CrazyM Bird & Nature Photography
Birding in British Columbia, Canada
While I received a heads up yesterday, the news while volunteering at Reifel today was that the resident Sandhill Crane pair are nesting again.
The first egg was laid yesterday and a second should arrive in a day or two. Staff at the sanctuary rebuilt the little island in the centre pond they have favoured earlier in the year. Now the countdown begins for a successful hatching.
A mixed bag with the weather today being on the cool side with a brief stint of hail for good measure. In spite of this it was pleasant enough with some sunshine in the mix. There is one spot where I watch a Cooper’s Hawk pair each year. About a week ago I only noticed one, but today I managed to see both. I had been watching the female off in a stand of trees when I heard the male calling from a tree behind me.
He had flown in with some prey and was calling to the female. He then delivered the food to the female which is part of the courting behaviour.
He then roosted in a nearby tree,
… while she ate. I did observe some mating behaviour as well, but was not able to photograph it. Looks like the Cooper’s Hawks will be nesting in the area again this year.
On my way back to the car I noticed a crow chasing an owl down into the bottom of some small trees. I sat back and waited,
… and much to my delight a Barn Owl emerged and took flight.
It made a couple of passes while hunting for voles in the field. It has been several years since I last photographed a Barn Owl.
These are also my first flight shots of one, so it was definitely the highlight of the day.
Happy Easter and what a glorious holiday weekend it has been so far. Did my usual stint at Reifel this afternoon and there were lots of visitors out enjoying the day. Still fairly quiet on the birding front though. Spotted one Rough-legged Hawk that has not moved on yet,
… and there were still half a dozen Evening Grosbeak around. While there is still a couple present, there were no Northern Saw-whet Owls along the east dyke trail today. Did not see the American Bittern that has been showing well lately either.
At the end of my day at the sanctuary I was informed that some Mountain Bluebirds had been spotted at Boundary Bay Regional Park in Tsawwassen. They pass through here each year at this time. I had been down there last week looking for them without success. With lots of great late afternoon light left, I made my way down there.
It did not take long after arriving before I spotted them.
About a dozen of them busy moving along the beach area foraging for insects.
There were lots of people down at the beach today as well, which also kept the birds moving. This made it more of a challenge to try and get photos.
Then they all flushed and disappeared. As I looked up there was a Merlin right above me. Not long after it left, a Cooper’s Hawk showed up briefly. Needless to say the Mountain Bluebirds did not surface again while I was there. Hopefully they stick around for a few days and I have another chance with them.