Films & Videos

For updates visit my Youtube channel: @aristhought

If you're seeing a lot of flying insects around lately, those might be ants. Local ant colonies in Vancouver are currently in their nuptial flight season, and if weather conditions are right, you might spot thousands of alates dispersing from their colony to mate. Ant colonies reproduce by producing a huge number of winged virgin queens and males who leave the colony in sync with other colonies nearby (this is often triggered by environmental cues). These winged ants (alates) will mate in the air. Males die soon after, while females will remove their own wings and try to start a new colony somewhere new. This is a near impossible feat to accomplish, with only about one in a million queens succeeding (this is an optimistic estimate). *About* ------------------------------ Hi! I'm Jake (aka aristhought) and I'm passionate about nature and wildlife. As someone who lives in a big city, it is a joy to observe and document all the biodiversity right in the middle of our urban landscapes. It is my ongoing goal to foster curiosity and empathy about all the life we share this planet with, and to work on creating a kinder more sustainable future for them. You can also find me on aristhought.com and my photography on Instagram: @aristhoughtphotos
Anting is a way for birds to clean themselves. Ants release chemicals like formic acid which have protective anti-pathogenic properties. Birds will either pick up an ant and rub it over their feathers (active anting) or lie down and spread their feathers onto ant colonies (passive anting). Crows practice passive anting almost exclusively. *About* ------------------------------ Hi! I'm Jake (aka aristhought) and I'm passionate about nature and wildlife. As someone who lives in a big city, it is a joy to observe and document all the biodiversity right in the middle of our urban landscapes. It is my ongoing goal to foster curiosity and empathy about all the life we share this planet with, and to work on creating a kinder more sustainable future for them. You can also find me on aristhought.com and my photography on Instagram: @aristhoughtphotos
Saw this great blue heron while at Sunset Beach the other day, in the early evening. It was patiently resting and fishing near the shoreline rocks. I sat there for about an hour or so watching and filming from the distance (zoom lens), as it mostly spent the time standing completely still as herons do. I was very lucky to be able to capture the moments it suddenly moved to catch some dinner for itself! *About* ------------------------------ Hi! I'm Jake (aka aristhought) and I'm passionate about nature and wildlife. As someone who lives in a big city, it is a joy to observe and document all the biodiversity right in the middle of our urban landscapes. It is my ongoing goal to foster curiosity and empathy about all the life we share this planet with, and to work on creating a kinder more sustainable future for them. You can also find me on aristhought.com and my photography on Instagram: @aristhoughtphotos
A recently fledged juvenile crow tries to figure out a peanut - something that requires quite a bit of skill! This little one hasn't quite learned how to do it yet (it will eventually learn from its parents). Adult crows will often let their fledglings explore on their own for periods of time, keeping watch nearby but allowing the kids to try things for themselves. This is interpersed by periods of active teaching/learning where the adults will show their offspring key survival skills). *About* ------------------------------ Hi! I'm Jake (aka aristhought) and I'm passionate about nature and wildlife. As someone who lives in a big city, it is a joy to observe and document all the biodiversity right in the middle of our urban landscapes. It is my ongoing goal to foster curiosity and empathy about all the life we share this planet with, and to work on creating a kinder more sustainable future for them. You can also find me on aristhought.com and my photography on Instagram: @aristhoughtphotos #crow #birds
It was amazing to see a grey whale swimming in Vancouver's waters this April and May. Here is some video I captured on May 8 around English Bay, all filmed from a safe distance away with a zoom lens. The sun was setting and casting crepuscular rays through the clouds, and the shoreline was full of people watching and taking photos. It was quite the experience. It was also so beautiful to see other wildlife - seagulls, seals, many great blue herons around. Fun fact: grey whales feed by diving to the sea floor, then scooping up the sediment in their mouths as they roll (usually over to their right). The sediment is filtered through their baleen. They feed on small organisms like ghost shrimp and amphipods. Remember to stay at least 100 m away for the safety of the whale. It's likely quite hungry and should be left in peace to feed. *About* ------------------------------ Hi! I'm Jake (aka aristhought) and I'm passionate about nature and wildlife. As someone who lives in a big city, it is a joy to observe and document all the biodiversity right in the middle of our urban landscapes. It is my ongoing goal to foster curiosity and empathy about all the life we share this planet with, and to work on creating a kinder more sustainable future for them. You can also find me on aristhought.com and my photography on Instagram: @aristhoughtphotos
