Blog – Page 146 – CrazyM Bird & Nature Photography

Grebe, Gulls & Tern

This mornings walk was at Reifel. A Sora had been seen there yesterday, but no luck locating it today. It was quiet on the shore bird front, but of note was one Wilson’s Phalarope. Apparently it had been in close by the tower, but when I located it, it was too far off for photos. One other interesting find that was a little more cooperative,

… was this Pied-billed Grebe juvenile.

Unfortunately when I managed to capture it with a fish it was in a lousy spot for light.

Later this afternoon I went out to Boundary Bay for the high tide. Not much luck there either with not much being brought in close enough by the rising tide. But there were some gulls that provided convenient fly-bys.

This California Gull,

… and a Ring-billed Gull.

And a nice finish to the afternoon was this Caspian Tern.

Sharing The Eelgrass

Headed out to Boundary Bay late this afternoon to see what might be around. The tide was high and pretty much up to the dyke. With the usual foraging area covered in water, there was not much going on. For the Black-bellied Plovers that were around, it was a matter of finding a spot to roost.

The clumps of eelgrass are commonly used by shore birds for just this purpose.

There were some Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers also looking to find a spot.

Black-bellied Plovers & Ring-billed Gulls

Here there are half a dozen Black-bellied Plovers and a couple of Ring-billed Gulls sharing the same clump of eelgrass.

And just to keep things interesting this Whimbrel flew by.

Mammals, Birds & Reptiles

The afternoon started with some volunteer work at Reifel. A small group helping out to get the newsletter, Marshnotes, ready for mailing. Once this was done, it was time for a walk. While heading out the east dyke trail some movement along the edge of the path caught my eye.

There was a group of shrews busy foraging in the grass.

Some appeared to be juveniles and were fairly small.

To give you an idea how tiny they are, that dark blob in the upper left corner is a fly.

In the north marsh this Heron was taking time to preen and look after that itchy spot.

This particular post seems to be a regular roost for the Herons.

The outer ponds had some of the expected shore birds. Least, Semipalmated & Western Sandpipers along with the Dowitchers, Yellowlegs and Killdeer.

A pleasant surprise were these three Red-necked Phalaropes. Too far off for a decent picture, but nice to see. That makes both Wilson’s & Red-necked Phalaropes seen here in the last couple of weeks.

Another sign fall is coming, I am starting to see more Hooded Mergansers arriving.

This one with a small fish in there with the weeds.

There was about half a dozen this afternoon in the outer ponds. So that covers the mammals and birds.

The reptile for the afternoon was this Red-eared Slider Turtle. While seen regularly around here, they are not native to British Columbia. The population resulting from pets being tuned loose in the wild.