Trophic focusing in Bute Inlet

It has been absolutely wonderful to be out in the wild for the past month! The wilderness around Sonora Island really has a feel...a wild feel...I think its the huge glaciated mountains, strong currents, and the plethora of animal voices. I've been lucky enough to get out on the water and take advantage of the scenery and its has been breathtaking. While posing as a fisherfolk (getting my fishing licence, pretending to be interested in downriggers, rods and reels etc.), I've been getting all hot and bothered by the bio-action taking place before my eyes -dolphins leaping, birds flapping, fish jumping. What I've come up with to tie it all together is this:

Trophic focusing is defined as an area in which 2 or more levels of the oceanic food web (to generalize -level 1: phytoplankton*, level 2: zooplankton** and juvenile fish, level 3: larger fish and birds, level 4: marine mammals, large birds and humans) are congregated in one area.

*Phytoplankton are photosynthetic organisms that cannot swim against any current. These are considered autotrophic, which means that these guys can "make" their own food.
** Zooplankton are animal-like and feed on phytoplankton and other zooplankton and they also cannot swim against a current. They are considered heterotrophic, which means they get their food from other organisms.

So, unfortunately I cannot start at the bottom because phytoplankton are typically microscopic, but I can start at juvenile fish.

Juvenile fish are pretty hard to identify at this stage (I'm guessing Herring babies), but here they are, viewed in the millions from the side of the boat in Bute Inlet. At this time of the year in temperate waters, primary productivity is soaring (lots of phytoplankton for fish to eat because the sun shining!)

Pacific Herring Clupea pallasi where jumping like crazy! Looked and sounded as if it was raining.  These are important bait fish for salmon and others.

One action shot!

These Herring brought the Gulls.

And the Pacific White-sided Dolphins Lagenorhynchus obliquidens.

There must have been thousands in the inlet that day, all feeding on the Herring.

They would come right up to the boat, play in the wake and splash around.

And Finally, the Humans. With all their fishing technology and brains looking for the salmon. 

Thanks for reading!

-Barnacle Babe

Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)

Anna's Hummingbird Calypte anna 

These Hummingbirds are very common in our parts, as they are the only hummingbird that overwinters here. They start reproducing very early in the year, some as early as January or February, and tend to have their babies leave their nest around now (March-April).

The male Anna's Hummingbird perched on a branch in Beacon Hill Park, Victoria. I tend to hear them before I spot them - they have a high pitched squeaking sound that is unmistakable. 

The pink iridescence of the male Anna's Hummingbird feathers is very distinctive and if you spot this colour, you'll be sure it's an Anna's. It can be hard to see if the light isn't reflecting just right (the feathers appear black with different angles) and with a female it is harder, as she will only have a 1-4 pink feathers below her bill. This one was caught on Royal Roads University campus while doing a bird banding workshop.

This is a momma (notice how drab she is) feeding her teenager. I spotted these two in Oakbay, Victoria. The teenager  's bill still needs to do some growing to measure up to an adults size, and sometimes the growth rings found on the bill is useful to age a bird.  

Springing into Action

So here we go. I've been thinking about doing this for so long now but have always put it off because of school responsibilities. Now, there is nothing stopping me! No guilt, no procrastinating, no pencil pushing.

This is my attempt to put my education to action. To share with friends and family the knowledge I've acquired throughout school and discuss the wonders of the world that surrounds us. My aim is to keep it short and sweet. Probably most of these posts will concern birds and plants, but I will try and include as much as the other taxa as possible: fungi, macroalgae (seaweeds), invertebrates (insects, crustaceans, anemones, jellies etc.), fish, amphibians, reptiles and mammals. I will try my best to include Latin names as well as common names, where they were founds, what are some key characteristics, and where they fit into the tree of life (who they are related to). Ill try my damnedest to be accurate and reliable... but I could be wrong and any help would be much appreciated.

Also, I will be having lots of fun trying out my new camera and taking on a role of wildlife photographer, so all the pictures posted will be my own that I have snapped with my own finger. I hope people will enjoy!

Anyways, I'm pretty excited. Hopefully this will inspire others to get out there and get observing! 

-Barnacle Babe

ps. anyone who sees anything, takes a picture of something of interest, send it to me!