Life and death at Burnaby Lake

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Yesterday, on the way home from the University, I decided to spend a bit of time at Burnaby Lake. A light warm rain was falling, and the lakeside was a quiet place to wander around and contemplate the life all around. The evening had a somber feel, and the photographic subject matter at hand echoed this.

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What  does it all mean? This towhee looked worried in the rain.

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New life: goslings were resting by their parents by the lakeside.

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On its own: a brown headed cowbird, fledged from its hosts nest was picking damselflies off the dockside.

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Lost: these three ducklings were searching for their mother.

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Master of contemplation: a Western Painted Turtle surveys the scene.

End of a short life: a gull shakes a baby Wood Duck before swallowing it alive.

 

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For the next generation: a female Aedes cinereus drinks my blood to provide protein for egg maturation.

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The essential transfer: mating gall midges on a flower.

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Top up: Aedes cinereus again, really going hard at my ankes.

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After swatting some Aedes cinereus, I share the bounty with a Lasius worker.

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Nearly dead: A Meadow Jumping Mouse (Zapus hudsonius) by the side of the trail. I have no idea what was wrong with this beautiful, normally speedy rodent.

2 thoughts on “Life and death at Burnaby Lake

  1. Pingback: Morsels For The Mind – 18/07/2014 › Six Incredible Things Before Breakfast

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