Birds near Spanish Creek - part 1

Went for a walk along Spanish Banks last week mainly to check on Spanish Creek; I was looking to see if I could spot the Chum Salmon returning to Spanish Creek. It is only at high tide that returning fish have a chance of even getting into Spanish Creek. There have been some very high, or king tides, lately so I have been watching for fish returning to spawn.

I didn't spot any fish but did see quite a lot of birds, and took enough pictures to show you this week and next week too!

 

Fresh from the camera:

A Glaucous-winged gull at the mouth of Spanish Creek:

 

Here is Bad Company music video "Seagull":

 

 

 

Lyrics:

Seagull, you fly across the horizon
Into the misty morning sun
Nobody asked you where you are going
Nobody knows where you're from

Here is a man asking the question
Is this really the end of the world
Seagull you must have known for a long time
The shape of things to come
Now you fly through the sky
Never asking why, and you fly
All around till somebody shoots you down

Da-da-da-down, mmm, mmm

Now you seagull you fly, seagull you fly away
And you'll fly away today
And you'll fly away tomorrow
And you'll fly away, leave me to my sorrow

Songwriters: MICK RALPHS, PAUL RODGERS, PAUL BERNARD RODGERS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This group of gulls was standing near the waters edge watching me. They are called Mew Gulls, and yes they make mewing sounds.

 

Mew Gulls are smaller than the other gulls that I encountered on my walk. I didn't know what they were called before this but they were making mewing noises. They stood and watched me for a long time before they took off.

A few of them were yawning, I didn't realize that I had caught a yawn until I downloaded my pictures.

 



 

Clearly I bored him!

 

I set off down the beach and almost stepped on these little birds:

 

 

They are so well camouflaged, I only noticed the movement. They are a type of Sandpiper called a Dunlin. They have a long slightly curved beak and they are much more colourful in mating season.

 

This trio allowed me to stay quite close, they are only about 8 or 9 inched tall.

Of course I had to take some pictures of shells too,

 

This pink shell was tiny probably only about a centimeter across and sitting next to a very small mussel shell.

 

 

Looking west from Spanish Creek in the late afternoon:

 

More birds next week.

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New from my studio:

 

The latest in my Seashore Stills series is called "What!":

 

 



Another varnished watercolour.

 

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Exhibit and Sale:

 

Reminder that the "Great Stuff" opening reception is this Friday (Nov 18) from 4 - 8pm at the Ferry Building in West Vancouver.

 

The show is on from November 19 until Dec 18 (Tuesday to Sunday 10am until 6 pm).

 

 I will be at the gallery on Thursday Nov 24 (4 pm - 6 pm) and Thursday Dec 15 (4 pm-6 pm).

 

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 That's all for this week, thanks for dropping by, I thrive on your feedback,

happy Wednesday, with whimsy,

Gillian

 

 



Fall is Fungus Time

I have seen quite a variety of mushrooms growing on lawns and boulevards, in the woods and on trees recently.

It is mushroom time of the year. The recent wet weather has produced a large variety of mushrooms in the city.

Fresh from the camera:

I saw someone crouched down on the side of the road and realized he had found a large patch of amanita muscaria mushrooms. I took pictures but did not pick any, something this bright can't be good for you. If you squint maybe you will see a fairy or two.

 

I think this is a variant of the a. mascaria, it is definitely a lighter colour:

 

As are these "puff balls":

 

It is not a good idea to pick wild mushrooms unless you know what you are doing.

 

In France and Italy you can take wild mushrooms that you have gathered to a pharmacy, and the pharmacist can tell you the ones that are safe to eat. Here you need someone skilled in mushroom identification to guide you, there are some dangerous look-a-likes in the mushroom world.

 

The Vancouver Mycological Society meets monthly and members can take their mushrooms finds to be identified.

 

 

"A mushroom (or toadstool) is the fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source." Wikipedia

 

 

I thought these next ones looked like a fairy ring:

 

 

 

A clump of small mushrooms:

 

Here are more from the forest:

 

 

Mushroom facts from fungi.com :

 

 

"Mushrooms are fungi. Fungi are as uniquely different from plants as plants are from animals. In fact, fungi and animals are now in the same super-kingdom, Opisthokonta."

 

"Fungi recycle plants after they die and transform them into rich soil. If not for mushrooms and fungi, the Earth would be buried in several feet of debris and life on the planet would soon disappear."

 

"Under the right conditions, some mushrooms' spores can sit dormant for decades or even a century, and still grow!"

 

"Some of the oldest living mushroom colonies are fairy rings growing around the famous Stonehenge ruins in England. The rings are so large that they can best be seen from airplanes."

 

 

This is the underside and top of another mushroom.

 

I have foraged for and picked mushrooms in the wild, with an expert I trusted, and enjoyed the finds of chanterelles and lobster mushrooms. By myself I just take pictures and gather my wild mushrooms by the bag from the market!

 

Here is a list of wild edible mushrooms from Northern Bushcraft, this link has an extensive list of mushrooms each with a detailed description and picture.

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Here are a few amusing (I think) mushrooms quotes:

 



"Life is too short to stuff a mushroom."

 Shirley Conran
 

"Mushrooms are like men--the bad most closely counterfeit the good."
--Gavarni

 

"If only one could tell true love from false love as one can tell mushrooms from toadstools." --Katherine Mansfield

 

"Falling in love is like eating mushrooms, you never know if it's the real thing until it's too late."

-- Bill Balance

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New images from my Studio:

"Kitty Claws":

"Bah! Humbug!":

These are available on my cards site, view all my Christmas cards:

http://www.GO4cards.com/seasonal--other.html

If you would like to order cards to pick up you can save the postage, send a message from the contact page on my website with your choices.

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Exciting News:

I am one of the Artists included in the "Great Stuff" exhibit at the Ferry Building in West Vancouver

Nov 18 - Dec 18, 2016:

Ferry Building:

1414 Argyle Avenue

West Vancouver, BC

 

My Christmas cards and small paintings ("Seashore Stills" and "Sticks and Stones") will be on sale at the "Great Stuff" sale.

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That's all for this week, thanks for dropping by,

happy Wednesday, with whimsy,

Gillian