George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary – Page 76

Nature Can Be Harsh

With the Sandhill Crane chicks due to hatch anytime, I headed out to the Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary this morning. But as the title suggests, not all went well.

The male was on the nest and when he stood up briefly you could clearly see an egg that was starting to crack open. It was one and a half hours later before the male got up again,

… this time revealing a newly hatched chick. And no sooner than this happened,

… the chick rolled down the side of the nesting area into the pond. To make matters worse, it was wedged in face down by a root and having trouble keeping its head above water.

Then apparently oblivious to the chicks peril, the male lays down again on the remaining egg. To the handful of people present watching this tragedy unfold the question arises, to intervene, or let nature take its course.

The sanctuary manager chose to wade out, free the chick and place it back on the nest. The adult cranes were obviously not too happy about the intrusion.

For a while the chick seemed to be recovering while laying in the sun. Then it happened again. The chick started moving and fell in once more.

Caught momentarily by the same root,

… it did get free. This time the adult male did pay attention to the chick in the water.

But it was not meant to be, and this time nature was allowed to takes its course.

Friday the 13th

I started off this morning at Reifel. Right off the bat I came across this interesting mix of birds in the pond behind the gift shop.

A Canada Goose, Mallard and some Dowitchers.

New arrivals are popping up all over the place now.

And it will be about another week before we see any action around the Sandhill Crane nest.

While Wilson’s Warblers were few and far between on my last visit,

… they were all over the place today.

This female was staying put foraging in one area,

… providing a better opportunity for some closer shots.

Of course there are still plenty of Yellow-rumped Warblers around as well.

While not a great photo op,

… I did see my first Black-headed Grosbeak of the year. So, not a bad morning at Reifel.

A Bar-tailed Godwit had been seen the last couple of days out in Boundary Bay. A fairly rare visitor for this area, particularly in the spring. Having to work I was unable to get out when it was first sighted and decided to give it a try this afternoon. However, there was no sign of it or any Plovers that it had been seen with.

With a title of “Friday the 13th” the day obviously did not bode well for someone.

This afternoon in the bay it was this Dowitcher falling prey to a Peregrine Falcon.

Another Flycatcher for the List

This afternoons walk was to Reifel. The plan was to check for some of the more elusive and camera shy warblers again.

I started off down the east dyke trail and came across this Spotted Towhee which struck a pose for me. So I had to stop and take a photo.

On reaching the northeast corner I could see lots of Yellow-rumped Warblers moving in the trees. I set up on a trail leading down to a blind overlooking Ewan Slough, watched and listened. It was not long before I could hear a couple of Wilson’s Warblers calling on either side of the path. One of the more elusive warblers I was hoping to get. While waiting to see if they would come out in to the open,

… this flycatcher flew in instead.

A Hammond’s Flycatcher, which is a new addition to my photo list.

One of the Wilson’s Warblers did pop out briefly a couple of times.

But still not as close and clean a shot as I would like to try and get.

Also hanging the same corner were this Downy Woodpecker,

… and what I believe to be a Purple Finch. If I am wrong on this one, someone will likely let me know. There was also a Pine Siskin around, but no good photo ops.