George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary – Page 50

Sandhill Crane

A little on the windy side, but a nice day overall that did bring decent numbers out to Reifel. The most vulnerable Northern Saw-whet Owl along the east dyke trail decided to return today of all days after being absent from that location for almost a week. That meant the volunteers, myself included, took turns keeping an eye on it. I did manage a couple of quick walks during the course of the afternoon when not watching activity around the owl. There have been a few additional Sandhill Cranes spending the winter in the sanctuary in addition to the resident pair.

They were together in the centre display ponds,

… and provided the best photo op for me today.

Flicker & Grosbeak

Still not prepared to give up on the Swamp Sparrow I was back out at Reifel again this afternoon. Made a couple of passes along the west dyke trail to no avail. I might have to find a new nemesis bird. There were a couple of cooperative subjects though along the centre dyke trail. Of the many Northern Flicker currently around,

… this one stopped briefly on an old snag. Then not too far away,

… were a couple of Evening Grosbeak chowing down on the few remaining Pacific crab apple. It was difficult getting an angle on these birds through the branches.

As you can see in this shot there is a branch between the camera and the bird resulting in that faint line across the rump. Thought I had avoided this but my attention was more on focussing on the head. Sometimes you miss things like this and do not realise it until afterwards. That’s when there may be a few expletives followed by there is always next time.

American Bittern

With the nice weather it was another busy Sunday afternoon while volunteering at Reifel. A good part of my afternoon was spent keeping tabs on one of the Northern Saw-whet Owls in a vulnerable spot along the east dyke trail. It has gotten bad enough with visitors getting too close that staff have had to erect temporary fencing. Once things settled down towards the end of the day I did manage to get a brief walk in. While heading out along the outer dyke trail in search of my nemesis bird, Swamp Sparrow, there was a pleasant surprise skulking in the blown down reeds.

An American Bittern was busy foraging and feeding on small minnows. I stayed put here to point out this usually secretive heron to visitors. Everyone was delighted as it is not often you can sit back and watch these birds out in the open for this length of time.

When photographing American Bittern I always try to get a shot of them when they are standing tall in the reeds. They blend in so well it helps, as in this photo, to try and get them when there is a break in the reeds. You still capture their natural habitat and the clearer section helps highlight the bird.