San Juan Foxes - June 20

A while ago I saw a beautiful photo of foxes at a friends house. It was taken quite close to Vancouver on San Juan Island. So when the flying weather looked sufficiently bad I got my act and gear together and headed down to Washington and over to San Juan.

As most things, the approximate location of the foxes can be found on the internet, but I didn't expect I would be so lucky to pull up to the first parking spot by the beach and have a fox walk straight over to me. The little fellows are completely unafraid of people, mostly because they receive hand-outs frequently. The foxes were so close I didn't pull out my longest lens a single time. Over the next few hours (during solstice sunset) I had plenty of opportunity to fill my SD cards with photos. This was a perfect evening except for the foxes fondness to take a nap right on the asphalt (enjoying the warmth of the day or waiting for food?).

On the next day I toured the remainder of San Juan Island, saw some amazingly big Arbutus trees and explored the whale watching spot at Lime Kiln State Park but only one minke whale made a quick appearance.

Pelicans! (June 17)

Every flight brings new surprises. Yesterday looked cloudy and not very promising. But the day delivered lots of smooth lift until I got too cold after two hours of airtime. I also crossed flight-paths with a group of pelicans right over Eagle Ranch! Never seen these birds here before. I know they nest up in the Chilcotin (White Pelican Provincial Park) and they certainly don’t spend the winter there but I didn’t expect their migration route would lead them right over Eagle Ranch and Harrison Bay!

 Postscript: There are more posts on local birder forum on unusual pelican sightings. They are usually up north at this time of the year.

Pemberton - Again - June 5th

Not quite as epic as 2 weeks ago but still a respectable 75 km out and return flight and this time I took some photos of the impressive scenery. So much snow and ice, so many peaks and glaciers. That we get to do/see this with just 4 kg of nylon and a few strings never ceases to put me in awe.

Coming up to the Hurley Pass Rd. Goat peak just left of centre.