Sandhill Crane – Page 7 – CrazyM Bird & Nature Photography

Shore Birds & Crane Family

Reifel was the destination this afternoon. There was not much happening on the inside trails except for a Great Horned Owl. While nice to see, it was not in a good spot for photos. So I made may way to the outside ponds with shore birds being more prevalent these days. There was a flock of Western Sandpipers present, but too far off.

A couple of Killdeer were in a little closer,

… and provided a couple of photo ops. There were both Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs,

… with this group of Greater Yellowlegs catching an afternoon nap.

Then a small group of Semipalmated Sandpipers showed up.

A couple of them coming close enough for some shots. Long-billed Dowitchers were the only other shore bird species observed. While watching the sandpipers the resident Sandhill Crane family made an appearance.

They worked their along the outer ponds with the adults taking to short flights,

… but junior is not quite there yet.

The juvenile has certainly grown since my last photos.

It will not be long before this one is flying.

Black-headed Grosbeak

I started off this morning at Reifel. While starting down the east dyke trail I came across a Bewick’s Wren taking a dust bath.

Something birds, and other animals, will do to keep clean.

Of course you could not go to Reifel without checking out the Sandhill Crane family.

They are venturing outside of the closed off area now that the chick is bigger.

It is amazing how fast it is growing.

This Red-winged Blackbird struck a nice pose in the cat tails when leaving the Cranes.

Then it was back to the east dyke trail again for the Black-headed Grosbeak.

This was one bird I was hoping to be able to spend some time with today.

There were several around today, both males and females.

While not quite the settings I was hoping for,

… it was better than the fleeting glimpses I had managed until now.

Cedar Waxwings were also around in good numbers today to round out my morning.

A brief walk in Boundary Bay late in the afternoon did not produce much.

It was starting to get gloomy, but this Western Wood-pewee was busy fly catching.

On The Brighter Side

It was sad to witness and capture the events at the Sandhill Crane nest the other day. So today it is time to perk things up. The second egg/chick hatched the following day, but I could not get out there until first thing this morning.

The adults and the chick were out on the trail foraging for food.

The sanctuary has closed the trail that goes by the nest area, but you can still get great views and photos of the crane family from an adjoining path.