Personalized Gifts

The perfect greeting cards for bird lovers!  There's lots to be admired when you're a Hooded Merganser. Crests are your specialty, whether you're the male or the female. The ladies have lovely cinnamon crests, and the gentlemen inflatable black-and-white numbers complemented by a one-size-fits-all black tux for all seasons with a swath of reddish brown on their sides.

A Meeting of Hooded Mergansers

With its wide open spaces, the Boundary Bay Wildlife Management Area is home to many different species of songbirds as well as several raptors. I found the brown-tinged feathers on this rather bold Black-Capped Chickadee--who was anticipating a free handout of seeds--rather interesting. Perhaps a hybrid with a Chestnut-Backed Chickadee was one of its parents (or grandparents)?

Profile of a Black-Capped Chickadee

Living in a place where the colors change as the seasons each have moments in time to express themselves is always something wondrous to witness. Clockwise from top left: winterberries (Fall), rudbeckias (Summer), sun-dappled green leaves in the forest (Spring), and dusty miller (Winter).

Based on the original photography of W.H. Sim. All Rights Reserved. See more at zazzle.com/walkswithnature

Colors of the Changing Seasons Quadriptych

My first encounter with the dapper little Bonaparte's Gull in breeding plumage. This was the lone member of its species at Boundary Bay Regional Park on Global Big Day 2016!

Based on the original photography of W.H. Sim. All Rights Reserved. See more at zazzle.com/walkswithnature

Bonaparte's Gull at the Beach

Chasing the blue and gold: my first day with the 100mm macro lens. The allure of our front lawn California Lilac in full bloom with hundreds of bluish-purple clusters on the front lawn is irresistible to local honeybees and other pollinators. In fact, this bush resembles a purple beehive in late spring/early summer. 

Based on the original photography of W.H. Sim. All Rights Reserved. See more at zazzle.com/walkswithnature

Beautiful Honeybee on the California Lilac

Coyly flashing the photographer an enigmatic Mona Lisa smile while looking the supreme picture of calm and serenity, this Peking Duck (one of three escapees) preens its snow white feathers leisurely on the waters of a very busy Burnaby Lake/Piper Spit in late January 2019.

Based on the original photography of W.H. Sim. All Rights Reserved. See more at zazzle.com/walkswithnature

Peking Duck Smiling a Mona Lisa Smile in the Sun

The Hahn's Macaw, also known as a Red-Shouldered Macaw or Mini Macaw, is the smallest of all macaws. These South American expatriates are friendly birds, and their sweet dispositions make them popular pets.

Based on the original photography of W.H. Sim. All Rights Reserved. See more at zazzle.com/walkswithnature

Hahn's Mini Macaw / Red-Shouldered Macaw

The early blooming pyracantha bush has proven to be very popular with a number of fall and winter birds, including this American Robin. Earlier this fall, I spotted six of these thrushes feasting away at the same time!  My subject didn't need to share the pommes with another feathered friend, and didn't budge when I had the lens pointed her way from the front door. In fact, she continued to enjoy the bright red berries for a few moments more.

Based on the original photography of W.H. Sim. All Rights Reserved. See more at zazzle.com/walkswithnature

American Robin with a Pyracantha Pomme

Part brainteaser, part assemble-it-yourself art, this challenging and elegant wildlife-themed puzzle is great for improving muscle memory.

Being an escapee from an Oregon farm did not diminish the appeal of this adult male Mandarin Duck, whose flight to freedom was rewarded with a constant supply of bird seed and the company of Wood Ducks at Piper Spit. I was gifted with the privilege of his metamorphosis over many agonizingly slow months, as I watched him exchange his post-breeding plumage for the magnificent feathers and stunning color palette that make him a dream to photograph (and a hit with the females of his kind). Mother Nature left nothing to the artist's imagination when she made this creature! Photographed at Burnaby Lake in mid-October 2018.

Based on the original photography of W.H. Sim. All Rights Reserved. See more at zazzle.com/walkswithnature

Beautiful Mandarin Duck in the Pond Jigsaw Puzzle

Add a touch of nature to the bathroom with this wildlife-themed bath mat!  This late afternoon closeup of a male Wood Duck at the local wildlife habitat ensured that the fading winter sun's rays weren't casting harsh shadows on my subject. This handsome fellow clearly knew that I wanted solos of him, and was more than happy to oblige me with several angles. Based on the original photography of W.H. Sim. All Rights Reserved. See more at zazzle.com/walkswithnature

Wood Duck Drake on Gravel Bathroom Mat

This wildlife design features a White-Crowned Sparrow--a bird for every season in the Pacific Northwest--sitting in the tansy.

Design © W.H. Sim, All Rights Reserved. See more at zazzle.com/walkswithnature

White-Crowned Sparrow Sitting on the Tansy Face Mask

Part brainteaser, part assemble-it-yourself art, this challenging, wildlife-themed puzzle is great for improving muscle memory. 

I was surprised to learn that Black-Headed Grosbeaks will fly to the ground to eat seed; my previous encounters with these strikingly-colored finches was strictly up (way up!) in the trees. This handsome fellow showed no restraints about catching some sun on the boardwalk, either, and unwittingly gave me several closeups of himself in the process. Photographed at Campbell Valley Regional Park on July 2, 2016.

Based on the original photography of W.H. Sim. All Rights Reserved. See more at zazzle.com/walkswithnature

Closeup of a Handsome Black-Headed Grosbeak Jigsaw Puzzle

Add a little character to the office -- or office party -- with this whimsical, wildlife-themed tie.  This was a Christmas Day filled with plenty of birds in the backyard -- including this rather introspective Black-Capped Chickadee looking skyward on the pear tree. Sunny skies and chilly temps made my puffed up and sleepy feathered friends reluctant to stir from their perches, and that led to a few opportunities for closeups of birds I normally find difficult to get stills of.

A Black-Capped Chickadee on the Pear Tree Tie

Add a touch of nature to your travels with this wildlife-themed luggage tag! 

Here's the familiar adult form of a ten-spotted ladybug, captured wandering up the stalk of one of many sunflowers that suddenly sprouted in June 2014.

Based on the original photography of W.H. Sim. All Rights Reserved. See more at zazzle.com/walkswithnature

Ladybug on the Sunflower Stalk Luggage Tag

What you choose to build anticipation of a gift with is just as important as the gift itself. This gift bag, which features a bed of bicolored daffodils on a mountaintop, is perfect for spring garden parties, Mother's Day, or Easter egg hunts. Customize text to suit event / milestone.

Based on the original photography of W.H. Sim. All Rights Reserved. See more at zazzle.com/walkswithnature

A Meeting of Hooded Mergansers

A Meeting of Hooded Mergansers

More from Walks with Nature

Other personalized gifts from various stores