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Springtime is a time of green ... and blues and other beautiful hues! Nothing sets the honeybees abuzz like the huge California Lilac that's blooming with hundreds of bluish-purple clusters on the front lawn not once, but twice in a year. In fact, this bush resembles a giant purple beehive from late spring through early summer. Photographed in the spring of 2016.

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

Save the Honeybees Pollinating California Lilac Magnet

"Little Red" sitting next to lots of red: a handsome male House Finch poses next to some tasty hawthorn / mountain rose berries (a favorite with many year-round feathered residents) in the Boundary Bay Wildlife Management Area.

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

House Finch with Hawthorn Berries Magnet

Cute Kinglet Songbird Causes Stir in the Fir Magnet

Get a leg up on style with these whimsical, wildlife-inspired capri leggings! Personalize with your initial or monogram and catchphrase on the waistband.  

This is my second visit to Surrey's Elgin Heritage Park, and I really wished to see a Golden-Crowned Kinglet again, my first photos of the diminutive but high-energy songbird on a deciduous tree being nothing but blurs.

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

WWN Golden-Crowned Kinglet Causes a Stir in the Fir (I)

Far easier to distinguish than Tundra Swans and Trumpeter Swans by virtue of its facial knob and bright orange bill, a Mute Swan shows off its elegant plumage as it leisurely plies the waters of Lost Lagoon at Stanley Park.

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

Profile of a Mute Swan Magnet

Easily recognizable from far away by virtue of their enormous bills, Northern Shovelers usually don't allow closeups. While they will generally not fly off at the first sight of humans, they do keep themselves at a significant distance from our cameras and spotting scopes, frequenting nearby bodies of water or sandbars. This fellow, on the other hand, was just inches from me, feeding just inches from the shore at the local wildlife habitat for quite a few moments before moving on.

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

Closeup of a Handsome Northern Shoveler Duck Magnet

I'd hardly call a Spotted Towhee a cute little bird. The red eyes on this large sparrow are mesmerizing and can best be described as eerie; and the black, white, reddish-brown plumage it wears all year round are "power colours". Photographed at Stanley Park's Lost Lagoon on a chilly afternoon in late November 2015.

This photo was selected by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, to be featured in its "Backyard Birds and Blossoms" Coloring Book (release date Spring 2017). 

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

Profile of a Spotted Towhee Magnet

An overcast day is best for capturing the scintillating pink balaclava of the Anna's hummingbird, but that doesn't mean the subject will be any closer! Sitting on the old plum tree is the adult male Anna's, who was (eventually) given the ouster/bill/boot by a visiting female Rufous hummingbird a in the mid-spring of 2015.  Based on the original photography of W.H. Sim. All Rights Reserved. See more at zazzle.com/walkswithnature

Anna's Hummingbird: This King Wears a Pink Crown Magnet

With the deep blue of the water in the background, I could not have asked for better light or a better pose with this shot (I did hope to be a little closer to my subject, though!) Three of these very active and adorable buntings were hopping up and down the shoreline at the Tsawwassen Ferry Jetty on a sunny but very breezy evening! Lapland Longspurs are delightful little songbirds that winter in Metro Vancouver but spend their summers in the high Arctic. Photographed on October 17, 2016.

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

Lapland Longspur on a Sunlit Log Magnet

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

It's always a wonderful moment when our subjects seek us out instead of the other way around! A particularly bold American Robin approaches our picnic table to stare at us -- perhaps he was hoping that we had worms or berries with us?

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

A Curious and Hopeful American Robin Round Pillow

Add a little character to the office -- or office party -- with this floral-themed tie!

This stunning bearded iris germanica amazed me with a multi-colored splendor of red, yellow, and white. Photographed in early June 2017.

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

Elegant Multi-Colored Bearded Iris Germanica Neck Tie

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

I couldn't find an angle I liked with this vivid two-tone Monsella tulip until I did a few macro shots of it, and the seeming randomness of the streaks of red running rampant through this bright yellow flower seemed to me like a chaotically natural expression of art.

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

Elegant Two-Tone Red Gold Monsella Tulip Throw Blanket

I discovered this small pacific tree frog in the backyard. How small is it? Well, the blades of grass look thick in this photo--that should give you an idea. 

The golf ball-sized hopper didn't do all that much hopping, and that let me walk the camera around it for 10 minutes, getting several closeups and different angles.

Quirky One-Sided Dialog with a Small Green Frog

Add a touch of nature to treasured memories and moments with this wildlife-themed binder! By far, Columbian Ground Squirrels are the most entertaining wildlife at Manning Park, and the first ones to greet us in the parking lot of Manning Park Resort. These Prairie Dogs of the West were positioned near their network of holes in the ground (or in rotted tree stumps) and often calling in an upright position like meerkats or groundhogs (when they weren't chasing each other around or kissing). We found plenty at Manning Park Resort and Lightning Lake (particularly near the picnic tables). Columbian Ground Squirrels spend the short summer bulking up on fat reserves for their hibernation period, which lasts for seven months!

A Twitchy-Nosed Columbian Ground Squirrel 3 Ring Binder

A Showstopping Ruddy Turnstone Serving Tray

Ruddy Turnstone Shorebird at the Beach Canvas Print

This gorgeous loner, a late migrant Ruddy Turnstone, had no qualms about the myriad of lenses pointed his way on an early sunny afternoon at the south side of the Tsawwassen Ferry Jetty. From time to time, he would amaze us with his extraordinary feats of strength (this involved lifting clumps of kelp much bigger than himself, in his search for grubs and other tasty aquatic comestibles that shorebirds such as he would find irresistibly delectable -- great comic relief). Once in a while, he would pause to show us his best side (all of them). Clearly, he knew that the spotlight was on him, and he used it to his best advantage. My first encounter with this well-camouflaged shorebird, and another bird for my life list.

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

WWN Ruddy Turnstone at a Winter Beach

Add a touch of nature to your laptop or computer with this whimsical, wildlife-themed mousepad. 

Spunky songbird? Check. Puffball with a peaked coif? Check. Capable of balancing a seed on the tip of its tongue? Check. Many photo ops with a bold and beautiful Lincoln's Sparrow. One always makes sure to visit the backyard in the winter and mid-spring. Photographed in late February 2018, after a few days of heavy snowfall that deposited 6-7 inches in Metro Vancouver.

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

Save the Honeybees Pollinating California Lilac Magnet

Save the Honeybees Pollinating California Lilac Magnet

More from Walks with Nature

Other magnets from various stores