Island Idyll

The bald eagle has just been taken off the endangered species list in the the US. Up here on Vancouver Island, we see bald eagles almost every day. On Hornby Island, about 3 hours north of Victoria, they don't seem to be in the least disturbed by humans. I spotted this one on a walk this morning and got within perhaps 20 ft. of its perch without it even batting an eye. But what beautiful creatures.


Look at that beak.

Vixens

On my recent trip to London, I was surprised one night by the sight of a fox near St. Paul's Cathedral. I was trying to get a cab and I saw an animal slip across the road then through some railings into the churchyard. At first I thought it was a cat, but the shape, tail, and gait were all so distinctive. In all the late nights I've spent out in London I've never once encountered a fox and so I thought it a rare sighting.

I've since learned (as is often the way with seemingly unique experiences) that foxes are not at all unusual in London.


This image from a guy who seems to have a bit of a thing about foxes (http://www.permuted.org.uk/).

First my friend Graham Rice told me that he had seen a fox a few years ago in the Chelsea Flower Show early one morning during set up, before there were many people about. It was apparently trotting through a display of desert succulents.

Then, while reading the highly enjoyable second edition of Alan Bennett's autobiography, Untold Stories (faber and faber, 2005), I came across the following, written after the author has been down to the Mall to see the extraordinary scenes following the death of Princess Diana:

"The evening is redeemed by an extraordinary sight. Despite the hundreds and hundreds of people trooping past, here, on the grass by the corner of Stable House Street, is a fox. It is just out of the light, slinking by with its head turned towards the parade of people passing, none of whom notice it. It's quite small, as much fawn as red, and is, I imagine, a vixen. It lopes unhurriedly along hte verge before diving under the hedge into St. James's Palace grounds. Besides us only one woman notices it, but that's probably just as well: such is the hysteria and general silliness it might have been hailed as the reincarnation of Princess Diana, another beautiful vixen, with whom lots of parallels suggest themselves."

And then, finally, I rent a movie called Breaking and Entering, which has a promising cast--Jude Law, Juliette Binoche, and Robin Wright Penn--and is set in London. It turns out to be one of those movies that doesn't quite pull it all together but guess what features in several scenes? Right, a fox. This time not slinking much, but screaming quite a bit in the most ominous and intrusive manner.


Not a real fox, but movie magic.

It turns out that one can buy the model who served as the fox from a company that sells movie memorabilia (http://www.premiereprops.com/). And, as quoted in a review on Salon.com the fox is "The one wild thing in your life, and it makes you crazy."

Interloper

There's been an otter in the park pond for the first time since we've lived in James Bay. Julian and I have seen it a few times. Apparently river otters do visit the park from time to time. This picture was taken a few weeks ago; we saw the otter again last night.



I do wonder if it might be eating eggs and/or ducklings?

Here's an interesting fact. Otter droppings are called spraints. I pretty much guarantee you didn't know that.

I don't know quite how an otter would get into the lake as there are no above-ground rivers that run in or out of the park.

Perhaps I will go and have a chat with the park staff. I am very curious about this otter.

Herons at Home

While I was away at Chelsea, the heron colony at the end of the road was apparently scared off by a rogue eagle the local media dubbed 'Birdzilla'. There are fears that the colony might be gone for good.

Funny enough, I was having lunch with the folks at Butchart Gardens, who had also been at Chelsea for the first time. One of them was saying that the herons had taken up residence in her back garden. I do hope they aren't gone for good from the park!

A little more Chelsea. Here's a lovely seating area from one of my favorite show gardens, the Westland Garden, designed by Diarmuid Gavin. It won a silver.


Diarmuid Gavin's Westland Garden at Chelsea, 2007.

Hapless Herons

At the end of my street in Beacon Hill Park is Vancouver Island's largest heron colony. Each year, dozens and sometimes over a hundred herons come to this stand of Douglas firs to nest from February through June.


Julian at the entrance to the heronry.

It's quite a spectacle. The birds build their nests high in the trees and can be seen on flying material-gathering trips all around the park and the neighborhood. But it's not all, so to speak, ducks and bunnies. If you believe in reincarnation I suggest you pray not to come back to life as a heron. For many, babyhood is nasty, brutish, and short.


Another egg on the ground.

The eggs are attacked by other birds and the ground is littered with their broken blue shells. As I write this, I see from my window a bald eagle circling just south of the colony. When the babies hatch, the eagle shows up at least once a day for a snack. In an effort to protect their young, the herons rise up and circle around, crying out in alarm. The scene is extraordinary and resembles a flight of pterodactyls. Many of the babies who survive the eagle are summarily pushed out of the nests by their siblings. The results are quite grim.

It's not all bad, though. One heron apparently survived such a descent some years ago. He has never joined the other herons but lives full-time in the park, often standing by the bus stop and posing for pictures (really!). Park employees christened him Henry. It's pretty amazing to see this annual pageant of birth and death playing out in the center of our city.


Henry in a contemplative mood gazing out over the duck pond.

You can see the colony on the heroncam