Golden-crowned Sparrow – CrazyM Bird & Nature Photography

Eagles + Sparrows

This afternoon I headed out to Brunswick Point to see what may be around. Not far from the beginning of the trail,

… was a pair of Bald Eagles. While watching them I also spotted a Northern Shrike, but it did not stick around for photos.

Further along was this Spotted Towhee,

… and Golden-crowned Sparrow. I also got a brief glimpse of what looked like a Hermit Thrush. On the way back a Western Meadowlark flew across the trail landing in the farm field, but was too far off for a photo.

Back at the beginning of the trail with the sun just starting to go down I paused to shoot this lone Willow tree in the farm field.

White-throated Sparrow

The weather definitely had an impact on the number of visitors at Reifel this afternoon when I showed up to help out on the trails. The continuing snowfall was also keeping a lot of the smaller birds busy looking for food.

This Golden-crowned Sparrow gave me a long look. Even they were approaching people looking for hand outs.

The White-throated Sparrow was active in its usual spot near the entrance,

… and this Dark-eyed Junco struck a nice pose on a snowy log. A fun day trying to get some of the little ones in the snow.

Red-breasted Sapsucker

Given the weather of late there were not a lot of people at Reifel this afternoon when I showed up to help out on the trails. For those that were, there was a little break in the skies and some sunshine. The morning walk had seen the Red-breasted Sapsuckers, but not the Bohemian Waxwings. So I started off down the east dyke trail to try for the Sapsuckers again.

Still no luck, but one of numerous Golden-crowned Sparrow did strike a pose for me. I then headed off to the centre dyke trail in search of the Waxwings to no avail. Then back to the east dyke where I struck out again for the Sapsuckers.

As a consolation I did get this young Raccoon which trotted across the trail. I spent the rest of the afternoon on the inner trails still looking for the Waxwings or anything else interesting that might turn up. The clouds had now rolled in and it was around 4 pm and getting dark. I was making my way back along the east dyke trail when something got my attention.

Finally one of the Red-breasted Sapsucker. Only problem was having to shoot at ISO 6400 and f2.8 at a 60th of a second. Fortunately this shot turned out not too bad. It usually takes a cold snap like we are seeing right now to push these woodpeckers down to this area. As the cold is expected to continue, hopefully they stick around and provide a chance for a better photo opportunity.