Tag: Great Egret

A nice day, the May long weekend and lots of visitors when I showed up at Reifel to help out this afternoon. The highlight from the morning was the return of the Great Egret. Unfortunately it was seen flying off to the west prior to my arrival. Then while learning of other sightings from the morning walk,

… it flew back in to the sanctuary landing atop an evergreen.

From there it eventually flew down landing on this post in the rear of the house pond.

Then it was time to do a little fishing,

… and take time out for striking the occasional pose. Note the beautiful plumage of this adult bird which was even more evident,

… when at one point it ruffled up all its feathers. Needless to say, the Great Egret delighted all that passed by this pond today.

Prior to getting to my to-do list for the afternoon I was checking a few things online. One of which was the BC Bird Alert site (Vancouver and area section) and noted that a Great Egret had been reported at Reifel.  So much for the to-do list and I packed up my gear and headed out.

On arriving I learned the bird was still present in Robertson Slough, the one adjacent to the driveway. It had first been spotted in the house pond in the sanctuary and then moved to the slough. As visibility of portions of the slough along the driveway are obstructed by trees and bushes, it took  a couple of passes and some help from Kathleen, the manager, to find it.

It was tucked in along the far bank of the slough foraging for fish.

It would routinely move to different locations and provided the opportunity for this flight shot.

We do not see a lot of them in this area and the last time I saw a Great Egret at the sanctuary was Sep/Oct 2015. There has also been another recent sighting it Langley.

It was a beautiful fall day and a good crowd out at Reifel this afternoon. Highlights from the morning walk were Ruddy Duck, Ring-necked Duck, Pied-billed Grebe and Stilt Sandpiper. The Ruddy Duck in Fuller’s Slough was too far off for photos. I then made my way to the outer ponds, but was unable to relocate the Stilt Sandpiper. While I managed to see a few more Grebe, there was not much else going on. That was until later in the afternoon in the house pond at the foot of the south dyke trail,

… where the Great Egret had shown up.

Today’s weather conditions were much better than last months,

… with the location and proximity of the bird being far superior as well.

So, needless to say I was a much happier camper with this opportunity and these photos.