March 2012 – CrazyM Bird & Nature Photography

Bushtit

You know spring has sprung when nesting activity starts. One type of nest I always try to get each year is that of the Bushtit. With that in mind I headed off to the South Arm Marshes which has usually proven reliable for me in past years.

The Bushtit nest is truly one of those little marvels of nature.

Such an intricate nest built by such a tiny bird.

Always fun to find one that is unobstructed that you can enjoy and catch them at work.

American Bittern

Being such a beautiful day, I made sure to take time and get out to enjoy it. Today’s stroll was at Reifel which was fairly busy with it being spring break for the kids. There had been a report of a Green Heron in the southwest pond the other day, so I started my walk along the outside dyke trail. While there was no sign of it today,

… at the opposite end of the trail in the northwest pond was this American Bittern.

This heron usually prefers to keep out of site and tucked away amongst the reeds,

… but will occasionally surprise you and take the odd stroll out in the open.

I spent most of the afternoon with this bird pointing it out to other visitors while taking a photo here and there of course.

Common Redpoll

Over the winter I have made several trips out to locations around here where Common Redpoll had been sighted. These outings netted me neither sightings or photos. Yesterday took me to Deas Island Park, a spot I had not been in some time. Lo and behold, I came across a small flock of Common Redpoll. Unfortunately they were high up in the trees, which is normal, and the back light was too bright. I did manage a few record shots which I did not bother to blog about.

Hoping for better luck I returned today. I located them again early into my walk and once again they were in a poor spot for photos. They then moved off out of sight and I lost track of them. After several laps around the park I was on my way out when I located them again along the same stretch of trail as yesterday.