Year 9: Hug Your Darlings

It’s been an amazing year for photos! I shot several cool rarities, kept experimenting with my settings and technique, and overall managed to keep my eyes open and get lucky, which is really all any bird photographer can ask for.

A lot of this year’s photos come in sets. I thought about keeping the post brief and only showing highlights, but in the end decided to give you the whole shebang. Yes, I’m familiar with the “Kill your darlings” philosophy (ie: cutting out the nonessential stuff, even if it’s stuff you put a lot of work into), but nah. They’re all excellent, and they tell a story, so they get to stay.

In addition to photos, I’ve written 49 posts on this here blog in 2025, not including my recap for 2024. One for every major birding expedition, plus a few extra ones if I got some particularly good photos on my walks or something. I love that for me!

What I don’t love as much is having missed a bunch of days this year. Maybe 7 or 8 total? I could blame the crappy weather that reigned for most of the last couple months, but on top of that I was also dealing with a general lack of energy, motivation and focus. Don’t get me wrong, the photography bug is way too deeply rooted for me to just stop, but this trend is not cool.

But now let’s get on with the birds.

January 2 & 3: Northern Cardinals

We don’t have cardinals out West, so any shots of them I get are pretty special by default. But look at these gorgeous birds, posing just for me! And I know males tend to steal the show with their all-red outfits, but females are just as eye-catching.

A female Northern Cardinal in a tree, looking fabulously in my general direction. In the background are snowy evergreens — Queen

A male Northern Cardinal on a branch, surrounded by bare branches and grey snow — A spot of colour in a dark forest

January 3: White-breasted Nuthatch

These birds are less flashy but no less enchanting. I love their complex wing textures, elegant little eyes, and weird upturned beaks!

A White-breasted Nuthatch on a tree at about eye level; it is climbing down, and looking out a bit. — Upside-down cutie

January 18: Anna’s Hummingbird

Sometimes the sun hits them just right.

Closeup of a male Anna's Hummingbird somewhat facing the sun. His gorget is a patchwork of black and bright pink — All the pinks and purples

January 26: Iona Beach from above

I guess this recap needs at least one landscape shot, and here it is: the Iona Beach jetties seen from the Southwest Marine lookout point. It’s something I’d been meaning to do for years and it’s great! I love the composition, and the different perspective of paths I’ve walked tons of times.

View of the Iona Beach north jetty from SW Marine, plus a bunch of pilings closer up. It is the end of the day — Faraway so close

January 31–February 10: KingletPalooza

During this span of time I managed to enjoy a relative bounty of kinglet photo ops. There was a bad cold snap, which I suspect was largely to blame in pushing birbs around to seek different foods. Whatever the reason, I ended up with a bunch of really excellent kinglet photos!

It started with the Pride Night UBC-Thompson Rivers U volleyball match on January 31^st. I’d brought along my camera, vaguely thinking I could take photos of the games even though my lenses aren’t really suited for sports action shots. Still, I felt weirdly naked going out without my gear, so there we go.

And I’m glad I did, because I spied this pretty little thing just outside the North Parkade, jumping and hopping and grabbing whatever bugs it could find. At one point it seemed to have a yummy little spider in its beak, so there was food to be found.

The day’s rain has left it disheveled, exposing its red and yellow crown and telling me it’s a male. Thanks, rain!

A male Golden-crowned Kinglet, disheveled and wet, on the ground amidst grasses and leaves etc — Wet and hungry

And what did I see on the David Lam seawall a couple days later? Another Golden-crowned Kinglet!

A Golden-crowned Kinglet on a gravelly path, next to a concrete wall. There is a clump of snow in the background next to the concrete — Maybe even the same one!

And a couple days after that, in pretty much the same spot, a ruby-crown! There were actually two or three or maybe four around, zipping between the bushes, the path, and the intertidal zone. I’m honestly not sure of their numbers, these guys are so fast I swear they can teleport.

