Sometimes you stumble upon a place looking for something, unaware that there are so much more to explore. Last week I drove out to British Columbia, our neighbour province to the west. While in Surrey, I searched for birding spots in the area and decided on driving down to Blackie Spit by the coast.
The Spit is named after an early settler Walter Blackie. Way before Walter and his fellow Europeans arrived here, the place was called “Tsee-wahk” Point, indigenous language for “strawberry” or “elderberry”, a place rich in food. Their saying goes: “When the tide is out, my table is set.”
Blackie Spit is located where inlets from Boundary Bay flow in. Zooming out would be the Strait of Georgia:
I followed a path that put me inside a fairytale:
In such a setting, I shouldn’t have been surprised to stumble upon a Great Blue Heron but I was as I looked across a stream…
and just a few steps away along the path, another one. This time, right in front of me up on a tree:
Never have I seen a GBH so up close and personal, and not flying away even when I stepped right underneath it to take a picture. No cropping of the photo here.
As I walked further along the path, absorbing the stunning view of the outlet, I found yet another one. Three GBH in a row… I’ll call that a good birding day.
Or, was I dream walking? Can you see it too?
You found it?
Of course, there must be an abundance of food for them here, as the indigenous people had known a long time ago. I could see why when I saw this mural. I was in salmon habitat:
So, I was indeed dream walking…
–––––––––––––––
Ripple Effects 
Just lovely!! Thank you, Arti! God bless, C-Marie
LikeLiked by 1 person
Glad I’ve made this ‘discovery’… will definitely visit Blackie Spit again as there are more to be explored. The photo of the red barn, later I found out that it was the historic Dunsmuir Farm.
LikeLike
What a good stumble upon you found. Beautiful area and photos. I’m happy you saw those Great Blue Herons. It would have been closer for you to drive to my house. 🙂 Just go south from Christina Lake about 60 miles. Too bad the border is still an issue.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ellen, would love to visit your neck of the woods. My dream road trip is to drive down the west coast from Vancouver to Puget Sound then out to Olympic National Park. Until the borders reopen, I’ll do some dream walking there. 🙂
LikeLike
Arti,
So thrilled for you! What stunning photography!
Yinling
LikeLiked by 1 person
Another road trip in my head… see my dream route above in my reply to Ellen. 🙂
LikeLike
What a glorious place! I’d love to spend a day or a dozen there. I get so used to seeing the great blue herons I hardly notice them, but I’m glad you had them as a special treat during your visit. I especially enjoyed that indigenous saying: “When the tide is out, my table is set.” We don’t have such variable tides, but there are times when low tide makes the little clams accessible, and our small shorebirds surely are thinking the same thing.
LikeLike
Wow — I have never been that close to a heron. The photos are fabulous, especially those under-the-tree ones. And it does look like dreamland. A perfect haven. I’m so glad you went — and shared it with us, too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
A place I’ll revisit for sure, for there were so much more I hadn’t seen. I’m sure more birds down the path, which I didn’t finish. See the red barn in one of the pics? That’s the historic Dunsmuir Farm. I only found out about it after I came home.
LikeLike
Thanks for sharing you dream walk Arti! So many GBH in one day is fantastic! Will you go visit the area again sometime do you think?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Definitely. There’s so much to explore there. You see the red barn in one pic above, I found out after I came back that it’s the Dunsmuir Farm, an historic site. I only saw it from a distance. And I hadn’t even finished walking that path yet. 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Yes Arti, a good birding day always includes a sighting of a GBH. I love the way you write about exploring this place! And salmon habitat! Wow.
On another note about series watching, have you seen the Netflix series “Click Bait?” Twisty and painful murder mystery.
LikeLike
No I haven’t. Thanks for the heads up. I’ll have to check it out. 😉
LikeLike
Wow, a dreamland for sure. I love all the colors of your fairytale. Beautifully captured.
LikeLike
It was quite a serendipitous discovery. Glad I found the place. 🙂
LikeLike