Flip Head First

King  here  has  a  real  big  ego.  Usually  he  just  flies  off.   This  time  he  had  to  flip  his  cath  around  many  different  ways  and  was  in  no  hurry  to  leave.  Seems  like  PRIDE  to  me.

Merganser with scullpin catch

Mergansers  are  the  most  expert  fish  catching  machines.

Merganser in Fish-Finder Mode

Experts  at  fishing.   They  seem  to  catch  fish  without  much  effort  at  all.

Fishing Merganser

Just  swallowing  her  latest  fish  in  this  image.

Fishing

He  caught  many  of  thes good  sized  scullpin  and  was  still  hunting  when I  finally  left.

Distant Yellow Warbler

Around  here  these  warblers  mostly  remain  in  deep  cover.  Thus  the  long  shot.

Mr. Spunky

Keeps  his  distance  and  smart  enough  to  know  when I  am  aiming  at  him.

Merganser Boarding Party

All  the  chicks  do  get  aboard  eventually.

7 Flicker Family shots to follow

He  has  groceries  and  will  feed  her  soon.

Flicker Dad feeds his little girl

Miss  Flicker  gets  this  delivery  as  little  brother  was  fed  last  trip.

Miss Flicker Junior

This  one  had  more ' window '  time  than  her  little  brother.

Flicker Dad and little girl

The  little  girl  was  at  this  window  more  than  her  brother.

Flicker Junior...The boy

His  sister  seemed  a  little  larger.

Flicker Dad and Junior

This  is  the  female  chick.  Her  brother  has  two  red  patches  on  the  sides  of  his  head.

Flicker Dad

Just  fed  his  young  ones.

Yellow bellied sap sucker

This moment of good fortune  was like a gift. He was probably curious about me. My white patterned shirt may have seemed like a thick birch bark so he had to come close, and then I turned around. He didn't stay long. Only three shots. TG

Momma Flicker

She  delivered  food  and  is  about  to  leave  in  search  for  more.  No  red  on  this  one  as  that  is  the  Dad's  colour  feature.

Father Flicker

This  parent  and  his  lady  flicker  are  tending  their  young  right  here  in  the  middle  of  Courtenay.  B.C.  on  Vancouver  Island.

Mr. Martin,..Purple Martin, that is.

Down  at  Royston  Ships  Park  there  are  some  nest  boxes  put  up  years  ago  to  bring  Martin  numbers  back  up  again.   It  worked.   Numbers  are  much  better  these  days.   We humans  took  down  so  many  old  dead  tree  snags  that  they  had  a  housing  crises.   Now   with   nest  boxes  on  shoreline  pylons  form  Oregon  to  Vancouver Island,  Purple  Martin  are  doing  fine.

CrossBill...Is this my good side?

Four  different  birds  flew  into  a  tree  in  front  of  me.  I  was  not  moving  at  all  and  I  think  they  were  curious.  No  sign  of  fear  yet  the  bore  quickly  and  left  to  enjoy  a  new  sunny  spring  morning.