Birds in Winter

Every year when we have snow I make a point of getting outside to take some photos of the birds. I have a gang of chickadees that follows me around when I'm outdoors now because they know I keep peanuts in my jacket pocket. As a matter of fact, at least one chickadee has wised up to the fact that I keep the peanuts in my left pocket...during this last session of feeding them from my hand, some impatient little birds actually started digging in my pocket for peanuts!

I usually have so many of these chestnut-backed chickadees following me around that I can run out of peanuts pretty quickly so now I bring a mug full with me. I keep peanuts in a tin mug that I bought in Costa Rica. The chickadees jump in and grab peanuts for themselves whenever I put the mug down.

Chickadee in Snow

Chickadee in Winter

I love to walk around our place with the flock of chickadees happily chirping and zooming all around me. I suspect some of them of stashing their peanuts instead of eating them because there are so many birds, I figure I must be feeding some of them  twice in a row. Here's a shot of one of them waiting in a nearby cedar tree...

Chickadee in Snow on Cedar Tree

The Steller's Jays almost always break up the party by flying in and intimidating the chickadees. I usually feed the jays a little too just as I'm about to wrap things up. If I feed them any earlier, you can guarantee there'll be a gang of them disrupting everything pretty quickly. O.K., I admit it, I'm biased...chickadees are my favorites. But the jays are quite beautiful too...

Steller's Jay in Winter

Happy holidays to you all, and may the new year bring you many delightful surprises. I'll leave you with a Christmas message from me and the chickadees.

Santa Chickadee

winter birds art

Bull Elk Sighting

I come across elk herds quite often while out hiking with my dogs but the bull elk remain elusive...until the fall, that is. Recently I came across two bull elk in one morning, which was quite exciting. You have to be careful to keep your distance though because they can be aggressive during mating season.

Here's a photo of one of my sightings. I discovered this bull grazing with two female elk. The females spotted me right away and stood there watching me.

Bull Elk and Two Females

Eventually Mr. Big raised his head and I could see that his antlers had six points. A six-point bull elk is really an impressive sight to see!

Six Point Bull Elk

Here's another shot of him as he casually strolled into the forest. Magnificent, isn't he?

Roosevelt Elk Bull

The lighting was terrible but I did my best. I don't get the chance to photograph the males all that often, so I take what I can get!

Blue Jays and Steller's Jays

We don't usually get blue jays here on the Sunshine Coast of British Columbia but right now there's a big kerfuffle (is that really a word?) because a lone jay has shown up in Gibsons, on the coast. Many birders are cruising the area where it's been spotted, trying to get a glimpse of it.

I haven't, however, made the hour-long trip down the coast because I was recently in Ontario and the place is lousy with blue jays. So I had the opportunity to photograph them and make some comparisons between them and the kind of jay we get here on the west coast, called the Steller's jay.

Honestly, I find that blue jays are much more polite and not nearly as greedy as Steller's jays. If I even dare step out on my back deck with a peanut, a gang of Stellers immediately mobs me. I suspect they even have X-ray vision, or maybe a really good nose (or beak) for the smell of a peanut. However, I noticed that sometimes I'd put a few peanuts in a shell on my parents' back deck and they'd be there for hours without a blue jay gobbling them up. Never happens around here, not with the piggy Steller's.

Another thing...blue jays have quite a melodic call. Not too loud, and kind of sweet. A Steller's jay? Squawk, squawk, squawk, like metal grating. Not at all pleasant. And did I mention they travel in gangs? So there's always a bunch of them squawking all at once, especially if you happen to be holding a peanut or two.

I also must admit I prefer the look of blue jays. Maybe I'm being unfair to our B.C. jays, but I think not. I'll let you be the judge. First I'll share two pictures of blue jays, and then two of our local Steller's jays.

Blue Jay and Peanuts

Blue Jay Flying

Steller's Jay in Snow

Steller's Jay on my Back Deck

Which do you think is the better-looking jay? O.K., I admit I used a particularly scrawny-looking example of a Steller's jay in my last photo and might be showing my bias, but please give me your honest opinion. ;~)

50% Off Sale at Zazzle

Since I've posted recently about Christmas cards and calendars, I thought you might be interested in a huge sale at Zazzle until Monday, November 12th. You can get 50% off my calendars and cards, 40% off ornaments, 30% off mugs, 20% off t-shirts, and 15% off all other products. Just use the code 50VETDAYSALE at checkout.

