Birding in British Columbia – Page 145 – CrazyM Bird & Nature Photography

Moss Always Grows On …?

Moss always grows on …

… the north side of the teddy bear of course. Obviously this little fellow has been in the nook of this tree for some time. Just one of those little oddities you can come across.

While there was not much on the bird front today,

… this Cooper’s Hawk did pause briefly for me on the under side of a large tree.

Osprey Nest Update

I went to the Osprey nest last weekend, but was left wondering how well things were going.

Here the male arrives with a fish,

… which the female took and then left the nest to eat it in the usual tree.

A little over ten minutes later she returned with what was left of the fish. This is when you could see her attempting to feed young in the nest.

In this photo you can just barely make out the head of a chick above a branch. The concern being I did not see the chick take any food. The female made a few attempts, but finished the fish herself.

The female was leaving the nest unattended occasionally, but would return. It was all of this that left me wondering.

On checking this morning there were no adults on the nest when I arrived. About half an hour later the female arrived at the nest.

Here she is reacting to the male approaching the with a fish. After taking the fish from him she left to eat it. Not to the usual tree, but another set of pilings down stream. After that they both flew off with neither returning to the nest. So it would appear that none of the chicks have survived and the nest will be unsuccessful for a second year.

Shore Birds & Crane Family

Reifel was the destination this afternoon. There was not much happening on the inside trails except for a Great Horned Owl. While nice to see, it was not in a good spot for photos. So I made may way to the outside ponds with shore birds being more prevalent these days. There was a flock of Western Sandpipers present, but too far off.

A couple of Killdeer were in a little closer,

… and provided a couple of photo ops. There were both Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs,

… with this group of Greater Yellowlegs catching an afternoon nap.

Then a small group of Semipalmated Sandpipers showed up.

A couple of them coming close enough for some shots. Long-billed Dowitchers were the only other shore bird species observed. While watching the sandpipers the resident Sandhill Crane family made an appearance.