Red-necked Phalarope

There were decent crowds while volunteering at Reifel this afternoon in spite of it being the last major long weekend of the summer. Birding wise though, it was relatively quiet. One bird, however, did delight many visitors. A Red-necked Phalarope spent most of the day in one of the centre display ponds.

While these shore birds are routinely seen in the outer ponds at this time of year, it is not often they are seen here. This provided a unique opportunity for a lot of visitors to see this little beauty up close while it swam and foraged at the edge of the pond next to the path.

Afternoon At The Ruins

“The Ruins” is a phrase coined by my cousin when she saw a photo of the old pilings and remnants of what used to be a cannery in Boundary Bay.

The Ruins, pilings of old cannery at Boundary Bay.

To the local birders it is just the pilings between 96 St. and 104 St. which is where I decided to spend some time this afternoon.

Lots of Lesser Yellowlegs around again today.

Once again they were quite cooperative,

… foraging in front and all around me.

A few Baird’s Sandpiper came and went, but I did not have as much luck with them.

The pleasant surprise of the afternoon,

… was this Red-necked Phalarope. Then the birds scattered a couple of times, but when I looked up I could not see anything.

It was not until looking over my shoulder I saw the Peregrine Falcon roosting on some driftwood not too far off on the beach. Once it left the birds started returning.

Some Least Sandpiper landed right in front of me,

… and got quite close working their way along the edge of the tidal pool around the pilings.

Being the smallest of the peeps, you cannot complain when they are in this close proximity to you and your camera.

Not much bigger than the Least, some Semipalmated Sandpiper showed up just as I was leaving. Another good afternoon on the bay considering I stayed in the same spot!

Sora

After not being able to do it last weekend, I made my way out to volunteer on the trails at Reifel this afternoon. There were a few more people than in recent weeks and some interesting birds to boot. Just inside the entrance a Sora had been showing well around the warming hut area. As luck would have it, it was not present when I went to check.

The Barn Swallow nest on the side of the warming hut was entertaining several folks.

These chicks will not be in the nest much longer. From here I carried on to the outer ponds. Some of the usual shore birds present were Yellowlegs, Dowitchers, Western Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper and Least Sandpiper. Highlights were,

… a couple of Red-necked Phalarope,

… around fifteen Stilt Sandpipers,

… and about a half dozen Wilson’s Phalarope. An honourable mention goes to the Virginia Rail that made a quick flight from one patch of bullrush to another between the shore birds. Not wanting to give up on the Sora, I made my way back to the warming hut area. Some birds splashing away taking a bath caught my attention and on closer examination the Sora was one of them.

It then made its way back and forth along the waters edge.

Or should I say muddy edge. Not the best back drop for photos, but fun to see and spend some time with this infrequent visitor to the sanctuary.