A male Ruby-crowned Kinglet on a pebbly concrete path — Didn’t seem to mind the huge bipeds lumbering around

A Ruby-crowned Kinglet on a metal fence, looking right at me. There's a bit of snow on its beak and feet — Cold feet

A Ruby-crowned Kinglet on a branch, looking down and head tilted quizzically — Quizzical

A Ruby-crowned Kinglet on a pebbly concrete path. There are a few patches of snow around — Walking sixteen miles through the snow, uphill both ways

A Ruby-crowned Kinglet is sitting on a bush with stuff reddish leaves, closely examining one of the leaves. A bit of its red crest is visible. There is snow in the background. — Interesting leaves

The festival ended on a brilliantly clear February 10^th, with this adorable little puffball posing for me for a bit, then taking a splishy-splashy bath in a kinglet-sized tide pool off the seawall, then flying back up to pose a little more!

A male Ruby-crowned Kinglet hanging on to a branch, against a solid blue sky. A streak of its red crest is just visible — Round and dry

A male Ruby-crowned Kinglet up in a tree, somewhat disheveled from being wet. Background is solid blue sky — Round and clean

February 6: Brown creeper

These little guys are so quick and shy! I was lucky to catch one in the act, let alone in a picture that shows off their elegant figure and camo back.

A Brown Creeper up in a tree. The sky is greyish — Elegantly creeping

February 6: Dark-eyed Junco

I love this photo not just for its own sake — the dull winter colours & the fluffy hungry messy borb — but also! It’s one of two photos of mine in the Reifel Bird Sanctuary’s 2026 calendar! Available now at their gift shop.

A Dark-eyed Junco (Oregon subspecies) is sitting on a branch of a bare tree. It is very floofed out, and surrounded by long brown seed pods. There are a few little brown seeds on its beak — chomp chomp chomp

February 12: Song Sparrow, modelling

Song Sparrows are not made to stand out, except with the rich, complex songs that give them their name… but then there’s this little guy, proudly posing like the hottest runway model, showing off every beautiful streak and speckle and subtle shade of brown. Love it to bits.

A Song Sparrow is standing on a branch, side to us and looking more in our general direction. The head is up, as is the tail, and overall it looks proud of how very cute it is — “Make sure you get my good side”

February 12: Ring-billed Gull, flapping

Exquisite detail + action + these gulls’ perennial “over it” faces = totally a winner.

March 1: Bald Eagles, dancing

Over half a dozen eagles were doing big, slow circles above us. Was it some kind of mating dance (even though these two are juveniles)? Or just a thing they do for fun? Were they larping as vultures? Whatever it was, it gave us some great shots!

Two soaring immature Bald Eagles — “You look like ants from up here”

March 5: Yellow-rumped Warbler

I just love these little guys so much, and this one was kind enough to show us where the name comes from! It’s rare to get a shot that highlights both their yellow rears, their yellow throats, and (a bit of) their yellow chests.

A male Yellow-rumped Warbler is on a branch with its back to me but looking camera left, allowing me to see both its yellow rump and yellow throat. There are very new reddish flower buds around, and a solid blue sky — Butt shining like the sun

March 17: House Finch

Red, pink and blue together, it’s a winning combination! As for the finch himself, I’ve honestly never seen such a rich strawberry red plumage!

(Also yes, he’s eating the flower. Their big thick beaks are best suited for seeds and nuts, but they do enjoy softer fare.)

A male House Finch up in a tree, surrounded by pink cherry blossoms. Solid blue sky in the background — Nothing but flowers

March 26: American Bushtits

I shot these little guys in the same spot as the finch above, in the same cherry blossoms that were about to start dying. I am totally hypnotised both by the male’s big dark eyes and the female’s stern yellow eyes.

A male American Bushtit hanging on to a branch, surrounded by pink cherry blossoms, looking down — hey

A male American Bushtit hanging on to a branch, surrounded by pink cherry blossoms, looking out and to the right — “What’s over there?”

“We are not amused”

April 22: Pelagic Cormorant

A shiny, magnificent, weird-looking bird in its finest breeding outfit!

