Birding in British Columbia – Page 69 – CrazyM Bird & Nature Photography

Western Meadowlark

Another sunny day and I made my way out to Brunswick Point this afternoon. As there was little wind, the river would be calm and smooth. While this was the case for the river when I arrived, I was disappointed to see no activity out there at all. Not long into my walk though there was a pleasant surprise.

Some Western Meadowlarks flew into the trees along the trail. The lighting was far from ideal, but I did manage this shot. There was over a dozen Meadowlarks moving between the farm fields, marsh and trees along the dyke.

Further along the trail I located a Northern Shrike, and later in the afternoon a half dozen Short-eared Owls got active over the marsh along with the usual Northern Harriers. Unfortunately I was not able to get any decent shots of them.

Hooded Merganser & Eagle

I was surprised by the number of visitors for a Friday when I arrived at Reifel, but it was a nice day. The breeze was on the cool side, but it was petering out. Unfortunately it was fairly quiet on the birding front.

I did find and spend some time with some Hooded Mergansers on one of the inner ponds in some nice light.

Managing to get both male and female,

… along with the male Hooded Merganser fanning its wings after preening. Towards the end of the day,

… this Bald Eagle spent some time in the trees across from the tower providing an opportunity for some photos. The nice thing when they perch here and you are shooting from the top of the tower is the better angle, almost eye level.

American Tree Sparrow

The last day of another year and this afternoon’s target bird was a Gyrfalcon. One had been sighted recently in the Boundary Bay area around 112 St. On checking the surrounding area and speaking with a few other birders, there was no sign of the bird today.

As the light rain was stopping, I decided to stop at 72 St. on the way home for another winter visitor. Heading east along the dyke it was at the end of the adjacent golf course that I spotted a likely group of sparrows. At first look I was just seeing White-crowned Sparrows,

… then the ones I was looking for, American Tree Sparrow. There were a few of them in the mixed flock and they were constantly on the move between the mash and the trees on either side of the trail.

This stretch of Boundary Bay is usually a good spot to see American Tree Sparrows each winter. A good end to 2013.

Happy New Year!