It’s finally full-on summer here on Vancouver Island, which means it’s peak beach season! I do love a moody, rainy beach too, but there’s something soothing about being able to just relax in warm sunshine and breathe salty, moist air.

I’ve been to a few beaches recently, so I wanted to share some of the highlights. I’m starting with my good friends, the great blue herons, but I’ve also enjoyed seeing beach flowers and other seaside creatures.

Two great blue herons are wading in a shallow lagoon in front of the ocean. The image is an overall soft blue tone.

A dark pink rose-like flower with a bright yellow centre against a dark green leafy background.

I’ve seen deer tracks on beaches many times, but this was the first time I’ve seen them there in person. I’m pretty sure I saw three different individuals on this particular walk and they all seemed to be grazing on seaweed. It’s fun to see that they’re there in the morning sometimes.

A deer is standing looking toward the camera among big grey boulders in front of green grasses blurred in the background.

And I can’t resist the cute roundness of harbor seals lounging. And the ocean really was that blue colour! It was a really bright morning and everything just seemed to be shining.

A harbor seal is lounging in the distance on a very small perch in a very blue ocean.

I’ve seen quite a lot of birds feeding on fish or carrying fish away and I find it very fascinating! I’m sure the fish don’t appreciate it, but it is the world we live in and I’m really into capturing those kinds of moments. I put this picture of a bald eagle soaring with a fish in their talons next as the tame intro to this section of birds eating fish, and a very feather-focused image after that (with just the tiniest fish in one of the heron’s mouths). But if you don’t want to see a heron gulping down the biggest fish ever, don’t scroll down! (But I think it’s incredible.)

A bald eagle is soaring over a calm blue ocean with a very large fish in their talons.

Two great blue herons are landing in a shallow lagoon with their wings outstretched and their feathers all fluttery. One of them has a very small fish wriggling in their beak.

A great blue heron has a fish much bigger than their head partway in their mouth. The fish is bright yellow and brown. The heron has a very determined, kind of angry-looking expression as they’re clearly putting effort into managing the fish.

I mean, wow! What a horrible experience for that fish and I can’t imagine that feels great going down for the heron? I kind of wanted to do a whole blog post just of the series of pictures I got of the heron spearing and managing to consume this fish, but it seemed a little gruesome, so this is the one I settled on sharing.

Speaking of interesting heron behaviour, have any of you ever seen a heron doing this weird satellite dish, sun-warming pose? It kind of looks like an ancient deity accepting the worship of supplicants or a sun-bather with one of those reflector things. This is the only time I’ve ever seen this behaviour and it had me curious if it was just this one bird being a weirdo or if this is something they do sometimes.

A great blue heron standing on a rock in the ocean has their wings folded partway like a human would look with elbows out and hands on hips.

I was walking at a very low tide and saw a whole lot of crabs scurrying for cover, but I love this image of a whole group hiding out under a rock.

A group of dark red crabs is huddled together in a sliver of space under a boulder. They’re looking out at the camera and seem nervous.

Tell me about the interesting nature things you’re seeing this summer in the comments!

If you liked these photos, you can also follow me on my nature Instagram account @AndreaRangelOutside.

Summer Beach Walks

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