I bought a new camera - took a photo of the worlds largest sea gull egg.

I got a new camera. It's a HD video camera but it takes excellent stills as well. I considered going the other way with one of those Cannon cameras that film TV commercials but the concensus amongst salespeople and friends was that a standard camera with a big lens would be far more likely to be damaged than one shaped like a telescope with moving parts hidden within. I'll be taking it on hikes and to many events where I need to run, climb etc. All of my previous entries have been from an android phone.

I checked around quite often without finding a suitable deal. Then on Friday I bought the last display model of an $800 unit for $400.00 Here are some of the resultant photos taken at the gardens of Government house, home to the queen's representitive in B.

1. This gull screamed as she laid a record setting egg.

2. On the first day with the camera I have already produced a great floral shot. My phone couldn't get subtle tones and shading right.

3. These young birds were high up on a wall in the old stable building. They may be Purple Martins. The parents were too quick for me. They fly like barn swallows but are larger. They were capturing flying bugs.

Dale, what are those baby birds in the third photo?

Leila Rich wrote:Dale, what are those baby birds in the third photo?

Possibly Purple Martins. They are as acrobatic as barn swallows but larger. The parents only stopped for a fraction of a second on each feeding visit. They moved faster than my camera setting could handle.

Quality issues in sending photos. These are all high resolution. Is that a problem for the website ? The two wide shots in the last posting are crystal clear on my computer but look bad here. Trying another few.

The moth is only about 1 cm or half an inch long. The high resolution allowed me to crop about 1/40th of the original for huge magnification.

The seal waits patiently to see if anyone will feed him. His breath made the ripples in the water.

Working well again. Bad WiFi is the usual culprit.

Blue herons nest high atop fir trees in Beacon Hill Park, half a mile from downtown. The zoom works really well. It was getting near dark when I heard the herons. You don't have to look very hard if a colony is near. They make an awful racket whenever a predator is spotted and they often squabble over prime roosting spots overlooking the 3 acre pond. The tops of several trees are flattened from years of nesting in this area.

Geese , boats and Mt Baker on an overcast day.

The zoom is demonstrated here with the flag.

Kelp growing a couple hundred feet away brought in with the zoom.

1. While the four other seals wait for a fish from tourists at the wharf, this one slaps the water with his flippers, sways side to side and grunts. He is handsomely rewarded. After the tourist season they go back to hunting on their own.

2. Anyone for some chamomile tea with a side of feathers.

3. Now I'm getting fancy with a framed view.

More fancy shots. Look carefully at the "sky" in the second photo. Notice anything unusual ?

Craigduroch Castle. It's a museum now but was once Victoria"s most opulent home.

Downtown. Some of the nicest archetectural elements are way up high.

More downtown.

St. Andrew's Presberterian Church. I think this may be the stairway to heaven in photos 2 and 3.

Then I got a nice photo of a topless woman !!! Wait for it. ---------------------------------------------------- She's in the third photo. I think she's had some work done. The shoulder gives it away.

Chinatown. 1. The gate. Actually more of an arch.

2. There are several old neon signs on resturants.

3. Fan Tan Alley is Canada's narrowest street. It was originally planned by city officials as a passage between buildings but the frugal owners realised that street frontage had more value than an alley so they built store fronts that are only a few feet apart. It is only 3 feet wide at it's narrowest.

1. A close up of a panel of the Chinatown gate.

2 and 3. Portions of a mural depicting a historical scene. It's on a block wall that used to be quite out of place amongst the older buildings. Now it fits in beautifully.

Check out all the close ups of pollinators in the bee section.