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.
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.