John Patrick
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jstcpatrick.bsky.social
John Patrick
@jstcpatrick.bsky.social
770 followers 94 following 230 posts
Photographer
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jstcpatrick.bsky.social
An Anna's Hummingbird lifts off - NASA Style!
At UBC, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

The dialog that appears all too briefly on the screen:
"We are at Launch minus 12 - Begin the countdown"
"We have lift off! The Hummingbird has cleared the canopy"
#Birds #AnnasHummingbird #Countdown #NASA
January 15, 2026 at 6:38 AM
jstcpatrick.bsky.social
A stately procession of eleven Surf Scoters, with a White-winged Scoter acting the joker by going the other way.

At Spanish Banks Beach, Vancouver, BC, Canada.

#Birds #SurfScoters #WhiteWingedScoter #ducks #DucksInARow
Photo: Nine Surf Scoters (six males and three females) in a line (with six paired up) from one side of the picture to the other facing right, with two of them only having their heads visible as they enter from the left. A tenth scoter is half in and half out of the picture on the right side with only his back visible. An eleventh scoter is swimming towards the line and away from the camera view . There is one duck swimming the other way, this is an adult male White-winged Scoter - they are all black and have a white swoop mark under their eyes and the tip of their beaks is orange. Male Surf Scoters have black feathers all over and have a white patch on the top of their heads and an extended white triangular patch on the back of their heads and necks. Their beaks are orange and white. The females are mostly black, including their beaks, but have a grey patch on their cheeks.
January 4, 2026 at 6:06 AM
jstcpatrick.bsky.social
A Wood Duck crossing the pond at Lelem Park, UBC, Vancouver, BC.

#Birds #WoodDuck #NaturePhotography
Photo: A Wood Duck, facing the camera but with its whole body turned three quarters to the right, is swimming in a dark pond. Its slightly distorted reflection precedes it while disturbed water behind it reflects the blue sky, the lightness of which stands out against the darkness of the pond. Reeds sticking out of the water a small distance behind the duck cast wavy reflections across the surface of the pond.
January 1, 2026 at 5:13 AM
jstcpatrick.bsky.social
A pair of Varied Thrushes in Lelem Park, at UBC, Vancouver, BC.

#Birds #VariedThrush
Photo: A pair of Varied Thrushes. One of the thrushes, near the top of the photo, is in profile facing left. The other has its back to the camera with its head turned to the right. It is standing in line with the head of the first bird. The birds are standing on the forest floor surrounded by broken twigs, grass, and weeds. Varied Thrush with their orange and black feathers are related to the North American Robin and if seen in silhouette they could be mistaken for each other. Although it looks as if they are in the middle of the forest, they were in fact at the edge of the woods and a clearing beside the community center for Lelem Village, UBC. At Vancouver, BC, Canada.
December 31, 2025 at 12:42 AM
jstcpatrick.bsky.social
A Bald Eagle eating a Skate it caught.

By Canyon Creek on Spanish Banks Beach, Vancouver, BC.

#Birds #BaldEagle
Photo: A Bald Eagle, facing the camera and turned three quarters to the right, is perched on a bare branch of a tree has the remains of a Skate ( a type of fish) in its claws. The long pointed tail of the skate can be seen below the eagle's tail feathers, but does not extend past them. The eagle is gazing down on something out of view to the right side of the image.
December 30, 2025 at 1:34 AM
jstcpatrick.bsky.social
Surf Scoters and White-winged Scoters flying low over the water of Burrard inlet with the Point Atkinson Lighthouse in the background.

At Vancouver, BC, Canada

#Birds #ducks #SurfScoter #WhiteWingedScoter #NaturePhotography
Photo: Thirty ducks, White-winged Scoters and Surf Scoters, are flying away from the camera. They are flying low over ruff, whitecapped water. In the background to the right side of the picture a lighthouse tower and a small building with a sloped roof are standing on rocks rising from the water. Behind the lighthouse is a forest in shadow on a hill that angles down across the picture from top right to bottom left. Behind that hill is a sunlit mountain covered in trees that go from waterline to the top of the picture that makes it look like a wall of trees.
December 27, 2025 at 5:32 AM
jstcpatrick.bsky.social
Foxes and magical lights.

At the VanDusen Gardens Festival of Lights, Vancouver, BC.

#artAdventCalendar #christmaslights #foxes #photography
Photo: A pair of foxes sculpted from sticks are surrounded by canes of lights. Green lights are arranged in a circle around the foxes with other coloured lights - red, yellow, purple and blue - in the background. The canes of lights do not exist, but are a happy accident created in the image by my camera shifting slightly as I took the picture. If you stand in the same spot in the Vandusen Gardens all you would see are light bulbs lying on the ground. The foxes do not show the effect of the camera moving as they were brightly lit. If you check the large fox's left ear you can see the blur of its ear due to the camera shift below it.
December 17, 2025 at 2:20 AM
jstcpatrick.bsky.social
Apparently some Starlings have the ability to perch on invisible antennas.

