First visit to Paulik Garden

Didn't make a post yesterday because I was attending our office's Christmas Party and didn't go out to take pictures. Today, I was feeling kind of heavy-headed from all that wine that I drank last night, and so I didn't venture as far as I would have liked during the weekends.

On Friday, our local newspaper had an article on Paulik Garden, which I always find interesting and want to visit but never really have the chance. Anyways, with my condition today, I decided to keep my trip short and local and start with Paulik Garden. The weather was great today - sunny with few clouds (although I heard from my mom that it rained a bit in the morning - while I was still asleep).

Apparently Rock Paper Lizard also visited Paulik Garden today (in the morning) and had more interesting stories to tell that me. Nevertheless, now that I have visited it, the garden is indeed a special place in the midst of all the new condos surrounding it. I guess it is becoming a refuge spot for birds of that area.

The different types of habitats (for all kinds of birds) in Paulik Garden.

A butterfly "hotel" for the non-migratory butterfly species (during the winter) here in Lower Mainland.

One of my favorite things to do now - exercise my neck by looking up magnificent tall trees and taking pictures.

I only saw the common birds in the garden today, such as American Robin (Turdus migratorius) and Dark-eyed Junco. I also saw a large bird flying over me while I was taking pictures of something else. The bird flew to the tall trees and disappeared, and I couldn't find it again. Such a shame because I think it might be an eagle or an owl.

The quite abundant robins in Paulik Garden.

A bird that seems to be a robin, but it doesn't have that bright orange breast, so I am quite confused now. Maybe it's a different species all together.

Even though I know they are quite common, I still can't resist taking pictures of a fellow mammal, especially one that's giving me such a cute pose.

Slug


Lady bird resting/hiding inside a tree hole.

Afterwards, I decided to walk north because it seemed that the Garden City Community Park is quite nearby and I thought why not pay a visit while I was in the neighborhood. The first thing that I noticed when arriving at the park was the fewer number of waterfowls in the ponds. I guess the Canada Geese have continued with their migration, leaving behind the usual mallards. Mallards usually travel in a group, but I was paying attention to a smaller group of non-mallards. This group consisted of: Green-winged Teals (Anas crecca), a female Hooded Merganser (Lophodytes cucullatus), and a male Northern Shoveler (Anas clypeata). I guess you can even call them a group of misfits.

However, the most exciting sighting of the day was this pair of muskrats (Ondatra zibethicus) - a medium-sized, brown, aquatic rodent that build dens on the water just like beaver. But one distinguishable characteristic is their vertically flattened tail, which was clearly observed when I was watching them swim. They were feeding on some kind of plants in the pond. Never seen a muskrat in person, I was running around the pond trying to get decent picture with my digital camera. And these were the best that I got.

While I was on the bus heading home, I saw the clouds turning into a beautiful orange due to the sunset. So I skipped my bus stop and rode the bus all the way to Steveston to watch the sun set (in the windy cold temperature) in Garry Point Park.