Birding in British Columbia – Page 110 – CrazyM Bird & Nature Photography

Raccoon & Tree Swallows

Not having been out there in a couple of weeks I made my way to Reifel this afternoon to help out on the trails. It was not overly busy people wise and things were fairly quiet on the birding front. The sanctuary has a number of nest boxes for birds like Swallows, Wood Ducks and one larger one intended for Barn Owls.

However, the only thing I have seen in the owl box in recent years is Raccoons. Later in the afternoon the Swallows were particularly busy in the west marsh area.

There were some recently fledged Tree Swallows roosting in a tree,

… and actively being fed by adult birds. Too bad they were so far away. Then just as I was about to leave, something odd caught my attention. A male Brown-headed Cowbird alighted on the same branch as the fledgling Tree Swallow.

It then slowly made its way closer until it was right beside it. The whole time it had its head down in what appeared to be a submissive posture. The swallow eventually moved to another branch and the Cowbird at no time was aggressive toward the fledgling. Not too sure what to make of this behaviour. If you have any ideas let me know.

Tree Swallow Chicks

On checking one of the Tree Swallow nests on my walk this afternoon,

… the chicks were finally poking their heads out to check the surroundings.

The adults were busy making regular food deliveries.

Great fun to watch and to photograph. Will have to try for some better shots before the chicks have fledged and left the nest.

Bonus bird of the day was this Savannah Sparrow when leaving and the rain was starting.

Osprey Chicks Have Arrived

Decided to head out this morning before the rain started to check on the Osprey nest. The female was on the nest when I arrived and,

… it was not long before the male showed up with a fish.

The good news was she did not leave with the fish, but started feeding some new arrivals. You can just make out that small white patch between the branches in front of her.

The chicks are still too small to be able to see them all at once, so I could not tell how many there are. You can tell from how she moved around there is more than one. Here’s hoping they do better than the last few years.