At UBC, Vancouver, BC

#Birds #Starlings #BirdPhotography
Photo: The image shows three Starlings and and antenna. The antenna consists of a tube that goes from bottom to top just to the left of centre. Half way up the pipe is a smaller tube that extends horizontally to the right (due to perspective it is angled down slightly). At the end of the tube is a vertical elongated loop of a smaller tube. Two starlings facing right are on the horizontal bar. The third starling, on the left side of the main tube appears to perched in mid-air on an invisible part of the antenna. In reality the bird had been perched on the top of the loop and had just hopped off with its feet extended and its wings close to its body.
December 11, 2025 at 2:15 AM
jstcpatrick.bsky.social
"On the 5th day of Christmas, my true love gave to me, five Goldfinches and a House Finch in a bare tree."

At UBC, Vancouver.

#Birds #Goldfinch #HouseFinch #12DaysOfChristmas
Photo: Five Goldfinches and one House Finch are perched on the bare branches of a tulip tree. Three of the Goldfinches are perched roughly one above the other on different branches at the centre left of the picture with the House Finch facing right just to the right of the top Goldfinch. The remaining two Goldfinches are on the same branch at the bottom right of the picture.
December 8, 2025 at 8:24 AM
jstcpatrick.bsky.social
A "hummingborb"

An Anna's Hummingbird perched on a branch of a cherry tree.

At UBC, Vancouver, BC.

#Birds #HummingBird #AnnasHummingbird #borb
Photo: A female Anna's hummingbird, with its head turned slight to image right, is perched on a twig of a branch of a cherry tree. Right behind it is a thicker twig of a branch that goes from the middle left to lower right of the image. The hummingbird's body is facing the camera and, as its head does not extend above its back and its tail is not visible, it appears to be as round as a ball or an orb. Hence the caption for the image A "hummingborb"
November 14, 2025 at 4:22 AM
jstcpatrick.bsky.social
"Me and my shadow"

A pair of Dark-eyed Juncos in a fir tree.

At UBC, Vancouver, BC.

#Birds #DarkEyedJunco
Photo: A pair of Dark-eyed Juncos perched at different levels of a branch of a fir tree angled across the image from bottom left to top right. Both Juncos are in profile facing picture left. The lower of the two birds is in the early morning sun, the other is a dark silhouette against the light coloured wall of a building serving as a background to the picture. The caption for the post, "Me And My Shadow" is a reference to a song of that name written in 1927 by Al Jolson, Billy Rose, and Dave Dreyer.
November 13, 2025 at 6:06 AM
jstcpatrick.bsky.social
A cloud wolf howls at the rising waning gibbous moon.

At Vancouver, BC.
Photo: In the centre of the picture is a slightly less than full moon. There is a cloud with an outline lit by the moon in the lower foreground that looks vaguely like wolf staring at the moon with its mouth open. Also in the picture, above the moon and to the left the star Elnath in the constellations Taurus and Auriga is visible. In Taurus it marks the tip of one of the bull's horns. The other tip star is Tianguan, which, if it were visible, would be below the moon. If it were a clear night the moon would be caught in the horns of Taurus.
November 8, 2025 at 3:54 AM
jstcpatrick.bsky.social
A pair of Starlings perched on antennas atop an apartment at UBC, Vancouver, BC.

#Birds #Starlings
Photo: A pair of Starlings perched on antennas. One, perched on a 3" tube antenna with a spike at the top, has its body facing left while its head is turned around to face right. The other is on a 1" elongated hoop antenna, it is facing right and appears to be hunched forward.
November 6, 2025 at 6:57 AM
jstcpatrick.bsky.social
Happy Halloween!

#Halloween #Halloween2025 #JackOLanterns #Pumpkins
Photo: Against a dark background seven Jack O'Lantern faces are visible - each one different with the words "Happy Halloween" written in the font "Buffied" (named after the Buffy the Vampire Slayer TV show). Left to right the pumpkin faces are: Scared looking up, Cat like, Frowning Vampire, cross-eyed goofy grinner, Odd with serrated eyes and mouth, half round eyes with pupils upside down T nose and serrated grin, and finally one with traditional triangle eyes triangle nose and two tooth grin. Happy Halloween!
October 31, 2025 at 4:22 PM
jstcpatrick.bsky.social
I was walking along the street when I had the oddest feeling that something was watching me. I turned and in a bush I spotted a wee eldritch berry beastie winking and blinking!

#HappyHalloween #weeeldritchberrybeastie #animation
October 31, 2025 at 3:34 AM
jstcpatrick.bsky.social
A Chestnut-backed Chickadee perched for a moment on a maple tree branch below my balcony.

At UBC, Vancouver, BC.

