Birding in BC Community

Good to hear from you again Mike, i haven't seen you in ages.

I will not mention the events that occurred last year and how they affected the forum again and i hope everyone else is of the same mind.
It's done, no blame or ill-will directed towards anybody, the forum still exists and people are still visiting.
i am glad that people have their own blogs now and i actually read them (it) all the time, well written, thoughtful, passionate, quality photographs, good for them.

My blog sucks, haven't updated it since early last year LOL.

I just wanted to let everyone know that I have not abandoned this site at all even though I haven't posted anything new here in some time. This past year has been very difficult for me, I suffered great personal loss, not once, but twice and have been dealing with out of town family much of the time this past year. So not only have I not been contributing to this forum much other than commenting when I had a moment, but I haven't been photographing much at all.

Having said that, I just got back from a month long trip to Africa that had been planned over the last 2 years. The timing of the trip was perfect for me to be able to decompress and just enjoy life - lots of wildlife! I will post photos from the trip (where I saw 314 lifers on a non-birding trip) after I finish plowing through the thousands of photos I took!

sorry you have had such a year of personal losses Debra. sure looking forward to seeing the pix of your trip to Africa. It's hard to imagine all the birds that exist!
yup Mike, I'm retired too, so my walks out are about the joys in nature and sharing a little of the excitement with like-minded friends.

love the anna's shots Paul. was out to see 4 nests today. one has heads up, one beaks, the others are on eggs. I've noticed this year & last year the adult anna's (2 pair) don't come to my feeder much when they are feeding chicks (just at the end of the day). does that mean they prefer to feed the babies natural flower honey and bugs? should I cut back the 1 cup sugar to 3 cups water now that the weather is fairer?

Actually, we did find rufous hummingbird this weekend at Richmond park...

Lovely pictures of the Rufous Frank.
I too find that the Anna’s are not coming around as often during day ogopogo, but frequently see at least 1 feeding several times at dusk. I have always used a 4 to 1 ratio when making nectar. I’m not saying that’s any better, just what works for me.
I’m sorry that you’ve had so many challenges lately Debra. Isn’t it wonderful to have birding as a hobby to help with the stress? Something about watching nature brings peace and comfort to those who are struggling. I too look forward to seeing your Africa pictures.

Well, i found out this morning that the Anna's seems to have abandoned the nest
I was told that a pair of Steller's jays more than likely raided the nest.
Life can be tough in the animal world.

Oh no that’s sad news. Maybe she will try again?

My rufous' came back yesterday for the first time sighting of the year up here on Burnaby Mountain...
Male Rufous Hummingbird in Flight by Brian Hampson, on Flickr

Wonderful shots!