Marty’s photo of the day #4513: This past Saturday was our final day on Vancouver Island, and by the time we got around to scheduling a ferry ride out of Nanaimo, only the last ferry had an availability. We had previously found Nanaimo to be a dirty, pedestrian-looking city, so we hung out in the prettier town of Parksville, a little ways up the coast. There we visited a wildlife rehabilitation facility and a large park on the ocean. The beach at the park stretches out so gently that when the tide is out it goes on and on.

When Deb, Nellie, and I walked way out on the beach, I spotted this great blue heron catching tiny fish in a shallow pool. We sat down and watched for at least a quarter hour. I timed this photo to capture the great blue heron at the moment it snatched a fish. It moved incredibly fast!