Let's start the week on a bright note! This is a female Rufous hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus), photo taken a few years ago.

#photography #birds #wildlife #VancouverIslandWildlife

Talking of American Robins... here's one collecting grass for its nest.
(From my archives and in my photo book Wild Vancouver Island).

#photography #wildlife #birds #VancouverIslandWildlife #BritishColumbia

I haven't seen any bears yet this year, just fresh scat earlier this week. This photo is from my archives. Look at this beauty!

#photography #wildlife #bears #VancouverIsland #BritishColumbia #VancouverIslandWildlife

A female Rufous hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus) last spring in the Comox Valley on Vancouver Island. Sometimes wildlife is right at your doorstep.

#BloomScrolling #photography #nature #birds #VancouverIslandWildlife #BritishColumbia #Canada

I spotted another orchid in the forest earlier this week. The orchids are so small that I almost missed them. The plant is 20 to 55 cm tall but the flowers are tiny at 5 to 10 mm. I have cropped one of my photos to show you the flower.

* Edit: the name of the flower is Spotted coralroot (Corallorhiza maculata).

#photography #flowers #orchids #VancouverIsland #BritishColumbia #VancouverIslandWildlife

In other news, Spring is blooming on Vancouver Island, bears are out of hibernation as per scat left on trails and mosquitoes are out (not pictured).

Photos taken this morning.

#photography #nature #VancouverIsland #BritishColumbia #VancouverIslandWildlife #Canada

Last year on a solo outing to my favourite spot to photograph black bears catching salmon at the mouth of a river on Vancouver Island, I heard a blow coming from the sea. I turned around and saw a pod of orcas passing by very close to the shore.

#WildlifeWednesday #photography #VancouverIslandWildlife #VancouverIsland #BritishColumbia #wildlife #nature

Here's another photo of the Fairy Slipper. So glad I stumbled upon them yesterday.

#photography #nature #orchids #VancouverIslandWildlife #VancouverIsland #BritishColumbia #flowers

This is where the Harlequin ducks (Histrionicus histrionicus) hang out during mating season. The males have the flamboyant plumage, of course! 😉

#photography #birds #wildlife #VancouverIslandWildlife #VancouverIsland #BritishColumbia #Canada

I went scouting this morning for upcoming tours in May and checked some of my favourite spots for nature photography and wildlife activity such as birds nests.

I spotted Fairy Slippers (Calypso bulbosa) in several locations in a coniferous forest. These orchids are rare on Vancouver Island so I took my time to capture them with my camera.

#photography #flowers #nature #VancouverIslandWildlife #BritishColumbia #VancouverIsland