Martin Smart Wildlife


 

Pacific Herring Spawn

(Parksville Bay - Deep Bay)

 

Every spring on Vancouver Island we enjoy the spectacle of the Pacific Herring Spawn which generally takes place from late February to early April,  particularly along the east coast of the Island between Parksville Bay and Deep Bay. This is one of the major spawning regions for Pacific Herring in Canada providing an abundance of food and attracting literally thousands of water birds  and other marine mammals such as seals and sea-lions,  and indeed fishermen, to the local beaches and bays. The event is a photographer's paradise and I have put together the following short compilation of images, mostly taken during the 2008 season, which focuses on gulls and sea-lions:

 

 

Gull_Frenzy_2527xl.jpg

 

Gull_Frenzy_2989xl.jpg

 

Gull_Frenzy_2987xl.jpg

 

Gull_Frenzy_2986xl.jpg

 

Gull_Frenzy_2970xl.jpg

 

Gull_Frenzy_2994xl.jpg

 

Gull_Frenzy_82836xl.jpg

 

Gull_Frenzy_82837x.jpg

 

Gull_Frenzy_82838xl.jpg

 

Gull_Frenzy_82839xl.jpg

 

Gull_Frenzy_82841xl.jpg

 

Gull_Frenzy_82842xl.jpg

 

Gull_Frenzy_82843ax.jpg

 

Gull_Frenzy_82846x.jpg

 

Gull_Frenzy_82849x.jpg

 

Gull_Frenzy_82850ax.jpg

 

Gull_Frenzy_82851ax.jpg

 

Gull_Frenzy_82854ax.jpg

 

Gull_Frenzy_82860ax.jpg

 

California_Sea-Lion_2894x.jpg

 

Steller_Sea-Lion_2899ax.jpg

 

Steller_Sea-Lions_2875x.jpg

 

Steller_Sea-Lions_2882x.jpg

 

Steller_Sea-Lions_2888x.jpg

 

Herring_Fishing_-_Deep_Bay_2904x.jpg

 

Herring_Fishing_-_Deep_Bay_2905xl.jpg

 

Herring_Fishing_-_Deep_Bay_2910xl.jpg

 

Herring_Fishing_-_Deep_Bay_2936xl.jpg

 

Herring_Fishing_-_Deep_Bay_2937xl.jpg

 

Index Page Latest Images