I’ve been experimenting with long exposures and photographing moving water (and chum salmon) down at the Puntledge. I don’t have the technique quite right yet and really need to get some neutral density filters so that I can get longer shutter speeds. It has been fun trying different things out and it’s forcing me to use my tripod (which I …
Puntledge River
A Few More Chums
A Chum Salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) and fall colours on the banks of the Puntledge River. The weather has been rather wet and dark over the last couple of weeks making photography challenging. Fortunately, the rain has brought a rise in the water levels of rivers emptying into the Courtenay River estuary (both the Tsolum River and the Puntledge River join …
A Few Dead Chums
You can smell when winter arrives in Courtenay, British Columbia, particularly if you’re driving through an area of town known as the “Puntledge Bowl.” Chum Salmon (Oncorhynchus keta) lie draped over the rocks in a side channel slowly decomposing and adding nutrients back into the river and surrounding land. At this time of year, the Pink Salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) are …
In the Pink
One of the sure signs of the season is the return of the fall salmon runs to the east side of Vancouver Island. Puntledge Park in Courtenay, BC is an excellent place to witness the phenomena of pink salmon returning to their birth stream to spawn Pink Salmon | Oncorhynchus gorbuscha Pink Salmon Spawning Spectacle! If you have experienced a …
American Dipper
I was out scouting locations for International Rock Flipping Day (September 20) and spotted an expert invertebrate hunter hard at work on the Puntledge River in Courtenay, British Columbia. There’s a lot going on in the Puntledge River right now. This American Dipper (Cinclus mexicanus) was working the river along with a whole host of gulls and other scavengers. The …