The story of Girri growing up! Girri is a female peregrine falcon who hatched in and then fledged from CSU's FalconCam nest box. Here is a compilation of clips of Girri with some facts and observations throughout. A big thank you to CSU, FalconCam, and researcher Cilla Kinross. Live feed here: https://www.youtube.com/live/yv2RtoIMNzA *About* ------------------------------ Hi! I'm Jake (aka aristhought) and I'm passionate about nature and wildlife. As someone who lives in a big city, it is a joy to observe and document all the biodiversity right in the middle of our urban landscapes. It is my ongoing goal to foster curiosity and empathy about all the life we share this planet with, and to work on creating a kinder more sustainable future for them. You can also find me on aristhought.com and my photography on Instagram: @aristhoughtphotos
It’s been an emotional week at Jackie and Shadow’s nest. I’ve seen a lot of discussion and reactions around what happened, and as a long time viewer of the nest as well as someone who is passionate about nature and animals, I wanted to share some of my thoughts on the whole situation, as well as on the observation of nature as a whole. Of course, these are just my own opinions at the end of the day. *About* ------------------------------ Hi! I'm Jake (aka aristhought) and I'm passionate about nature and wildlife. As someone who lives in a big city, it is a joy to observe and document all the biodiversity right in the middle of our urban landscapes. It is my ongoing goal to foster curiosity and empathy about all the life we share this planet with, and to work on creating a kinder more sustainable future for them. You can also find me on aristhought.com My photography on Instagram: @aristhoughtphotos Bluesky: aristhought *Credits* ------------------------------ Credits to Friends of Big Bear Valley, go support the amazing work that they do. Watch Jackie and Shadow here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4-L2nfGcuE Song: Illusions Composer: Keys Of Moon Website: https://www.youtube.com/c/keysofmoonmusic License: Creative Commons (BY 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/ Song: Lights Composer: Alex Productions Website: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCx0_M61F81Nfb-BRXE-SeVA License: Creative Commons (BY 3.0) https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/
For a while now I've been following the incredible story of bald eagles Jackie and Shadow and their nest over at Big Bear Valley. There are so many adorable moments; some of the most endearing are when Shadow doesn't want to get up and Jackie has to come up with all kinds of creative ways to convince him to let her have a turn. Here are a couple of them just from this nesting season! *About* ------------------------------ Hi! I'm Jake (aka aristhought) and I'm passionate about nature and wildlife. As someone who lives in a big city, it is a joy to observe and document all the biodiversity right in the middle of our urban landscapes. It is my ongoing goal to foster curiosity and empathy about all the life we share this planet with, and to work on creating a kinder more sustainable future for them. You can also find me on aristhought.com and my photography on Instagram: @aristhoughtphotos *Credits* ------------------------------ Credits to Friends of Big Bear Valley, go support the amazing work that they do. Watch Jackie and Shadow here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4-L2nfGcuE
As evening fell in Vancouver and the crows all began to fly home, I spotted this great blue heron on a tree overlooking a busy bike path. It spent some time preening before slowly settling into rest for the evening, balancing impressively on its branch. *About* ------------------------------ Hi! I'm Jake (aka aristhought) and I'm passionate about nature and wildlife. As someone who lives in a big city, it is a joy to observe and document all the biodiversity right in the middle of our urban landscapes. It is my ongoing goal to foster curiosity and empathy about all the life we share this planet with, and to work on creating a kinder more sustainable future for them. You can also find me on aristhought.com and my photography on Instagram: @aristhoughtphotos *Equipment* ------------------------------ Video camera: Canon Legria HFR76 Edited using: Adobe Premiere Pro *Credits* ------------------------------ Music by Bensound License code: ASE9LTTS2SKGT04T
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