CrazyM Bird & Nature Photography
Birding in British Columbia, Canada
Time permitted for a short walk this afternoon so I headed to the North 40. A good chance to check for activity at the Swallow nests. After watching some of the previous nests,
… this male was roosting nearby a nest I had not tried photographing yet.
Here is the female leaving the nest,
… and the male arriving. While there was regular traffic to and from the nest, no little faces poking out of the cavity looking to be fed just yet.
After the showers ended and the sun making an appearance, I made my way out to Reifel. I figured I would give the outer ponds one more shot for the Ruff. Alas, it was not to be.
Still present with the Dowitchers though was the Stilt Sandpiper.
This afternoon it was a little closer in to the trail.
What I enjoyed about this photo opportunity was getting a Stilt Sandpiper in breeding plumage. All my other photos are non-breeding plumage or juveniles. While photographing the Stilt Sandpiper,
… a Common Yelowthroat flew in and posed nicely on a bush right beside me.
I managed a few shots and then it was time for it to leave with a parting thanks from me. On my way home I stopped by the Bald Eagle nest on River Rd.
Can you imagine scratching your itch with those?!
After a couple of shots of the Bald Eagle it was time to call it a day.
It has been about three weeks since I last checked on the Osprey, so I headed out there this morning. My last couple of visits I observed mating behaviour and today I wanted to see if they were on eggs yet.
On arriving the female was on the nest and appeared to be incubating eggs. She always starts calling when the male is near or approaching. This is handy because,
… it gives you a heads up to prepare for shots like this of him arriving with a fish for her.
She then takes the fish and flies off to a nearby tree to eat it and he will sit on the eggs. Now the countdown to when the chicks will hatch has begun. After this I headed out to Reifel. In part to help out on the trails and there was a Ruff sighted their yesterday afternoon. The Ruff being a fairly rare shorebird to see in these parts. On making my out to the outer ponds there was no sign of the Ruff, but there were a couple of other interesting shorebirds mixed in with the Dowitchers. A Stilt Sandpiper too far off for photos,
… and a Wilson’s Phalarope which did come in a little closer to the trail.
With Phalaropes it is the female that has the colourful plumage and dominant behaviour. This one being a female Wilson’s Phalarope.