CrazyM Bird & Nature Photography
Birding in British Columbia, Canada
It did perk up as the day progressed and I headed out to the North 40. The goal being to see if any new song birds had shown up. Other than the arrival of some Rufous Hummingbirds, it was mostly the usual suspects. As is also the norm for this area, there were lots of raptors overhead.
The only shot of the afternoon was this of a Red-tailed Hawk.
While I received a heads up yesterday, the news while volunteering at Reifel today was that the resident Sandhill Crane pair are nesting again.
The first egg was laid yesterday and a second should arrive in a day or two. Staff at the sanctuary rebuilt the little island in the centre pond they have favoured earlier in the year. Now the countdown begins for a successful hatching.
A mixed bag with the weather today being on the cool side with a brief stint of hail for good measure. In spite of this it was pleasant enough with some sunshine in the mix. There is one spot where I watch a Cooper’s Hawk pair each year. About a week ago I only noticed one, but today I managed to see both. I had been watching the female off in a stand of trees when I heard the male calling from a tree behind me.
He had flown in with some prey and was calling to the female. He then delivered the food to the female which is part of the courting behaviour.
He then roosted in a nearby tree,
… while she ate. I did observe some mating behaviour as well, but was not able to photograph it. Looks like the Cooper’s Hawks will be nesting in the area again this year.
On my way back to the car I noticed a crow chasing an owl down into the bottom of some small trees. I sat back and waited,
… and much to my delight a Barn Owl emerged and took flight.
It made a couple of passes while hunting for voles in the field. It has been several years since I last photographed a Barn Owl.
These are also my first flight shots of one, so it was definitely the highlight of the day.