Personalized Gifts

 Invitations & Stationery

 Postcards

With a warm winter and early spring in Metro Vancouver, many flowers and fruits were ripening well ahead of schedule -- including these bright orange mountain ash (rowan) berries, which aren't normally "ready" for the birds to eat until mid-July. Photographed in late June 2016 in Surrey's Elgin Park.

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

Orange Mountain Ash Rowan Berries Postcard

I finally got the opportunity to photograph the cheerily colored American Goldfinch. When he isn't eating sunflower or nyjer seeds, the male likes to perch on the bamboo poles that serve as stakes for the potted plants; in this photo, he's on the unedo bush. Photographed in the second week of June 2016.

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

American Goldfinch Songbird on Arbutus Tree Postcard

It's not a Pacific Northwest winter unless you see the Varied Thrush. One of my favorite backyard birds to see (and a highly elusive one at that), this songbird has a stunning beauty to match the hauntingly beautiful timbre of its song. This handsome fellow was foraging in the backyard with several other wintering birds when I photographed him from the second floor--giving me a rare bird's eye view of t him. We almost never see them during the summer when they spend that season northwards in Alaska, but the call of the colder seasons of the year brings them back to us. Photographed in mid-January 2017.

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

Stunning Varied Thrush Songbird on Lawn Postcard

This isn't the first time I've seen a ladybug which wasn't red and spotted, but it is certainly the first one I've been able to photograph and count the number of spots on its carapace! This beneficial insect is busy nibbling the aphids on the old plum tree leaves (note: this leaf is *not* wet; it is covered in aphid poo!)

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

18-Spotted Yellow Ladybug on Sticky Leaf Postcard

Even one of the largest bird species in North America starts life as a small chick. My first encounter with this colt happened just a few days after it hatched in the third week of May 2016 at the Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary, where its parents are long-term residents. Although mom and dad can put up a formidable defense against potential predators, thanks to their long, sharp bills and powerful legs, losses still can happen in the first month of its life. This was the only chick to survive to that important milestone in Metro Vancouver in 2016. Photographed in the third week of June.

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

Portrait of a Sandhill Crane Colt Postcard

With a bright white bib that looks like the cravats sported by the well-heeled during Elizabethan and Victorian times, this handsome domestic Mallard (of the Duclair designer "persuasion") was definitely the odd duck out at the local wildlife sanctuary. That didn't stop this debonair duck from charming the photographers in his midst, and moving his way to the forefront of the feeding frenzy that included many, many wild Mallards. 

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

Suave Domestic Mallard Duclair Bibbed Odd Duck Postcard

Doing a flyby over the local ferry causeway at very close range on an early and blustery afternoon was this adult Ring-Billed Gull. I found this photo, which captures the downstroke, to be even more dramatic than the upstroke. 

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

Breathtaking Ring-Billed Gull in Flight Postcard

This male Pekin Robin decided to satisfy his curiosity of the approaching humans, and flew into a large tropical tree to observe us from under the large leafy cover. Our initial encounter was all too brief and disappointing, but this second meeting yielded the opportunity to study this wonderfully dressed and beautiful singer in much greater detail and length. Our subject must have noticed this, as he was unusually still and not hopping from branch to branch!

An Indian subcontinent native, this Old World babbler is so popular that many other countries want to claim it for their own, and so, it goes by other aliases, including Pekin Robin, Pekin nightingale, Japanese hill robin, and Japanese nightingale. 

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

Colorful Leiothrix Pekin Robin Songbird Postcard

Nothing says "you complete me" or "your better/other half" than these whimsical, wildlife-themed lovers' mugs.

This handsome fellow actually made a beeline to the wharf from which I was photographing a trio of Double-Crested Cormorants ... apparently all these avian "marina users" are quite comfortable around humans. Although they are the Queen's birds, Mute Swans are considered an invasive species in North America on account of their natural behaviours, which upset the native ecosystem, and efforts have been made to keep their numbers down. However, my subject, is just one of fewer than 300 wild Mute Swans who inhabit British Columbian waters.

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

Mute Swans Coffee Mug Set

Add a touch of nature to the bathroom with this wildlife-themed bath mat! 

There's always a joker in the family--at least, that's what the expression on this drake seems to suggest. With autumn returns Northern Shovelers to the George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary. These long-billed ducks generally hang out with flocks of their kinds or Mallards. They do not come when birdseed is offered, but can be seen straining their food from the bodies of water they swim in. I have never seen one set foot on land--when they groom or rest, they do so on spits of land far from shores. Photographed in late November 2016.
 
Based on the original photography of W.H. Sim. All Rights Reserved. See more at zazzle.com/walkswithnature

Colorful Northern Shoveler Ducks in the Marsh Bath Mat

Use this floral-themed trivet to protect delicate surfaces, tables, and countertops from hot pots, or as an accent piece for the dining room or kitchen.

Strikingly colored winterberries have already ripened by late fall at the Boundary Bay Wildlife Management Area in Delta, British Columbia, Canada. One can't help but be dazzled by the scarlet masses of this deciduous holly tree, which keep their crimson hues all the way through winter (if they haven't already been eaten by birds).

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

Bright Red Winterberries Holly Tree Berries Trivet

Add a touch of nature and elegance to the kitchen or dining room with this wildlife-themed sandstone coaster. 

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 Coaster

One of my favourite birds to photograph, and one of the most elusive as well. This lovely male Varied Thrush was a bit stunned but none the worse for wear after flying into a window, but he chose to take five on the cherry tree -- giving me time to capture his beauty from the upper floor sunroom, some 15 feet away.

A Stunned But Safe Beautiful Varied Thrush Magnet

Add a touch of nature to the living room or bedroom with this floral-themed blanket!

These hydrangea flowers were grown from a donation in which all but one of the three donor plants had died--but the sole survivor proved to be extremely prolific, and generated big fluffy blossoms in the softest pastel shades of pink, purple, and blue.

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

Heavenly Pink and Baby Blue Hydrangeas Throw Blanket

Truly an "out-of-water" flower! With the exception of its mesmerizing spore-like center, this large blue anemone (not the sea-dwelling creature) could almost be a daisy. Photographed at the VanDusen Botanical Gardens.

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

Orange Mountain Ash Rowan Berries Postcard

Orange Mountain Ash Rowan Berries Postcard

More from Walks with Nature

Other postcards from various stores