Rough-legged Hawk

Boundary Bay Variety

This afternoons walk was to Boundary Bay. The photo opportunities started before I even parked at the foot of 72 St.

A Rough-legged Hawk was in a tree next to the road. This shot was taken out of the car window. After parking I noted it was still there and started walking back that way, but it moved off before I got there.

There were lots of sparrows around at the foot of 72 St. when I started my walk, but nothing out of the ordinary.

There were even a few Ruby-crowned Kinglets among them.

As I continued east along the dyke I came across a large group of White-crowned Sparrows.

While several of them provided great photo opportunities,

… I did not locate any American Tree Sparrows which I was hoping to see.

As one would expect at this time of the year in the bay area, there was no shortage of Bald Eagles.

There were also a few Short-eared Owls active over the marsh.

The owls seemed to be the only thing any of the other photographers out there were interested in. Makes me wonder at times if they aware of the variety of birds that can be seen in this area.

This afternoon’s walk was in the sunshine, but the breeze did keep it on the cool side. The destination was Brunswick Point, but before heading out there my attention was drawn to the river.

There were some Red-breasted Merganser,

… and Common Goldeneye in Canoe Pass. Unfortunately they kept their distance.

At the pilings the Double-crested Cormorant showed up to sun themselves.

The walk around the point itself did not turn up much until I started making my way back. A Rough-legged Hawk was moving back and forth between some trees trailside.

While they can be wary of people at times,

… this Rough-legged Hawk provided a good opportunity for some flight shots before moving off over the marsh. A good end to the days walk.

Lapland Longspur

The sun was shining, but it was still chilly with a little snow left when I headed out to Brunswick point this afternoon. The plan was to look for the American Tree Sparrows again and maybe a chance to see the Gyrfalcon. On arriving and speaking with a couple of birders about to leave, they informed me of two Lapland Longspur that had been sighted in the farm field below the dyke. So the plan quickly changed. On my first pass along the area they had been seen I was only turning up Savannah Sparrows. Then while backtracking for a second pass,