For my customers who I see at craft fairs locally and have been asking me when I'm getting some calendars printed, I have good news! I finally got a decent deal on printing and will have a limited quantity of my latest squirrel calendar and a chipmunk calendar available for sale at upcoming Christmas craft fairs. I photographed the chipmunk while visiting my parents back east this past September and fell in love with the little guy, who I called named Chipper.

Chipper the Chipmunk Enjoying Some Tea

For anyone who won't be able to meet me at a craft fair on the Sunshine Coast, I hope you'll take advantage of Zazzle's Veteran's Day sale and get up to 50% off. 

Christmas Animals

I get a real kick out of creating Christmas cards from some of my animal photos. Every year I add a few more so now I've got a good collection of them.

I thought you might want to know about a huge sale Zazzle is having on cards and invitations until Sunday, November 4th. They're offering 50% off, a price which can't be beat! I recently ordered some of my Christmas cards for my parents and they tell me they were extremely happy with the quality of the cards. You can easily customize your cards with your own personal message on the front, inside, or back (or all three!)

Being bird lovers and kind of traditional, my parents wanted a Christmas card with a chickadee and snow. Here's the card they ordered:

Chickadee with Red Berries in Falling Snow

I thought the berries made the card look especially festive, perfect for Christmas.

Or maybe you're in the mood for a little more fun. If so, here's a hummingbird that really knows how to decorate for the holiday season.



Christmas Hummingbird Card

My favourite Christmas animals are squirrels. I have more than a few cards with squirrels on them. Here's a selection from my Christmas section...which, by the way, has more than just cards. There are all kinds of other products that you can have my photos or anybody else's artwork (including your own!) printed on.

Christmas Squirrel in Snow Christmas Card

Santa Squirrel Drinking a Cocktail Card

Merry Christmas Squirrel

Santa Squirrel in Christmas Basket

Squirrel and Christmas Tree

If you really want to have fun you can even order matching Christmas postage!

Anyway, you get the idea. If you want to take advantage of Zazzle's 50% off sale on cards and invitations, just type in the code "CHEERSAVINGS" at checkout.

christmas animals art

The Rocky Mountains from the Air

Last Saturday there was an earthquake in Haida Gwaii (formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands), British Columbia, that measured 7.7 on the Richter scale. There were tsunami warnings along the Canadian and American coast, all the way to Hawaii. On Sunday there was an aftershock that measured 6.3.

I didn't feel a thing here on B.C.'s Sunshine Coast. However, we live very close to the ocean and with all the recent talk about tsunamis and earthquakes, it got me thinking about the immense power of the elements. Just this past week, Hurricane Sandy battered the Caribbean and the east coast of the States, then tore into Canada as well. No matter the achievements of humankind, we are all at the mercy of Mother Nature at times.

Thinking about the power of the elements got me thinking about my recent trip to Ontario. Anytime I take a trip back east I marvel at the Rocky Mountains as we fly over. The Rockies stretch out about 3,000 miles (4,830 km) from British Columbia to New Mexico. The mountain range was formed between 55 million to 80 million years ago. Since that time, water erosion and glaciers have carved out incredible peaks and valleys. They are jaw-droppingly beautiful. Here are just a few shots I took of the Rocky Mountains as we flew over in a jet.

 Rocky Mountains and River

Jet Airplane Flying Over the Rocky Mountains

Rocky Mountains Peak and River

Rocky Mountains Snow-Capped Peaks

Canadian Rockies

Impressive, aren't they?

I've been nervously thinking about which of our nearby mountains we could drive to in case we ever needed to evacuate, as so many others were recently required to do. It's a very unsettling feeling.

Nature Photo Calendars

Lately a lot of my craft fair and farmer's market customers have been asking me if I have a new squirrel calendar out yet. Unfortunately I couldn't find a printer who would give me a decent price this year. I do, however, have a new squirrel calendar available in my Zazzle shop, with all new squirrel pictures.

Zazzle is a print on demand shop that has offices worldwide. I've ordered their calendars before and they're very high quality.

I also have some squirrel calendars from years gone by that I've updated for 2013. In fact, I have a whole bunch of nature wall calendars for 2013 so I'll show them all to you here.



You can get 25% off all calendars at Zazzle until November 27th. Just enter the code "CALENDAR TIME" at checkout.