Blog – Page 149 – CrazyM Bird & Nature Photography

Osprey Nest Update

I went to the Osprey nest last weekend, but was left wondering how well things were going.

Here the male arrives with a fish,

… which the female took and then left the nest to eat it in the usual tree.

A little over ten minutes later she returned with what was left of the fish. This is when you could see her attempting to feed young in the nest.

In this photo you can just barely make out the head of a chick above a branch. The concern being I did not see the chick take any food. The female made a few attempts, but finished the fish herself.

The female was leaving the nest unattended occasionally, but would return. It was all of this that left me wondering.

On checking this morning there were no adults on the nest when I arrived. About half an hour later the female arrived at the nest.

Here she is reacting to the male approaching the with a fish. After taking the fish from him she left to eat it. Not to the usual tree, but another set of pilings down stream. After that they both flew off with neither returning to the nest. So it would appear that none of the chicks have survived and the nest will be unsuccessful for a second year.

Shore Birds & Crane Family

Reifel was the destination this afternoon. There was not much happening on the inside trails except for a Great Horned Owl. While nice to see, it was not in a good spot for photos. So I made may way to the outside ponds with shore birds being more prevalent these days. There was a flock of Western Sandpipers present, but too far off.

A couple of Killdeer were in a little closer,

… and provided a couple of photo ops. There were both Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs,

… with this group of Greater Yellowlegs catching an afternoon nap.

Then a small group of Semipalmated Sandpipers showed up.

A couple of them coming close enough for some shots. Long-billed Dowitchers were the only other shore bird species observed. While watching the sandpipers the resident Sandhill Crane family made an appearance.

They worked their along the outer ponds with the adults taking to short flights,

… but junior is not quite there yet.

The juvenile has certainly grown since my last photos.

It will not be long before this one is flying.

Black Oystercatcher

The trails were quiet this morning at Reifel, so in the afternoon I headed down to the Tsawwassen Ferry Causeway. The Black Oystercatcher is a shore bird that nests in the area and there should be juveniles by now. On arriving I could hear them and on checking the shoreline noticed several adults. There was lots of interaction going on, posturing and chasing each other. It was not until I worked my way further down that I found what I was looking for.

On spotting the juvenile I circled around and came in from the other side. I did not want to put myself between the juvenile and the adults.

This was the only juvenile I could see.

It was pretty much wandering around on its own.

While the adults were around,

… they seemed preoccupied with the other adult Oystercatchers. This was unfortunate as it would have been nice to get some interaction between the juvenile and adult(s). I left when the juvenile tucked itself away amongst the rocks for a rest.