Birding in British Columbia – Page 146 – CrazyM Bird & Nature Photography

Black Oystercatcher

The trails were quiet this morning at Reifel, so in the afternoon I headed down to the Tsawwassen Ferry Causeway. The Black Oystercatcher is a shore bird that nests in the area and there should be juveniles by now. On arriving I could hear them and on checking the shoreline noticed several adults. There was lots of interaction going on, posturing and chasing each other. It was not until I worked my way further down that I found what I was looking for.

On spotting the juvenile I circled around and came in from the other side. I did not want to put myself between the juvenile and the adults.

This was the only juvenile I could see.

It was pretty much wandering around on its own.

While the adults were around,

… they seemed preoccupied with the other adult Oystercatchers. This was unfortunate as it would have been nice to get some interaction between the juvenile and adult(s). I left when the juvenile tucked itself away amongst the rocks for a rest.

Chestnut-sided Warbler

I have been holding off posting for a few days as I wanted to start off another month with something new. As this is a photo blog, a picture is usually a good idea. The bird in question is a Chestnut-sided Warbler. As is the norm more often than not with bird photography, it may take more than one attempt. While I saw the bird on my first visit,

… it was not until this afternoon it came down low and close enough.

The Chestnut-sided Warbler is not usually seen west of Alberta,

… and is a rare visitor to British Columbia and the Lower Mainland area.

This particular bird has been in the Camosun Bog area of Pacific Spirit Park in Vancouver for about a week now.

It has been providing great views for local birders and photographers. So, with a little patience, I get to start off another month with a new addition to the photo list.

Osprey Nest New Arrivals

When I checked last weekend there were no chicks yet in the Osprey nest. As it should be very close to that time, I headed out there again today. On arriving the female was on the nest. The encouraging sign was the change in her posture.

She was sitting higher, wings relaxed and similar to when raptors mantle their prey. This is different from when they are incubating eggs and from past experience indicates the chick(s) have hatched.

Even when standing up she maintained this posture. Now it was just a matter of waiting for some kind of confirmation that there were indeed new arrivals.

While doing so, the crows along the trail started kicking up a real stink. They were beside the tree where the male Osprey was roosting and at first I thought they were just harassing him.

The ruckus actually got the female to leave the nest briefly and then return. The crows were actually down lower in the trees than the male Osprey.

Finally I spotted their actual target, this Raccoon moving along a branch. The crows stuck with it and did not let up as it moved through the trees along the river bank.