Birding in British Columbia – Page 91 – CrazyM Bird & Nature Photography

Grosbeak, Goshawk & Merlin

It was a grey and drizzly afternoon, so there were not the usual Sunday crowds at Reifel. The Red Crossbill were apparently still around this morning, but I did not catch up with them today. A Great Horned Owl was along the east dyke trail along with the usual Northern Saw-whet Owls and some Common Redpoll on the inside trails. The Evening Grosbeak were also back.

I had a fleeting moment to try for a couple of shots,

… and only managed these before they moved back into the tree tops. Shooting up into the trees on a day like today is not ideal with the bright grey background. So as luck would have it with these conditions, what showed up in the tree tops across from the tower later on?

The Northern Goshawk that has been around for some time, but I had yet to get any photos of. And as if to add insult to injury,

… a Merlin shows up in the same tree not long after it left. What are the odds of this repeating itself on a sunny afternoon?

Red Crossbill

On arriving at Reifel this afternoon I was encouraged to hear that a Swamp Sparrow was still being seen. Today’s sighting was near the tower instead of the usual southwest marsh area. I made my way there via the east and north dyke trails counting five Northern Saw-whet Owls along the way. Positioning myself so I could observe all the intersecting trails at the tower I began the waiting game. Lots of Spotted Tohwee, Song Sparrow and Golden-crowned Sparrow in addition to all the Red-winged Blackbird, but no Swamp Sparrow. This is currently one of my nemesis birds. Then while shifting my position some movement in the conifers caught my attention.

It was a Red Crossbill feeding on the pine cones.

Turns out there were actually two of them.

So the day was not a total loss. While I was skunked again on the Swamp Sparrow, the Red Crossbill is a new addition to my life photo list.

Thrush & Bluetail

I was out last Friday to try and get some more photos of the Red-flanked Bluetail, but did not succeed in getting anything better. The plan was to set up in area I knew from previous observations it liked to frequent and even pause for a moment. Unfortunately there were too many people chasing the bird from tree to tree and on more than one occasion, wandering through where I was set up as the bird was approaching. A little frustrating to say the least.

Consolation bird for the day was this Varied Thrush.

I returned again this afternoon and the plan was the same. I set up in an area I knew the bird likes to return to, and as I noted above, will actually pause for a while if not disturbed. It came close a couple of times, but still had people tagging along. After a couple of hours I could see the bird approaching once more and this time the people were a little further behind it.

Finally it came in to the spot where I was waiting.

And as I had observed before it seemed content to rest briefly,

… until the small group of birders once again approached too close and flushed it. At least this time I managed a couple of better shots and a little patience paid off.