Ornithology

Following 2nd Year I had the luck of getting into the coveted ornithology field course at UBC Okanagan. It was an amazing and exhausting week of early mornings (up before the crack of dawn), long days out in the field and late nights monitoring the Red-tailed Hawk nest cam. Field courses are always intense but the sleep deprivation of this bird course was unparalleled by any other. Still we managed to learn a lot.

Tap Tap. A Downy Woodpecker, Dryobates pubescens, the smallest woodpecker in North America tests out a new drum. West Bank, BC.

Home Sweet Home. Tree Swallow, Tachycineta bicolor, couple enjoying their new home at Swan Lake, Vernon, BC.

Soar. In medieval times the Osprey, Pandion haliaetus, was said to be such a skilled fisherman that fish turn belly up just by the sight of it. Osoyoos, BC.

Still A Bit Fluffy. A juvenile Great Horned Owl, Bubo virginianus, perched above the UBC Okanagan pond.

Lying in the Grass. Sometimes you've had enough of looking at birds every day for nearly 20hrs straight. Sometimes you find yourself deprived of sleep and lying in the grass, and yet there is still beauty in nature to be admired.