A Pelagic Cormorant on the water. Its plumage is iridescent purple over much of its body with some greenish patches. One of its two white rump patches is visible — so shiny

May 4: Marsh Wren

My second Reifel 2026 calendar photo! And doesn’t it perfectly capture the essence of Marsh Wrens? Maybe not the singing, but definitely the alertness and adorable sticky-up tail.

A Marsh Wren holding a bit of wet grass in its beak — The nest builder

May 18: Tree Swallows, getting busy

You know what they say: once you go blue, you’ll never go through. Or something.

A Tree Swallow couple mating on a branch. The male is either scratching the back of his partner's head, or poking her hard — hey baby

May 24: Great Blue Heron, landing

You can’t beat a Great Blue Heron in all its wingspread glory. Check out its complex play of feathers! Its elegant pantaloons! Also I love how its expression didn’t change one iota after it landed. As the kids say, herons do be like that.

A Great Blue Heron, stance pretty upright, wings and tails fully extended, is about to touch the water with its toes — Wide and tall

A Great Blue Heron, wings still mostly extended, is now standing belly deep in water — touchdown

June 1: Cedar Waxwings in love

This is something Waxwing couples do as a bonding ritual: passing a bit of food (in this case, a chunk of snail meat) back and forth until one of them eats it. I don’t know how they decide to end it, or if the “winner” switches every time. In a way, it’s got to be a trust exercise, right? But this is the first time I captured the game on camera, and it was such a thrill.

Two Cedar Waxwings on a branch, against a verdant green background, facing each other. The one on the left is holding a chunk of yellowish meat, the other is holding a bit of snail shell. — Do you want it?

Two Cedar Waxwings on a branch, against a verdant green background, facing each other. Their beaks are almost touching, and they are in the middle of passing a chunk of yellowish meat from one to the other. — There you go!

Two Cedar Waxwings on a branch, against a verdant green background, facing each other. Their beaks are very close together, and they just finished passing a chunk of yellowish meat from one to the other. — Now back to you

Two Cedar Waxwings on a branch, against a verdant green background, their backs to me. Their beaks are almost touching, and they are in the middle of passing a chunk of yellowish meat from one to the other. — A snaily kiss

June 1: Eastern Kingbird

There’s just so many things about this photo that I love. The soft white belly vs the sharply patterned dark wings, the ultra-bokeh green background vs its sharp monochromatic outfit.

An Eastern Kingbird sitting on a branch, body mostly facing me and head turned camera left. Background is grass green — Royal green

June 5: White-crowned Sparrows

A lovely family scene between a sweet babby (just out of the nest, I’m guessing) and its attentive parent. Capturing little moments like this makes me all fuzzy inside.

A fledgling White-crowned Sparrow is sitting at the edge of a concrete path. Behind it is earth and bushes — I’m baby

An adult White-crowned Sparrow feeding a fledgling by stuffing food in its beak. They are on green grass, partly in the shade. — om nom nom

June 13: American Crow

This handsome guy didn’t mind me getting close, allowing me to capture every feathery and beaky detail, as well as a reflection (in its eye) of the railing it sat on.

check me out

June 15: Dark-eyed Junco

Not the first time I’ve seen birbs carrying this kind of load, but I still can’t help boggling at the mechanics involved. How do they grab all these ants and grubs and things without dropping them all over the place?

A Dark-eyed Junco in a tree, at a bit under eye leve, carrying a mass of little bugs in its beak — For its hungry babbies

July 17: Blue-eyed Darner

Look, my one and only non-bird photo! Darners like to hover in place for long moments, which at least makes photos possible, but they’re still super quick and unpredictable.

A male Blue Darner, a dragonfly with bright blue eyes and a body that's a mix of blue and brown, is hovering in place over green gunky water — What big eyes you’ve got

July 20: Yellow-headed Blackbird

This gorgeous and sassy little guy stalked up and down the Iona Beach parking lot, poking around the bushes, sitting on bicycle seats, 100% unafraid of surrounding humans and cars.

