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Northern Saw-whet Owl & Pintail

It was still overcast when I headed out, but the wind was fading and the rain holding off. There was only a handful of people at Reifel. This can be a good thing in terms of it being quiet and a good chance for photography. Unfortunately it was just as quiet on the birding front with the ponds even being devoid of much activity. While walking the east dyke trail I checked in on the usual Northern Saw-whet that is most vulnerable. It was present again this afternoon, but initially had its back to me. Just as I was about to continue it slowly turned around and seemed to be watching the song birds on the trail.

Northern Saw-whet Owl
Northern Saw-whet Owl

This provided a brief opportunity to photograph this little beauty awake and with its eyes open. It then casually turned back around and went back to sleep, with a big thank-you from me of course. The other trails were not turning up much so I checked the inside ponds. The problem being the overcast skies were not providing the right light to generate nice reflective colours on the water.

Northern Pintail
Northern Pintail

The closest I got to what I was looking for was this shot of a Northern Pintail. So, not having much luck finding the right reflections/colours,

Wood Duck
Wood Duck

… you settle for a fun shot like this Wood Duck pair. While these perching ducks are quite at home in the trees, they are equally adept in pillaging the feeders.

Sandhill Crane

A little on the windy side, but a nice day overall that did bring decent numbers out to Reifel. The most vulnerable Northern Saw-whet Owl along the east dyke trail decided to return today of all days after being absent from that location for almost a week. That meant the volunteers, myself included, took turns keeping an eye on it. I did manage a couple of quick walks during the course of the afternoon when not watching activity around the owl. There have been a few additional Sandhill Cranes spending the winter in the sanctuary in addition to the resident pair.

Sandhill Crane
Sandhill Crane

They were together in the centre display ponds,

Sandhill Crane
Sandhill Crane

… and provided the best photo op for me today.

Snowy Owl

Well the sun may have been shining, but the wind definitely added a cold edge to the afternoon. Windy conditions do not always help on the birding front either. Not having been there in a few weeks I headed out to Brunswick Point. The river was pretty choppy and not much out there in the way of waterfowl. A few other photographers mentioned there had been a very cooperative Short-eared Owl at the beginning of the trail, but it had since moved on. I carried on along the dyke and counted four Snowy Owls roosting further out in the marsh. On reaching a small stand of trees at the other end there was some song bird activity. Mostly Golden-crowned Sparrows and Spotted Towhees with a couple of Northern Flicker thrown in for good measure. At this point no real photo ops or anything out of the ordinary so I started making my way back. There were a few Northern Harrier active over the marsh, but no Short-eared Owls which struck me as a little odd. Then off in the distance I noticed a fellow photographer waiving at me. On arriving at his location there was one of the Snowy Owls perched on an old stump fairly close to the dyke.

Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl

He said it had flown in to the edge of the dyke and then back out to the marsh moving between the old stumps. I managed a couple of photos before a couple of dogs being walked off leash ran out there and flushed the owl. So between here and Boundary Bay there are still several Snowy Owls around.