Birding in British Columbia – Page 147 – CrazyM Bird & Nature Photography

Kingbirds, Cooper’s & Willow

This afternoon I headed out to the Boundary Bay area to try for some better shots of the Willow Flycatcher. I had no sooner started on my walk when I noticed a large flycatcher in a tree at the beginning of the trail.

On getting a closer look it was a Western Kingbird.

What a great way to start this outing,

… these are my first shots of a Western Kingbird and a new addition to my photo list.

When checking one of the spots for the Willow Flycatcher,

This Cedar Waxwing showed up for a brief visit on some dead fall.

Then I noticed one of the nesting Cooper’s Hawk in a Willow Tree.

It was preening and stretching while roosting in the tree.

Then a familiar call took me back to where I had seen the Waxwing.

The Willow Flycatcher was located down low in the bramble and allowed me to get fairly close. A little better than the distant shot of the other day.

So far, so good. I headed back to where I had seen the Western Kingbird. On approaching I saw something fly from the same tree into an adjacent field.

Perched on a small tree I found not the Western Kingbird, but an Eastern Kingbird.

It was flycatching from this low perch and I managed a shot of it with its catch. Two different Kingbirds in one day, cannot ask for much more than that.

Prior to leaving a couple of Savannah Sparrows caught my eye.

Unsure if they had a nest with young nearby, but they were busy gathering grubs and frequenting the tree from the first shot.

It was a lovely afternoon for the first day of summer. A productive one as well on the birding and photography front.

Not Quite Father’s Day

It had been a couple of weeks so it was time to head out and check on the Osprey nest. The weather and light were not great, but it should be getting close for new arrivals.

The female was on the nest, but it was not long before the male arrived with a fish.

What happens next is the female takes the fish,

… and flies off to a nearby tree to eat it. At least this is what normally happens while they are still incubating eggs. So no chicks to feed in the nest yet.

Both adults left the nest several times chasing Bald Eagles out of the area. Here the female is returning to the nest after one such foray.

All that buzzing around has got to make one hungry,

… and the male obliges once again.

So for this male Osprey it was not quite father’s day, but it should not be long now.

First Willow Of The Season

Not long into my walk after the rain there was the familiar “fitz-bew” I had not yet heard this year. After moving to the area of the call, scanning the bush and tree tops, I found the source of the call.

My first Willow Flycatcher of the season. A rather distant shot, so I decided to spend some time in the area. While waiting for the Willow Flycatcher to cooperate,

… this Common Yellowthroat was foraging for bugs in the bushes.

The Lazuli Buntings were still in the area,

… and would routinely stop by and sing.

Also paying a visit was this Bewick’s Wren. It seemed everything but the Willow was going to provide photo ops. Obviously it is going to take a return trip or two to try for some better shots now that they are back.