George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary – Page 22

Swamp Sparrow

It was overcast and cool with the wind when I arrived at Reifel to help out in the afternoon. Not many visitors either so it was fairly quiet on the trails. Providing an interesting start to today’s walk,

… was this Eurasion Wigeon that was hanging around in the house pond. The White-throated Sparrow was still present near the entrance, but I was not having any luck with getting photos. After checking the east dyke trail I made my way towards the tower as the morning walk had turned up some Swamp Sparrows. They were located in the marsh off the north dyke as you make your way to the outer west dyke. Near the second bench I could hear the chip call,

… and one Swamp Sparrow popped up into view.

While it would appear the bird was ready to take flight here, it was actually just calling. I could hear two Swamp Sparrows out in the marsh.

These birds can be challenging to see and photograph, so this opportunity definitely made my day.

Belted Kingfisher

At the end of my walk on a quiet Friday afternoon at Reifel one of two Belted Kingfisher provided some photo ops.

While they can be seen regularly around the sanctuary,

… getting photos can be a challenge at times. The fact I was the only one there at the time probably helped.

Red-breasted Sapsucker

Given the weather of late there were not a lot of people at Reifel this afternoon when I showed up to help out on the trails. For those that were, there was a little break in the skies and some sunshine. The morning walk had seen the Red-breasted Sapsuckers, but not the Bohemian Waxwings. So I started off down the east dyke trail to try for the Sapsuckers again.

Still no luck, but one of numerous Golden-crowned Sparrow did strike a pose for me. I then headed off to the centre dyke trail in search of the Waxwings to no avail. Then back to the east dyke where I struck out again for the Sapsuckers.

As a consolation I did get this young Raccoon which trotted across the trail. I spent the rest of the afternoon on the inner trails still looking for the Waxwings or anything else interesting that might turn up. The clouds had now rolled in and it was around 4 pm and getting dark. I was making my way back along the east dyke trail when something got my attention.

Finally one of the Red-breasted Sapsucker. Only problem was having to shoot at ISO 6400 and f2.8 at a 60th of a second. Fortunately this shot turned out not too bad. It usually takes a cold snap like we are seeing right now to push these woodpeckers down to this area. As the cold is expected to continue, hopefully they stick around and provide a chance for a better photo opportunity.