Vancouver Island Photography by Brad Powell, see Nanaimo, Tofino, Ucluelet, Bamfield, Victoria, Genoa Bay, Maple Bay, Duncan, Chemainus, Qualicum Beach and more! : Animals

Animals Galleries

Greater Vancouver Zoo 2008 : I took a trip to the Greater Vancouver Zoo this Easter. I went for the opportunity to photograph exotic animals but actually did not know much about the zoo other than the the bad press it had gotten concerning an elephant that was removed and moved to an elephant reserve in the US. I found the experience overall to be sort of sad. The animals to me at least did not appear to be happy or active and some were older and in obviously bad condition. Maybe it was the lower temperatures of an early BC spring day? But on the other hand their grizzly bear was brought there as an orphaned cub who would not have survived in the wild.

Greater Vancouver Zoo 2008

Pacific Northwest Raptor Center 2008 : This was the second field trip for the Harbour City Photography Club of Nanaimo to the Pacific Northwest Raptor Canter in Duncan. It was another great day and the flying demonstrations were even better. We saw eagles, hawks, falcons, an owl and even a turkey vulture.

Pacific Northwest Raptor Center 2008

Pacific Northwest Raptor Center 2006 : Our photography club toured the Pacific Northwest Raptor Center in Duncan this summer. It was a wonderful day full of great photo ops and their magnificent raptors.

Pacific Northwest Raptor Center 2006

Nitnat Bear Watching 2007 : On October 5th, 2007, 4 photographers (Norma, Brad, Wayne, and last but not least Pete) from the Harbour City Photography Club in Nanaimo took a guided trip with Kenzie's Fishing Adventures from the Cowichan River Wilderness Lodge to watch the black bears of the Nitinat Valley feeding on the fall salmon runs in the Nitinat River. We met our guide Fred at 7:30am in Lake Cowichan and loaded our gear into his truck. He had warned us the road to the Nitinat River would be rough and was he ever right! That day we saw 10 bears on different parts of the river. We were also fortunate enought to see 3 herds of beautiful Roosevelt Elk! The elk were spotted in the forest just outside Youbou and were very tolerant in letting us get close enough to get some good shots. Listening to the big bull elk bugle and talk to the rest of the herd was something I will never forget.

Nitnat Bear Watching 2007

Parrot Refuge in Coombs 2007 : "The Parrot Refuge in Coombs is a fascinating place to visit. They are doing wonderful work rescuing these beautiful and intelligent birds and giving them a safe place to live. Be warned...wear the earplugs in there!

Parrot Refuge in Coombs 2007

Vancouver Aquarium 2007 : I recently spent a morning shooting at the Vancouver Aquarium. It was fun and fascinating but the combination of moving subjects and low-light made for some challenges.

***JUST CLICK ON THE SLIDESHOW BUTTON TO VIEW A SLIDESHOW OF ALL THE IMAGES IN THIS GALLERY***

Vancouver Aquarium 2007

Birds :

Frogs :

Snakes :

Misc. Animal Shots :

Misc. Animal Shots

Our Island Deer :

Our Island Deer

Denman Island Eagles Nest : In 2008 I made several trips to photograph a very unique Bald Eagle nest on Denman Island. The nest is located in Boyle Point Park on the south end of the Island. You have a cliff-side view down into the nest and also across to the Chrome Island Lighthouse. It is a wonderful way to watch the everyday lives of the chicks and their parents. Like the Nature Channel but only in real life!

Denman Island Eagles Nest

Winter Bird Watching : Norma and I spent a chilly winter day looking for photo opportunities along the shoreline from Nanaimo all the way to the Big Qualicum River

Winter Bird Watching

Roosevelt Elk on Vancouver Island : A collection of Roosevelt Elk images taken mainly in the Cowichan Valley and Youbou area on Vancouver Island

Roosevelt Elk on Vancouver Island

Henry the Blue Heron : This is Henry the Blue Heron. He lives at Beacon Hill Park in Victoria. Supposedly he is the surviving member of a large Blue Heron nesting colony that was based in the park until a few years, ago when a single female bald eagle attacked the colony and its nests full of chicks hundreds of times and finally drove the survivors out of the park.

He is fed fish daily by a very cranky old woman who lives across the street from the park.

If you are lucky enough to be there at feeding time you can get within 10 feet of Henry before he takes off back to his perch in a tree.

Henry the Blue Heron

At The Feeder 2009 (We're Only Here For The Free Food) : A sample of some of the beautiful birds that have hung around our feeder this year.

At The Feeder 2009 (We're Only Here For The Free Food)

Ucluelet Black Bears : In mid-September a group of avid wildlife photographers from Nanaimo made the trip across Vancouver Island to Ucluelet to photograph the black bears at the Thornton Creek Hatchery. The Thronton Creek Hatchery supports large runs of chinook, coho, and chum salmon. The salmon were actively spawning in the creek and we saw many bears that day going up and down the creek and across the tidal flats in pursuit of the salmon. One bear even ended up walking down the boardwalk that follows one side of the creek, causing just a little bit of excitement amongst us photographers! This is a very beautiful spot and a great spot to photograph black bears going after salmon.

Ucluelet Black Bears

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