George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary – Page 75

Black-headed Grosbeak

I started off this morning at Reifel. While starting down the east dyke trail I came across a Bewick’s Wren taking a dust bath.

Something birds, and other animals, will do to keep clean.

Of course you could not go to Reifel without checking out the Sandhill Crane family.

They are venturing outside of the closed off area now that the chick is bigger.

It is amazing how fast it is growing.

This Red-winged Blackbird struck a nice pose in the cat tails when leaving the Cranes.

Then it was back to the east dyke trail again for the Black-headed Grosbeak.

This was one bird I was hoping to be able to spend some time with today.

There were several around today, both males and females.

While not quite the settings I was hoping for,

… it was better than the fleeting glimpses I had managed until now.

Cedar Waxwings were also around in good numbers today to round out my morning.

A brief walk in Boundary Bay late in the afternoon did not produce much.

It was starting to get gloomy, but this Western Wood-pewee was busy fly catching.

The last afternoon of the May long weekend I spent volunteering and helping out on the trails at the Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary. I was kept busy speaking with visitors and answering questions. Particularly about the Sandhill Cranes and their new arrival. The chick is still doing well and they are staying in the closed off trail area. Good views can still be had from the adjoining trail.

I did manage one distant photo of an interesting migrant.

This Wilson’s Phalarope was hanging around one of the inner ponds. Stopped by a few times during the course of the afternoon, but it was not moving any closer.

One other critter entertaining visitors along the inside trails,

… was this Muskrat busy foraging for and eating roots. Not much in the way of photos, but still a great day to be out and taking it all in.

On The Brighter Side

It was sad to witness and capture the events at the Sandhill Crane nest the other day. So today it is time to perk things up. The second egg/chick hatched the following day, but I could not get out there until first thing this morning.

The adults and the chick were out on the trail foraging for food.

The sanctuary has closed the trail that goes by the nest area, but you can still get great views and photos of the crane family from an adjoining path.