Here are some photos by Peggy Mason, a colleague working away (and kayaking) in British Columbia. Her captions are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them. She did not identify all the species, so figure those out yourselves:
Here are a couple of views of Porpoise Bay. The first is looking south at the town of Sechelt, BC and the second is looking north toward Eggmont and the entrance to the Bay.
This is Poise Island which has no primates. Only seals, birds, sea stars. Once we saw a deer on Poise, but luckily she swam off the next day:
Egg yolk jellyfish is what we call these. They are big:
Sea stars abound. It is really common for the ones out of the water to hang an arm or two:
On to the birds. Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) are everyday birds except in late August and early September when they fly off to the creeks to chow down on salmon:
We hear and see Kingfishers flying every day but they rarely sit still long enough to be photographed, as this one did:
A Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias), of course:
A Great Blue Heron, flying off, beautiful silhouette:
And finally a seagull. Common and gorgeous:
That jellyfish has a face.
How beautiful. Look at the size of that kingfisher. It looks like a kookaburra.
Well spotted! Both Belted Kingfishers and Kookaburra are in the family Alcedinidae.
Thanks for the great pics. I’m just back from visiting my son in Salmon Arm on Shuswap Lake, and saw lots of herons, pelicans, and one bald eagle.
It’s great to see those sea stars thriving! These beautiful pictures remind me of our beloved Orcas Island (San Juan Islands, on the U.S side of the border), where we lived for a time.
How lovely to return to this website after a long absence and see my (almost) back yard! (I’m in Halfmoon Bay). Fun fact about Porpoise Bay / Sechelt inlet – (look it up on a map) – the inlet has a fairly narrow entrance, to a large body of water subject to tides, so a few times a day all that tidewater washes in and out through that channel called “Skookumchuck”. It’s an impressive tidal rapid, one of our tourist attractions accessed by an hour hike through rainforest.
Here’s another story from the Sunshine Coast BC area: Joni Mitchell being honoured by the Royal Canadian Geographical Society. She’s been a part time local since the early 70’s and the “For the Roses” album cover features the local landscape.
https://canadiangeographic.ca/articles/joni-mitchell-honoured-with-rcgs-gold-medal/
Ooo, what a mix of magnificent views and animals … and the egg yolk 😆 exactly!
Very cool! I don’t know, but maybe the jellyfish is the Lion’s Mane?
Great pictures. Thanks!
Yes!! I especially loved the eagle framed by the branch above it, the tall thin tree behind it and the old rotted out branch/stump it was standing on. Terrific composition. One of many superb photos.
Beautiful pictures! And to anyone who doesn’t believe birds are dinosaurs, I give you….the heron!
Cool blue waters, wildlife, kayaking — thank you for these idyllic pics.
Beautiful photos. Poise island…fascinating how EVERYTHING seems to have a name…even a random, small speck of an island.