skull #natural #artgallery
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-26 21:46:29 GMT

Juvenile Eagle Portrait
On one occasion not too long ago, I was on a coastal BC river system watching an adult bald eagle in a tree across from me on the opposite bank. To try and get a better angle and view on the bird I climbed a short way up a nearby tree on my side of the river. To my amazement when I got a little ways up, on an adjacent tree looking over at me was this young juvenile eagle – unfazed, but looking equally amazed at seeing me in the tree next to him!
https://stevewphotography.ca/2026/10/juvenile-eagle-portrait/
https://stevewphotography.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Juvenile-Eagle-Portrait.jpg
#juvenileeagle
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-23 21:50:23 GMT

Migratory Locust
Is it just me or does everyone get a shiver up their spine when they first hear the name ‘locust’? This large green beauty seen here is the Migratory Locust (Locusta migratoria) one of the most common locust found worldwide, except for the Americas and polar regions. Of course, the shivers come to people because of stories and reports of these insects when many thousands or even millions gather and swarm like a plague across arid drylands and fields, almost destroying (eating) every piece of plant matter in their path. But other than on these now rare gatherings in those specific climates, these locusts lead a primarily solitary life, hopping around from plant to plant, or tree to tree like any other grasshopper, looking for their next meal and/or a mate and hoping they don’t get eaten themselves, including by some people! These days locust populations in certain areas such as Africa are strictly monitored and controlled to minimize the risk of a major plague occurring.
https://stevewphotography.ca/2026/10/migratory-locust/
https://stevewphotography.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Migratory-Locust2.jpg
#migratorylocust
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-19 23:27:28 GMT

Cold River Fishing
Here we see a prequel to the ‘Snacktime’ post from a couple of years back. This is a shot of the same bear moments before he got back in to the river. I don’t think the rather indifferent look back was aimed at us, it was more of a”where’s all the live salmon gone?” kind of expression. Nevertheless, he wasn’t undeterred by the scarcity of salmon and climbed back in to the rather cold looking river to try for his next fish – only to come up with a spawned out chum which he happily munched as seen in the ‘Second Breakfast‘ post.
https://stevewphotography.ca/2026/10/cold-river-fishing/
https://stevewphotography.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Cold-River-Fishing.jpg
#river #cold #secondbreakfast #nevertheless
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-16 23:43:37 GMT

Eurasian Jay
Seemingly around the world there are over 35 different types or species of jay. This number surprised me, but I was also surprised to realize that I’ve been fortunate enough to see 7 of them, including grey, blue, Steller’s and Californian scrub jays. This guy here is a Eurasian Jay (Garrulus glandarius) and for me growing up in the UK it was known quite simply as a ‘jay’. As with just about all the jays I’ve come across, this one too has spectacular colourations, a cocky attitude and a varied vocal range. They do however appear to be a little shyer than their north American cousins, especially the grey jays. They can be found in many a European and British woodland and if you suddenly find yourself ‘hearing voices’ in the woods but cannot see anyone, take a look up – it might just be one of these guys tricking you!
https://stevewphotography.ca/2026/10/eurasian-jay/
https://stevewphotography.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Eurasian-Jay-2.jpg
#eurasianjay #steller
#rss #feeds #linksharing #qwibbit

2026-10-15 19:13:32 GMT

Friday Flashback – Black Bears on the Decline?
Today’s Friday Flashback is from 19th October 2018 and is entitled ‘Black Bears on the Decline?‘ A nice black bear from the BC coast and nice reminder of a black bear encounter from 2018 – I’d forgotten about the meeting with one in the Khutzeymateen!
Original Text: “This year has certainly been a slow one for black bears whilst out on my travels. I only saw my first one(s) of the year here on Vancouver Island last weekend – whilst driving home one afternoon, way out in a field I was passing, I spotted a mom and cub grazing. Besides those two, I have only seen one other and that was back in late August in the Khutzeymateen, were I had nine sightings last year. Unlike the guy seen here, who didn’t mind us watching him fishing in the Great Bear Rainforest, the skittish young bear in the Khutz heard us coming, stood up for a better view and ran for the trees.“
https://stevewphotography.ca/2026/09/friday-flashback-black-bears-on-the-decline/
https://stevewphotography.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/Black-Bear-and-Salmon.jpg

2026-10-15 18:13:10 GMT

Lunch With A Wolf
For many species August and September are key times of year on the BC coast – it is the time to prepare for the onset of winter. A good fall can mean another year’s survival, but a bad fall could be disastrous. During this time the salmon runs are well underway and in some areas they can run on right through to November, feeding a whole host of wildlife, birds and even the forest itself. Here we see an early September shot of a coastal wolf looking up from it’s prized catch of a pink salmon. As can be seen from all the ‘spawned out’ salmon behind the wolf, the vast majority (estimated by some at around 99 percent) of returning salmon make it past the bears and wolves to their spawning grounds.
https://stevewphotography.ca/2026/09/lunch-with-a-wolf/
https://stevewphotography.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Lunchtime-Wolf.jpg

