Boundary Bay – Page 11 – CrazyM Bird & Nature Photography

Ash-throated Flycatcher

After being reported a couple of days ago, I managed to get out to Boundary Bay this morning to look for the Ash-throated Flycatcher. A fairly rare visitor to this area, usually not venturing further north than southern Washington State. On arriving I heard that it had been seen early in the morning, but not in the last few hours. There were a handful other birders present and we were spread out along the dyke watching for it. After a couple of hours everyone else had left and I was beginning to wonder if it would reappear. As I was contemplating leaving myself, I noticed something different in a tree to the west of me near the end of the hangers in the air field. On getting closer,

… I found the Ash-throated Flycatcher tucked away in the branches. It was busy preening and stretching.

It was difficult trying to get a decent shot shooting between the branches. Then it promptly disappeared down in behind the trees. Not long after this more birders and photographers showed up. I pointed out where I had last seen the bird and the watch began again. About an hour later it was spotted in the same area with a dragonfly. Unfortunately I missed that part,

… but did get another photo. Then it popped down into the trees out of sight again. While a little closer and/or more in the open would have been nice, I’m not going to complain. This is the first Ash-throated Flycatcher I have seen and another addition to my life photo list.

Peregrine & Merlin

The tidal flats at Boundary Bay today were as quiet as my last visit a couple of days ago. I did try for a short while to get some Pipits, but they were not cooperating.

There were a couple of small groups of Pectoral Sandpipers present with a lone Least Sandpiper. The action for the afternoon came courtesy of a Peregrine Falcon. Ever present in this area when the shorebirds are migrating,

… this Peregrine swooped in low along the beach snagging one of the few Pectoral Sandpipers. On the topic of falcons,

… this Merlin was perched in a tree as I arrived back at my car. A nice bonus shot to end the day.

Yellowlegs & Least

After a couple of weeks of being busy, I managed to get back out to Boundary Bay this afternoon. Arriving about two hours prior to the high tide I made my way west along the beach from 104 St. After several minutes and encountering only a lone Pectoral Sandpiper roosting in the seaweed at the high water mark, I was starting to wonder if much else would be around. Then I did see around a dozen American Pipits working their way along the beach. Then I came across a small group of resting Least Sandpipers, but carried on towards the pilings. While approaching them a Greater Yellowlegs flew in and started foraging for food. I carried on a little further and scanned ahead and could not see anything else on the tidal flats, so I made my way back to the pilings and the Greater Yellowlegs.

It was still busing foraging for food,

… and provided a couple of good photo opportunities. By this time the tide was coming in fast, even though the high tide was still over an hour away. Not too far off I could see the Least Sandpipers were active and made my way back to them.

Like me they were trying to avoid the rising water levels. After being flushed briefly by a passing Northern Harrier they returned and landed right in front of me. They were more than cooperative allowing me to tag along and photograph in close proximity.

Close is good when photographing these little guys. Being there when they returned and keeping any movement slow and to a minimum probably helped. By now the rising tide was almost to the top of my rubber boots and it was time to head up on to the dyke. Despite there not being much around, I still managed a couple of nice shots.