:hello:Thanks Doug. The shovelers usually don't come out of the pond but the wood ducks do. They get right into the mix with all the mallards when people come with seed for them. One day when I arrived at King's Pond a pair of wood ducks was perched on the railing at the edge of the pond. The scaups, buffleheads, ring-necks, green-winged teals, and canvasbacks don't come out of the water. I usually ask people to throw some seed at the edge of the pond for them and that's about as close as they'll get. Some of the mallards perch on the back of the benches where people sit, hoping they'll get first dibs on the seed I have been out birding quite a few times since Christmas but have really gotten behind in posting pix

Here are a few pix of the Trumpeter swans at Martindale Flats, just off the Pat Bay Hwy. on the Saanich Peninsula. Click 2X bigger.

A few squirrels in Beacon Hill Park on Jan. 1st. Click 2X bigger.

My favourite photography subject ~ Henry Heron beside frozen Goodacre Lake in Beacon Hill Park. Click 2X bigger.

A few more pix of Henry on Jan. 1st. He's quite content to stand and pose. Click 2X bigger.

Hi Kay: Well, it looks like our weather has taken a turn for the worse. Glad you were able to take advantage of the recent sunny days. It's always nice to see Henry. I don't think anyone can get a closer photo of a heron. I like the photo of the squirrel with what looks like a piece of food in its mouth. Our backyard squirrels are fun to watch, but they like to dig up tulip bulbs to eat or rebury. Nice to see clean trumpeter swans. We were in Mount Vernon Tuesday and there were at least 200 trumpeters in a muddy field. Take care.

:hello:Ed, I had a visit with Henry yesterday afternoon. elle and I had lunch together and then did a tour of the Oak Bay Nests; I stopped at the park on my way home and Henry was on the side of the lake, waiting for his dinner. The 2 other resident herons were on the other side of Henry's island in Goodacre Lake. The first few days of 2011 were very cold here and the lakes in the park were half frozen, as was the ocean water at the shallow end of Esquimalt Lagoon. Here are a few pix of the lone trumpeter swan at the lagoon, taken Jan. 2. He is bigger than the mute swans and very aggressive at times Only once have I seen another trumpeter at the lagoon. Click 2X bigger.

The tide was very high at Esquimalt Lagoon Jan. 2nd and there were many logs pushed onto shore by the high winds. The swans were all mingling around waiting for a meal, and the 2 babies were standing beside me looking at me as if to say 'where's my lunch'. The swans are all very tame at the lagoon. Here are some pix of the mute swan babies. Click 2 X bigger.