After a hiatus of a few weeks, I finally managed to get out this weekend for some shooting! I went with my friend Florian to Stanley Park on a gorgeous sunny Saturday, to search out the creatures of the early springtime.
![IMG_8008](http://ibycter.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IMG_8008.jpg)
The geese are getting frisky, cleaning up for the mating season. The males are getting all aggro as well, and we watched one fly right into a tree in a miscalculated attack on another perched nearby. He managed to fly away from that collision, luckily.
![IMG_8024](http://ibycter.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IMG_8024.jpg)
I noticed this eagle a little too late after seeing gulls flushing off the water. It was hunting birds, and I only managed to shoot one pass before it gave up.
![IMG_8031](http://ibycter.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IMG_8031.jpg)
There were lots of scaups on the lagoon, and the lighting conditions were quite nice even at midmorning.
![IMG_8032](http://ibycter.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IMG_8032.jpg)
It is too bad this bufflehead did not pass closer, as the lighting was just right for his beautiful iridescent head!
![IMG_8087](http://ibycter.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IMG_8087.jpg)
The sentry point for aggressive male geese…Seems like they do this every spring. The heron watches the silliness.
![IMG_8149](http://ibycter.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IMG_8149.jpg)
The bumblebee queens were out in force at a patch of heather…I think there were 3 species at least, but I was wrestling with some ill-charged flash batteries, and did not get many shots!
![IMG_8197](http://ibycter.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/IMG_8197.jpg)
An early syrphid! Later on we saw a Leptoglossus occidentalis as well, but I had to head home for some more writing.
Lovely series of Pre-Springtime Photos. Hard to beat Vancouver for this.