CrazyM Bird & Nature Photography
Birding in British Columbia, Canada
Headed out to Reifel to help out on the trails this afternoon. While still fairly quiet on the birding front,
… there were some interesting waterfowl around.
There were at least three pairs of Ring-necked Duck present. And the entertainment for the afternoon,
… was the resident pair of Sandhill Cranes bathing and preening.
Then strolling around fanning and drying their feathers.
It has been longer than usual since my last post. An ongoing and urgent family medical situation has kept me busy when not working. A small window of opportunity opened up this afternoon I headed out to Reifel.
I used bird families in the title and the first up is Emberizidae. This large group includes Towhees, Sparrows, Juncos, Longspurs and Buntings. The two I managed to capture this afternoon were,
… this White-crowned Sparrow,
… and a Dark-eyed Junco. Both of which seem to be present in greater numbers the last couple of weeks. This is normal for this time of year and into the winter season. Still no sign or further reports of the White-throated Sparrow.
Next up, Picidae, or woodpeckers.
This Pileated Woodpecker was busy looking for insects in this old snag,
… while this Northern Flicker was foraging along the ground.
Last but not least Gruidae, or cranes. In this case Sandhill Cranes of which there were 36 in the outer ponds this afternoon. I think that is the highest count I have seen there. I got the following series of shots of a juveniles running taking off.
It was a nice break from what has been a hectic week or so.
A new season is upon us with autumn arriving in the wee hours this morning. I headed out for a walk at Reifel this afternoon as it was supposed to clear up. On arriving there were a few clear patches amongst the clouds. Just inside the entrance, however, there was a bright spot that stood out,
… several sunflowers that have grown quite tall. I positioned myself to get the softer green background and make sure the brilliant yellow petals stood out. The centre of the sunflower is actually a base for a thousand or more individual flowers joined together.
Moving on to birds, there was not much along the east dyke trail. On checking the outer ponds there were the usual Yellowlegs and Dowitchers. There was over a dozen Pectoral Sandpipers this afternoon, which is more than the one or two that have been seen the last week or two. Of note were two Stilt Sandpipers present with the other shore birds.
Also present in the outer ponds this afternoon were twenty or so Sandhill Cranes. This number included the resident pair and their juvenile.
The juvenile is a small fry no longer and pretty much full grown. It is not unusual to see this many cranes at this time of year. The sanctuary seems to be a popular gathering place for other groups nesting in the Lower Mainland area prior to moving further south. The resident pair stay at the sanctuary year round.
With not much else in the way of photo ops around the ponds I headed back to the area where a White-throated Sparrow had been seen a few days ago. While there was no sign of it,
… there were some Yellow-rumped Warblers. They were actively hawking for insects from the trees. I tried positioning myself on the periphery where they were active and alighting on the branches with their catch. As this area was not in direct sunlight I had to watch my background to make sure it was not too bright and blow out any pictures. Then it was a matter of waiting to see if one would catch something, land close by and not be obstructed by branches or leaves. That is not asking for too much is it?
After waiting patiently, one finally came into the branches in front of me.
Just what I was hoping for. I have mentioned it before and will again, be patient and put in the time. Then you will increase your chances for opportunities like this. It also helped that it was quiet people wise. No other visitors walking by disturbing the birds and their feeding behaviour.
I had to leave after this, but it was a good start for the fall season.