Greater Yellowlegs – Page 3 – CrazyM Bird & Nature Photography

Pecs, Yellowlegs & Plover

While it was a little brighter at Boundary Bay today, which is good from the photography perspective, it was still fairly quiet on the birding front.

At first I could only locate a handful of Pectoral Sandpipers.

They were foraging close to the dyke along the high water mark.

In the tidal pools around the pilings,

… was this lone Greater Yellowlegs.

It was quite cooperative providing a few good photo opportunities.

As the afternoon progressed I noticed there were several more Pectoral Sandpipers tucked away amongst the clumps of eelgrass a little further out. Still no Sharp-tailed Sandpiper though.

On my way back I managed to get fairly close to this Black-bellied Plover which was on its own on the periphery of the main flock.

This larger flock had Black-bellied Plovers, Dunlin, Sanderling and Western Sandpipers.

Plovers & Pipits

The high tide was not going to be very high at all today, but I still ventured out to Boundary Bay. Early in the walk I was not turning up any shore birds at all.

Even the Peregrine Falcon was left to harass some of the waterfowl without success. Eventually in front of the mansion a Greater Yellowlegs, Long-billed Dowitcher and a handful of Pectoral Sandpipers showed up.

I did manage this shot of a Pectoral Sandpiper and Greater Yellowlegs together which is kind of interesting showing the size difference between the two species. On my way back things were not looking much brighter. On the birding front that is, it was a beautiful afternoon to be out for a walk. Then some movement out in the sand caught my eye.

There was a small group of Semipalmated Plovers resting,

… tucked in amongst some seaweed and other vegetation.

This one was a little more out in the open,

… and allowed for this shot stretching its wings while on one leg. From here I headed to the pilings. Still no shore birds, but another recent arrival was present.

Some American Pipits were busy foraging for insects. They will show up along the shore line and neighbouring fields at this time of year when migrating south.

I set up low and close to the pilings and hoped for the best. This particular bird did alight on one of the stumps not too far off. I was happy to end the walk with these shots. These slender little birds can be difficult to get at times.

Shorebirds, Crane & Waxwing

After some morning errands I headed out to Reifel for a short walk this afternoon. One bird of note that had been spotted recently was a Swainson’s Thrush. With this in mind I started off along the east dyke trail. On speaking to a couple of other visitors one had apparently been heard by the northeast corner. Having no luck there I made my way to the outer ponds and dyke to see what might be around.

There were lots of Western Sandpipers moving around the northwest pond.

Some taking a time out from foraging for food to take a bath.

Several Greater Yellowlegs were present as well,

… and more spread out amongst the outer ponds.

There were also a few Lesser Yellowlegs mixed in with the Greater.

A couple of groups of Long-billed Dowitcher,

… and small numbers of Semipalmated Sandpipers rounded out the shorebirds. With more starting to show up now it is probably time to dig out the rubber boots in preparation for trips out to the Boundary Bay area.

The resident Sandhill Cranes were also in the outer ponds. It is unfortunate that this years colt did not survive more than a couple of weeks.

A nice surprise this afternoon was this brief glimpse of a Cedar Waxwing nest.

On my way back I stopped again at the northeast corner. This time I could hear a Swainson’s Thrush and then saw it moving between the trees. Unfortunately for me it stayed tucked away amongst the branches and I could not get a photo before I ran out of time. While watching this one, I could also hear another one singing not far off. Too bad as I have yet to get a picture of this species for my list, but there is always next time.