CrazyM Bird & Nature Photography
Birding in British Columbia, Canada
Managed to get out to Boundary Bay this afternoon for the high tide. A beautiful day to be out there except there were no shore birds. A few small flocks flew by, but none were sticking around. I was hoping to see the breeding plumaged Ruddy Turnstone. There was a Peregrine Falcon buzzing around, but there was not much for it to go after either. The consolation being,
… the Peregrine Falcon was sitting nicely in a tree when I got back to the car.
After some morning errands were completed there was a window of opportunity for me to get out. So I made my way to Boundary Bay for some shore birds. Target bird of the day was Ruddy Turnstone which had been seen the last couple of days. The usual Black-bellied Plovers were at the foot of 104 St., but I continued toward the pilings and just west of them I noticed some activity.
There were two Ruddy Turnstones not far from the dyke.
Being the only one out there, they were comfortable and allowed me to move around with them usually just 25-30 feet away.
As you can see from the above shots they were busy turning over driftwood foraging for food.
Also bark, as in this shot, and rummaging through the seaweed.
The Turnstone were mixed in with a group of Baird’s Sandpipers,
… a few Pectoral Sandpipers,
… and a couple of Lesser Yellowlegs.
So, a good first day out shore birding.
Happy Easter and what a glorious holiday weekend it has been so far. Did my usual stint at Reifel this afternoon and there were lots of visitors out enjoying the day. Still fairly quiet on the birding front though. Spotted one Rough-legged Hawk that has not moved on yet,
… and there were still half a dozen Evening Grosbeak around. While there is still a couple present, there were no Northern Saw-whet Owls along the east dyke trail today. Did not see the American Bittern that has been showing well lately either.
At the end of my day at the sanctuary I was informed that some Mountain Bluebirds had been spotted at Boundary Bay Regional Park in Tsawwassen. They pass through here each year at this time. I had been down there last week looking for them without success. With lots of great late afternoon light left, I made my way down there.
It did not take long after arriving before I spotted them.
About a dozen of them busy moving along the beach area foraging for insects.
There were lots of people down at the beach today as well, which also kept the birds moving. This made it more of a challenge to try and get photos.
Then they all flushed and disappeared. As I looked up there was a Merlin right above me. Not long after it left, a Cooper’s Hawk showed up briefly. Needless to say the Mountain Bluebirds did not surface again while I was there. Hopefully they stick around for a few days and I have another chance with them.