2026-10-15 16:28:42 GMT

Friday Flashback – Boatswain Bird
Today’s Friday Flashback is from 3rd December 2018 and is entitled ‘Boatswain Bird‘. A special and rare ‘one off’ encounter whilst returning from a humpback whale expedition which had been pretty special in itself (see Underwater Humpback).
Original Text: “The Red-billed Tropicbird (Phaethon aethereus), a pelagic seabird photographed in the Caribbean Ocean last year. Little is known of this species, but it is known to be the largest of three species of tropicbird, this one of which nests on the ground or in rocky crevices of remote tropical islands in the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. There have however, also been rare one-off sightings of lone wanderers in the northern Atlantic. It is known by some ‘old sailors’ as the Boatswain Bird because its call is said to represent the sound of a ‘Boatswain’s call’ (whistle) of traditional naval heritage.“
https://stevewphotography.ca/2026/09/friday-flashback-boatswain-bird/
https://stevewphotography.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Red-billed-Tropicbird.jpg

2026-10-15 14:42:38 GMT

A Half-breach
Here we see a young humpback whale not fully clearing the water and managing just a half-breach out the warm waters of Maui. He has probably only recently been weaned by his mom following their return to the wintering grounds. As we’ve seen on other shots before (Statuesque Humpback) we can see he’s lost the crustaceans off his lower jaw, a clear indication he’s recently been north. Young humpbacks will usually only stay with mom for one complete migration cycle, ie. from Maui up to BC or Alaska and back again. During this time mum will teach her young calf everything she can about how to stay safe, the best route to choose and where to feed along the journey. By the time they get back to Maui the young whale will be set free to range the north Pacific waters by itself.
https://stevewphotography.ca/2026/09/a-half-breach/
https://stevewphotography.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Young-Humpback-Breach.jpg

2026-10-15 13:18:58 GMT

Friday Flashback – The Spoilt Cub
Today’s Friday Flashback is from 26th November 2018 and is entitled ‘The Spoilt Cub‘. Probably the last ‘flashback’ for this year and a memory jogger of what is without a doubt one of my favourite shots from the Khutzeymateen – so much so that this was the first that came to mind recently when someone asked me to name a favourite bear encounter.
Original Text: “I had never seen a mum swimming with a cub on her back before last year (see Surfing), but this year I was fortunate to see this mum swimming a channel with her cub on her back four times. Mum used to like to go out a little ways to dig for clams and/or eat some fresh shoots of sedge, but as the tide came in she would have to swim back to shore with her two cubs. One cub took to swimming no problem, but the little guy seen on mum’s back here really didn’t like the water, so as soon as mum headed for the drink he would hop up on her back. On a couple of occasions when she reached the other side, he would scramble over the top of her head and jump down to the beach, just to avoid getting his feet wet!“
https://stevewphotography.ca/2026/09/friday-flashback-the-spoilt-cub/
https://stevewphotography.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Spoilt.jpg

2026-10-15 11:42:25 GMT

Red-billed Quelea
These small birds, roughly the size of a sparrow and members of the weaver family, love to form into swarm like flocks of several hundred members, some years thousands. The Red-billed Quelea (Quelea quelea) can be found in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa, except for the tropical central areas. In many parts they are considered a pest as the large flocks can devastate a field of crops, an activity that has earned them the nickname ‘feathered locust’. On this occasion we came across just a couple of hundred, and boy did they make a noise – they were excited at finding some water in a roadside ditch and as soon as one spooked, they all spooked and noisily took to the wing on masse (below).
https://stevewphotography.ca/2026/09/red-billed-quelea/
https://stevewphotography.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Red-billed-Quelea.jpg
https://stevewphotography.ca/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/Quelea-Last-Off-the-Rock.jpg

2026-10-15 09:24:48 GMT

Dartford Warbler
I was really surprised one morning last spring and very happy to see for the first time this little guy, the Dartford Warbler (Curruca undata), which landed on a nearby bush as I was walking along a road in the Algarve region of Portugal. Although found in southern England year round, I’d never come across this rare warbler before and they are a species that is considered ‘near threatened’ worldwide, so there probably aren’t too many around to come across, which made the sighting all the more special. All that said though, if you’re ever looking for any – apparently the strongest population of the species in Europe is to be found in the Iberian peninsula of southern Spain and Portugal.
https://stevewphotography.ca/2026/10/dartford-warbler/
https://stevewphotography.ca/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Dartford-Warbler.jpg

2026-10-15 07:32:15 GMT

Turkey Tail
Here we see a ‘Turkey Tail’ (Trametes veriscolor) fungi photographed in a small wooded area on the coast of British Columbia. I guess these large (up to 10cm across) and attractive looking mushrooms got their appropriate name because of their similarity in appearance to the displayed tail feathers of the wild turkey (see below), but that is probably were any connection ends. They have been used in the past in traditional medicine, herbal teas etc. and whilst some say they still have some medical use, I personally, wouldn’t trust them even for that. They grow on rotting and decaying wood in forests across several parts of the world from Asia to Europe with N. America in between. There is also a fungi known as ‘false’ turkey tail, which looks similar, but the false variety does not have a porous underside, amongst other slight differences.
https://stevewphotography.ca/2026/10/turkey-tail/
https://stevewphotography.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Turkey-Tail-Fungi.jpg
https://stevewphotography.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Turkey-Portrait.jpg