Northern Harrier – Page 2 – CrazyM Bird & Nature Photography

Harrier, Short-eared + Lincoln’s

It was a half decent day with a light overcast and I decided to head out for a late afternoon walk. The destination was the Boundary Bay area to look for migrating and overwintering sparrows. I started form 72 St. and made my way east along the dyke. While checking for songbirds,

… there was the expected Northern Harriers,

… and Short-eared Owls active over the marsh. Beyond the end of the golf course I eventually found a group of active sparrows. They were busy going back and forth from the tree line to the marsh. It was a mix of White-crowned, Golden-crowned and Song Sparrows.

Then one of my target birds made an appearance. This Lincoln’s Sparrow popped up from the ground and posed nicely on the side of the trail for me. This area is also a good spot to see American Tree Sparrows, but I could not locate any today.

Grebe & Merganser

I headed out to Brunswick Point in the sunshine this afternoon. The goal today was Northern Shrike. It did not take too long before finding one hunting the marsh from the tree tops adjacent to the dyke. Unfortunately it was not in a good spot for photos. I made my way a little further along to a better location for photos and one they tend to frequent. While waiting,

… the Short-eared Owl and Northern Harrier were active and harassing each as they often do. The Northern Shrike, alas, did not show up.

Prior to starting my walk along the dyke I noticed the usual cormorants along with Horned Grebe, Common Goldeneye and Red-breasted Merganser in the river. With the sun starting to go down and the water calm I made my way back.

One of the Horned Grebe was fishing in fairly close to the river bank.

The Red-breasted Merganser were a little further out but I did manage a shot. The Common Goldeneye had moved off to far. The mouth of the river at Canoe Pass can be a good spot to see some these sea ducks.

American Tree Sparrow

Sunny and cold again today as I made my way back out to Boundary Bay. This time it was to look for the Palm Warblers and American Tree Sparrows that had been sighted recently. I passed several people watching and photographing the Golden Eagle on my way to the dyke. Once there I made my west in search of the Palm Warblers.

While I did find some Yellow-rumped Warblers, no sign of the Palm. There were a few Harriers and Short-eared Owls active on both sides of the dyke with several people watching and photographing them.

While making my way back east adjacent to the golf course,

… even I took time out to photograph this Northern Harrier hunting the fairways. Back to the task at hand,

… I did finally locate a couple of American Tree Sparrows mixed in with some White-crowned Sparrows. Unfortunately they did not stick around and give me a chance for a better shot. Then on my way back to the car as the sun was setting,

… this Northern Harrier to end the afternoons walk.