While I have been out a couple of times since my last post, there just has not been much in the way of photos to talk about. Two days in a row I had a Great Horned Owl, but not in a spot that was any good for pictures. While not a good photo op, it did make the day for a few visitors at Reifel. I had my camera set up on the owl while volunteering there this afternoon.
While set up on the owl I noticed and was also pointing out another bird in the area. A Eurasian Collared Dove. While watching it I was thinking of a recent journal by Mike Yip (Vancouver Island Birds) where he discussed the spread of this species.
They are not native to the area and were introduced in the Bahamas in the mid 1970’s. Since then they have gradually been making there way north. Several years ago it would be quite rare to see one around here. Now they seem to be well established in some areas of the Lower Mainland. They have been in the Westham Island area for at least a couple of years, but this year is the first I have been seeing them regularly within the Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary.
On a side note, it was Mike’s suggestion that got me started blogging about my bird photography and outings.
One bird I was hoping to see and photograph this afternoon was a White-throated Sparrow that had been spotted, but no luck there.