George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary – Page 8 – CrazyM Bird & Nature Photography

Stilt Sandpiper

Too nice an afternoon not to get out for a walk, so I made my way to Reifel. First up I checked the back of the house pond, but there were only a couple of yellowlegs. Next I headed out the middle trail to the outside fields. The Green Heron was present again in the southwest field, but not in great spot for photos.

I was then accompanied by another gentleman who was looking for some assistance in locating the Stilt Sandpiper that had been reported in the west field. We checked the entire west field and then made our way back to the house pond without success.

That was the end of his day and I then carried on to check some of the inside trails for songbirds. The only thing of interest I came across,

… was this squirrel working on a chestnut. On my way back I decided to give the back of the house pond one last look.

Good thing I did as there was now a Stilt Sandpiper present along with the yellowlegs and a few dowitchers.

In addition to foraging in the pond, it took time out for a little preening.

What a great end to what had been a fairly uneventful walk to this point.

Green Heron

It was a pleasant afternoon and a larger crowd than expected when I arrived at Reifel to help out this afternoon. I started off checking the outer ponds for shorebirds, but found nothing out of the ordinary.

While checking the east dyke trail my attention was drawn to the slough on the Alaksen National Wildlife Area (north) side by a call. After watching the waters edge for a short while I finally got a brief glimpse of a Northern Waterthrush. There have been two recently in the sanctuary and several elsewhere in the lower mainland of late.

Later while back out at the southwest field discussing yellowlegs and dowitchers with one member of a group, another asked “What’s this?”

Much to my delight I responded “A Green Heron”.

For most in the group, and others that subsequently passed by, it was the first time they had seen a Green Heron.

This particular bird has been frequenting this area for a couple of days now. It made my afternoon as it has been a while since I have photographed one.

Waterthrush + Phalaropes

Just over a week ago I headed out to Reifel when a Northern Waterthrush was spotted along the east dyke trail. Unfortunately I, along with some other birders, were unable to relocate the bird. A couple of subsequent visits ended with the same result although others had seen one still around.

On arriving today to help out on the trails I was informed a Northern Waterthrush was in the Cherry tree next to the warming hut.

The bird was tucked away under the leaves and not really moving much at all initially. I was informed and later saw for myself that there was something wrong with its left eye.

The bird eventually did start moving among the branches,

… and once further up it flew off. From a photo that was posted on BC Bird Alert of the first Waterthrush spotted, this would appear to be a different bird. I saw it flying around the area of the warming hut a couple of times before continuing my walk.

The next highlight from this afternoon,

… were some Wilson’s Phalarope at the rear of the house pond (foot of south dyke trail).

There were three of them in the pond along with some Greater Yellowlegs.

This location provided for great viewing and photo opportunities.

The last highlight of the day was a Stilt Sandpiper. It was only visible from the tower looking west towards the outside trail below the bulrushes. Way to far off for photos, but good to see them starting to show up in the area.