Least Sandpiper – Page 3 – CrazyM Bird & Nature Photography

Least, Killdeer & Baird’s

It was overcast and windy, but had a chance to get back out to Boundary Bay before the rain started. At least there were a few shore birds around this afternoon. I did not spot anything out of the ordinary, just the usual suspects for this time of year.

I had some Least Sandpiper work there way toward me,

… and then go by right in front of me. Nice to get the tiny ones this close. But what I was slowly working my way towards were two Killdeer.

I find it can be hit and miss with these birds as to how close they will let you get.

Today they were cooperating and when the two Killdeer got together,

… they started to vocalize and put on a bit of a display.

A pleasant change of pace to have some quality time with these plovers. The last bird mixed in with this group I photographed,

… was a Baird’s Sandpiper. Also around this afternoon were Pectoral Sandpipers, Western Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Semipalmated Plovers and Black-bellied Plovers.

Pecs, Least & Pipits

It was still fairly windy when I left home for my walk this afternoon, but no where near like the gusts we were getting last night and this morning. On arriving at Boundary Bay the breeze had pretty much subsided and it was quite pleasant. So while the conditions were great, once again it was fairly uneventful on the birding front.

There were a pair of Pectoral Sandpipers,

… accompanied by a Least Sandpiper.

They eventually hunkered down together for a rest.

There were still several American Pipits around the pilings and along the shoreline. The odd man out this afternoon,

… was this pumpkin way out on the tidal flats. Not sure how it got there, perhaps an omen Halloween is on its way.

Peeps, Plovers & Pecs

Just in case you hadn’t noticed, shore birds have been the theme for a while now. With the migration still ongoing and the chance of locating the odd rarity, it was back out to Boundary Bay around noon to catch the rising tide. As usual my walk started from 104 St. and headed west from there.

First up this afternoon,

… was this lone Western Sandpiper.

While it is more common to find them in groups or with other birds,

… every once in a while there will be the odd man out. Not long after leaving this little fellow, another reason for coming back today.

The American Golden-Plovers were still present.

This one tucked away resting,

… and then getting up and doing a nice stretch. Notice no black armpit like the Black-bellied Plover.

The last outing where I managed some distant, but decent shots, was far too short.

Today I was able to get much closer,

… and spend more time with not one, but two birds. While photographing these birds I noticed a couple of other groups further along the beach that I decided to check out.

The first was a pair of Baird’s Sandpipers,

… that were also quite cooperative. Up next,

… was about six Pectoral Sandpipers. I wanted to check this group out for possible Sharp-tailed Sandpiper, but no such luck today.

In with them was a Least Sandpiper. While it was initially resting and facing away from me,

… it started foraging and passed by right in front of me. Then I made my way back,

… locating the American Golden-Plovers pretty much where I had left them. At this point another photographer was making his way towards me. Having had some good quality time with them already, I slowly backed out so as to not flush the birds and pointed them out to him. John thanked me for the gesture and was appreciative of the opportunity to photograph these birds. Being such wonderful day I stuck around a while longer after the high tide.