Top 20 Images of 2023

While reviewing the images I captured over the course of the past year, I wanted to publish my top 10 favourites, but I had a hard time picking only ten - so here are my favourite 20 images from 2023, in no particular order:

(click on the image to see a larger version)

Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
Panasonic Lumix GH-6, 800mm

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)
Olympus OM-1, 1000mm

Female Common Merganser (Mergus merganser)
Olympus OM-1, 1000mm

Black Oystercatcher (Haematopus bachmani) 
Sony A7R V, 600mm

Common Mergansers (Mergus merganser)
Olympus OM-1, 1000mm

Brickyard Beach, Gabriola Island
Olympus OM-1, 18mm

Dark-Eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis)
Nikon Z9, 840mm

Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
Nikon Z9, 840mm

Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus)
Sony A9, 600mm

Driftwood Logs and Seaside Pea, Lock Bay
Sony A7R III, 24mm

Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
Fujifim X-H2S, 600mm

Red-Breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis) Enjoying a Bath
Nikon Z8, 400mm

Sea Shell, Lock Bay
Nikon Z7 II, 14mm

Wilson's Warbler (Cardellina pusilla)
Nikon Z8, 400mm

Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
Nikon Z8, 400mm

Red-Breasted Nuthatch (Sitta canadensis)
Panasonic Lumix G9, 400mm

Amethyst Deceiver (Laccaria amethysteo-occidentalis)
Nikon Z7 II, 105mm

Ferry at Sunset, Salish Sea
Nikon Z9, 400mm

Pacific Slope Flycatcher (Empidonax difficilis)
Nikon Z8, 840mm

Chestnut-Backed Chickadee (Poecile rufescens)
Nikon Z9, 1200mm

Web Site Off Line

Sometime during the past week, someone at PhotoShelter, the site I use to host my Images West web site, decided to delete all of my images and accompanying information.  Since PhotoShelter also unapologetically deleted the backups of my data, it will be some time before I can find a new site host and re-do many weeks worth of work.

Entrance Island

Lock Bay Salt Marsh Birdwatching

One of the nicest spots for birdwatching this time of the year on Gabriola Island has to be the Lock Bay Salt Marsh adjacent to Sandwell Provincial Park.  This brackish tidal marsh is home to a number of bird species of waterfowl, wading birds, and songbirds, and vultures and bald eagles are often seen soaring overhead.  There are also a few resident river otters and beavers, should you be lucky enough to spot them.

I believe most of the marsh is private property, but there is a well-used public pathway that leads past the marsh just above the beach at Lock Bay.  Please use respect when visiting the park or the marsh.

Here are a few photos of birds I managed to capture on my last visit to the marsh - you can click on any of the images to see a larger version.

Lock Bay Salt Marsh, Gabriola Island

Great Blue Heron, Lock Bay Salt Marsh

Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius)

Red-Winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)

Red-Winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)

Canada Geese (Branta canadensis)

Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia)

Mallard Ducks (Anas platyrhynchos)

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

All images were captured using a hand-held Fujifilm X-H2S digital camera and XF 100-400mm f4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR zoom lens.  All images are Copyright © Cliff LeSergent.

May Hummingbirds

Hummingbird season is in full swing now on Gabriola Island, with both the over-wintering Anna's and the migratory Rufous showing up in numbers.  These little avian wonders always make for great photography.  

Please click on the images to see a larger version. 

Male Rufous Hummingbird  (Selasphorus rufus)

Rufous Hummingbird  (Selasphorus rufus)

Rufous Hummingbird  (Selasphorus rufus)

Male Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)

Female Rufous Hummingbird  (Selasphorus rufus)

Male Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)

Male Rufous Hummingbird  (Selasphorus rufus)

 

Male Rufous Hummingbird  (Selasphorus rufus)

Gabriola Island Tafoni Formations

Much of the bedrock of Gabriola Island is sandstone, and along many areas of the shoreline the rock has weathered into honeycomb or lace patterns called tafoni. The intricate texture of the sandstone tafoni can often add interesting details to landscape images.

Malaspina Galleries

Orlebar Point Sunset

Orlebar Point Sunrise

Drumbeg Provincial Park

Entrance Island

Berry Point Tafoni

Tafoni Alligator, Drumbeg Provincial Park

Berry Point Dream Time 

Berry Point Tafoni

Descanso Bay

Tafoni Detail

Definition from www.tafoni.com:

"Tafoni are ellipsoidal, pan- to bowl-shaped, natural rock cavities. These cavernous weathering features include tiny pits, softball-sized cavities, truck-sized caves, and nested and cellular honeycomb forms. Tafoni typically develop on inclined or vertical surfaces and occur in groups."