CrazyM Bird & Nature Photography
Birding in British Columbia, Canada
It did perk up as the day progressed and I headed out to the North 40. The goal being to see if any new song birds had shown up. Other than the arrival of some Rufous Hummingbirds, it was mostly the usual suspects. As is also the norm for this area, there were lots of raptors overhead.
The only shot of the afternoon was this of a Red-tailed Hawk.
This afternoon’s walk was to Reifel. While admiring the Black-crowned Night-Heron in the usual trees just beyond the entrance, something a lot smaller caught my attention.
A Sharp-shinned Hawk was roosting in the tree just above the herons. It was carefully watching the song birds around the feeder at the entrance.
A few times it suddenly launched and swooped in on them, returning unsuccessful. On returning to the same place a little later there were now two in the same area.
The Sharp-shinned Hawk is the smallest accipiter, not much bigger than a Robin.
I have seen them here recently, but usually as they go streaking by through the trees. A pleasant change to have them sit still for a short while. Especially since it has been almost three years since I last managed a shot of one.
At the end of the afternoon and as the sun was starting to go down,
… the young Red-tailed Hawk showed up again in the trees around the ponds.
As New Year’s Day can be busy at Reifel, I headed out there this afternoon to assist with visitors on the trails. On my way in along the driveway something caught my attention in Robertson Slough.
This Common Merganser had caught itself quite the prize.
So much so, it was really struggling trying to get it down.
Finally, after about 15 minutes, it managed to get it down the hatch.
On arriving in the parking lot, there were good numbers of visitors today, but it was not overly crowded. Before starting my walk I was informed of a couple of birds of interest. A Barred Owl and an immature Northern Goshawk.
No sooner had I started down the trails a Red-tailed Hawk showed up.
The Red-tailed Hawk is one of the larger buteos,
… and common in this area year round. Large enough they will hunt ducks, so a place like this can be like a smorgasbord to them.
This younger Red-tailed Hawk seems to frequent the ponds regularly.
No luck on locating the Barred Owl or Northern Goshawk, but the rest of the afternoon was still enjoyable speaking with the many visitors and answering questions.