A male Yellow-headed Blackbird walking along on concrete — places to go

August 9: Osprey

I don’t see these raptors very often, since they stick to large bodies of water in the boonies. I love their grace and contrasty plumage.

An Osprey flying overhead, against a solid blue sky — here fishy fishy fishy

August 23: American Crow

Every feather a work of art.

A crow flying overhead, wings spread wide against a mostly blue sky — I just woke up like this

August 30: Mallard Duck

Every feather a work of art, part 2.

A male Mallard in flight, over water — Love the curvy flight feathers and the little curly tail

September 15: White Wagtail

I finally got to see this beautiful little rarity and it was kind enough to give me a good show!

A White Wagtail -- a little bird with white belly, dark grey chest, light grey back and mostly white face -- standing on a wooden fence — pose

September 27: California Scrub-Jay

Now this rarity was a complete surprise. We stumbled on it out of sheer dumb luck, just because we couldn’t park in the regular Blackie Spit parking lot. Life is weird like that.

A California Scrub-Jay -- a beautiful bird with blue head, greyish cheeks and back, blue wings, white throat, white "eyebrows" and white belly — blue blue blue

October 13: Bald Eagle

Yep, it’s another eagle, showing off just for me.

An immature Bald Eagle flying right overhead, wings spread wide, against a solid blue sky — The wind beneath your wings

October 26: Little Blue Heron

Rarity Number Three, this weird little guy certainly had the heron killer glare down!

A juvenile Little Blue Heron (all in white) is walking at the edge of marshy shallow water, surrounded by green reeds — Scarfed down a bunch of frogs and fish while I watched

Nov 15: Double-crested Cormorants

Even these cormorants’ faces match the scenery!

A group of Double-crested Cormorants in the distance, standing in shallow water and airing their wings. In the background, on the opposite side of the lake, are brownish reeds and. behind those, fog-shrouded trees and a grey sky — Goth birds in the misty forest

November 29: Anna’s Hummingbird

Another beautiful and fierce little warrior, taking a break from defending the feeders.

A male Anna's Hummingbird sitting on a wire fence against a greyish background. About half his gorget is pink — Real men wear pink

November 29: American Bittern

It looked so goofy like this, in “compact” mode, except for the trademark heron killer glare and stabby-stabby beak. But I love the intricately patterned poncho plumage and warm golden (glaring) eyes, and maybe I feel a subconscious connection with this intensely antisocial bird?

An American Bittern in "compact" mode (neck fully retracted) standing around and glaring at the world. It is surrounded by brown grasses and reeds — you can’t see me

December 6: Floofy Pigeons

Who knew closeups of incredibly floofed-out pigeons would be so cool? The striking orange eyes! The subtle green & violet iridescence! The variety of patterns! The white fluffy thingy they have on top of their beaks!

Closeup of a pigeon's head and upper chest. Body and the head are turned camera left It is very floofed out — Coo

Closeup of a pigeon's head and upper chest. Body and the head are turned camera right It is very floofed out. Head is mottlled grey and white — Contrast

December 6: Mallard Duck

Symmetrical iridescent perfection!

A backlit male Mallard, sitting up in the water and spreading his wings — showoff

And looking ahead…

The blogging is going great! Let’s keep it up! I’ve stopped posting individual photos in favour of blogging, but it seems to me both have value. Gotta rethink my workflow here…

I wanted to nurture and promote my store more, but that hasn’t really happened. Let’s turn it around in 2026!

My digital art has kind of stalled for now, but I’ve got plan to revive it and go in a slightly different direction. Sticking with birds, but I want to try more freehand drawing in addition to tracing and filling. It’ll be a challenge! But I need something new to break me out of this drawer’s block.

Also, remember that “lack of energy, motivation and focus” I mentioned before? I’m not sure what the exact solution is, but I believe that good habits and good mental states lead to good art and good photography. All these things are 100% related! So I need to start eating healthier, exercise more, get proper morning routines going, put more effort in the job search, all that jazz.