For a campground only ten minutes drive from central Nanaimo, Living Forest Campground has a lot of wildlife around it. Then again, a river with spawning salmon all around for food is going to attract a lot of animals regardless of civilization being nearby.
Everyday I have headed out to the marquee viewpoint at Living Forest Campground, in part due to the birds and animals that may be seen in the river, estuary and skies above.
 |
| Eagle makes a sudden turn |
Eagles are common here right now – all going after the fish here. I noticed this bird making a sudden turn and luckily got my camera on him right away.
 |
| Eagle comes in dive bombing |
The Eagle was interested in something the immature Eagle (?) and the seagull were at, but wings went a flapping when he swooped in to take over the show!
 |
| Eagle splash and grab |
The Eagle grabs something out of the water, sending the seagull a packing, and the other eagle indignantly flapping his protest.
 |
| Caption |
I don’t see anything other than some dead plants in his talons – it was a lot of commotion for little gain me thinks.
 |
| Eagle chasing crow |
Eagles are the king of birds in this area, they certainly act it; swooping in as they please and chasing off any bird they don’t like in their space. But there is plenty of fish to go around – the eagles just seem to remind everyone else that they get the first pickings of anything they want.
 |
| Eagle in closer |
I have to be patient to wait for an eagle to come close enough, yet still be in the sunlight. The viewpoint faces north with a hill and big trees behind me – anything close is in the shade this time of year with the low sun, even in the middle of the day. But I get something half decent eventually for an eagle shot.
 |
| Younger eagle |
There are many immature eagles around too, just a little lower on the pecking order for the salmon around here.
 |
| Seagulls follow the seals around hoping for scraps |
There are many other birds around too – and seals. I realized pretty quickly I wasn’t going to get a good close up seal shot here – the close seals are always in the shade here this time of year, and the sun on the water is too far away, when it does shine at all. But a little action of seagulls following along isn’t too bad.
 |
| Otter underneath me at the view point |
There was a group of four otters that nested right under my view point. While things are a little dark down there, this is so close I got at least one of them in a decent pose.
 |
| Spawned out salmon swims by |
One animal that surprised me was the salmon that slowly swam by as I was down by the river boat access. You could see this was a tired out fish. If you are lucky enough to make it to spawning as a salmon, it kicks the shit out of you, then you die. Try to make that into a feel good movie, Disney.
There are many other kinds of birds around too, mostly a little far away for me to get a good photo of, or too fast! But I keep trying, see if anything else good comes around to be photographed in my remaining time here!
