Headed out to a couple of different spots in Boundary Bay this afternoon. First stop was in Tsawwassen to check again for the reported Mountain Bluebird. No sign of it, but there were lots of Savannah Sparrows around.
Savannah Sparrow
So I spent a little time with them.
Savannah Sparrow
Then it was off to Ladner and the bay area at the foot of 72 St.
Short-eared Owl
There were a few Short-eared Owls up and about hunting the marsh. Just not the photo opportunities like the other week.
Short-eared Owl
This one taking a break to surveil the marsh from the high ground, so to speak.
Got out for a walk this afternoon and headed down to Boundary Bay Regional Park in Tsawwassen. There had been a report of a Mountain Bluebird being seen. There were several in this area around the same time last year.
After an initial check of the trails, no Bluebird was located. The ever present Northern Harriers were busy cruising the fields.
Northern Harrier
No shortage of Crows hanging around either.
Northwestern Crow
I spent some more time in the area the Bluebird had been sighted in addition to the areas they frequented last spring, but not joy. When checking the beach area I did come across this Killdeer.
Killdeer
So, while not what I was looking for, the afternoon was not a total loss.
I was able to take a break from work, computer and web stuff this afternoon and get out for a bit of a walk. I headed out to Iona Regional Park with three target birds in mind. Wilson’s Snipe, Northern Shrike and Western Meadowlark.
It did not take long to find a Snipe while walking around the outer ponds. Or should I say before it spotted me and flew off. I managed to flush a Snipe three times (possibly the same bird) while walking around the marsh area. Strike one.
There was still a Northern Shrike in the area. I sat back and watched for awhile to see if it favoured any particular area. I picked a likely spot and waited for it to come to me. While moving around hunting they will return to the same perches. This does not always work, but it is usually better than chasing the bird from tree to tree. In this particular case it did not return to where I was set up. Strike two.
Not far from where I was waiting for the Shrike I located a Meadowlark foraging on the ground. Easy to miss when they are not calling/singing and you don’t get a glimpse of the yellow breast with contrasting black v-shape.
Western Meadowlark
I crawled along on my knees with this bird as it continued to forage in the grass in the hopes of getting a shot of the more colourful front profile. Alas it was not to be as it kept its back to me the whole time prior to flying off.
Three for three in locating my target birds, but zero for three for the photos I was hoping for. When leaving I could see the Shrike in the tree where I had set up earlier. Such is the life of bird photography.