#Birds #ChestnutBackedChickadee #Chickadee
Photo: A Chestnut-backed Chickadee perched on a twig of a branch of a leafless maple tree. The bird is facing picture left and is seen from three-quarters from above (meaning its back and left side are both mostly visible.)
October 28, 2025 at 3:50 AM
jstcpatrick.bsky.social
A Ruby-crowned Kinglet paused briefly among the maple leaves.

At UBC, Vancouver, BC.

#Birds #RubyCrownedKinglet #Autumn
photo: A Ruby-crowned Kinglet is in profile facing the upper right corner of the picture. It is perched on a twig of a maple tree branch and is surrounded by leaves in the midst of turning from green through yellow orange and red.
October 26, 2025 at 2:51 AM
jstcpatrick.bsky.social
Vaccines Save Lives
jatetro.bsky.social Jason "The Germ Guy" Tetro @jatetro.bsky.social · Oct 22
If you believe #vaccines help to save lives and keep us all safe - then share the slogan and repost the logo that defines their use.
#VaccinesForLife #V4L
#vaccineswork
#vaccination
#GetVaccinated
A logo design for Vaccines 4 Life.
October 22, 2025 at 5:38 AM
jstcpatrick.bsky.social
A Lincoln's Sparrow on a log in Canyon Creek on Spanish Banks Beach, Vancouver, BC.

#Birds #Sparrow #LincolnsSparrow
Photo: A Lincoln's Sparrow in profile facing the left side of the picture is standing on a broken branch of a log that is out of frame. The background is filled by a green leafed shrub.
October 21, 2025 at 6:08 AM
jstcpatrick.bsky.social
Here's a Pacific Wren in profile looking like one of those wind-up hopping bird toys.

At Canyon Creek, Spanish Banks Beach, Vancouver, BC.

#Birds #PacificWren
Photo: A Pacific Wren in profile facing right with its body tilted such that its beak is pointing to the upper right corner of the photo.
October 16, 2025 at 6:47 AM
jstcpatrick.bsky.social
A female Bushtit on a rainy October morning.

At UBC, Vancouver, BC.

#Birds #Bushtit #Autumn
Photo: A female Bushtit in profile facing left. The bird is partially hidden by maple leaves that have an orange-yellow colour associated with autumn, though one is still green. Behind the bird to the left are green cherry tree leaves. We can tell this is a female Bushtit because its eye has a yellowish ring around the black pupil. The eyes of a male Bushtit are all black.
October 12, 2025 at 4:02 PM
jstcpatrick.bsky.social
The waning gibbous moon was near the Pleiades star cluster Thursday evening.

#Stargazing #Moon #ThePleiades #Astronomy #NightSky
1 of 2 Photo: A slightly less than full moon is in the lower left corner, it is surrounded by a bright halo of light. In the upper center of the picture are ten barely visible dots - these are the stars in the Pleiades star cluster whose light is being overwhelmed by the nearness and extreme brightness of the moon. 2 of 2 Photo (same as picture 1 but with labels): A slightly less than full moon is in the lower left corner, it is surrounded by a bright halo of light. In the upper center of the picture are ten barely visible dots - these are the stars in the Pleiades star cluster whose light is being overwhelmed by the nearness and extreme brightness of the moon. In this picture the stars have been labelled. From the bottom to top anticlockwise: Pleione, Atlas, Alcyone, Merope, Electra, Celaeno, Taygeta, Asterope 1 and 2, and Maia. Lines have also been added to connect them.
October 10, 2025 at 7:58 AM
jstcpatrick.bsky.social
A moment of tenderness as a female Wood Duck pecks the cheek of a male.

At the pond in Lelem Park, UBC, Vancouver, BC.

#Birds #WoodDucks #Ducks #kissing
Photo: A pair of Wood Ducks in a pond. The female, on the right side facing left, is pecking the cheek of a male, who is facing three quarters to the right.
October 10, 2025 at 3:03 AM
jstcpatrick.bsky.social
It's as if a switch was flipped as the maple leaves seem to have suddenly taken on the reds and oranges of autumn with the start of the month.

A Black-capped Chickadee in a maple tree

At UBC, Vancouver, BC.

#Birds #Chickadee #BirdPhotography #Autumn
Photo: A Black-capped Chickadee, in profile facing right, with its beak open caught in the midst of calling "Chicka-dee-dee-dee-dee!". Around it are maple leaves, a few still green, some darkening to red, others bright orange. Autumn is here.
October 4, 2025 at 1:31 AM
jstcpatrick.bsky.social
A Wood Duck on the wood rail of a wood deck.

At Lelem Park, UBC, Vancouver, BC.

#Birds #birdphotography #WoodDuck #duck
Photo: An adult male Wood Duck stands in profile facing right on a wooden handrail.
September 27, 2025 at 4:34 PM