Ruff

Pectoral + Ruff

It was cloudy with rain on the horizon when I headed out to Boundary Bay to try for some more shots of the Buff-breasted Sandpiper and Ruff. Both had been seen earlier in the day. As I was about to head down to the beach,

… this female Coyote trotted by.

Once it had passed I headed west to the pilings and there was no sign of either the Buff-breasted or Ruff. So I headed back all the way to 112 St. and still nothing.

Fortunately there were lots of Pectoral Sandpiper around today.

So I settled in with one group,

… and got a few photos of one cooperative bird.

Even tried my hand at video for the first time in the field with the new camera when the Pectoral Sandpiper settled in next to some Least Sandpipers.

Not wanting to give up I headed all the way back to the pilings. Brian was tagging along on the dyke while I remained on the beach,

… and just west of the pilings we located the Ruff.

While it was busy foraging with some Pectoral Sandpipers initially,

… it settled down in one area

… to do some preening. As it was staying put,

… figured I would try my hand at some more video before calling it a day. The timing was good as I got back to 104 St. the rain started.

Baird’s Sandpiper + Ruff

On the tidal flats at Boundary Bay prior to the high tide there were lots of shorebirds around again this afternoon.

The only ones that seemed willing to cooperate with me were some Baird’s Sandpiper.

With a little patience they settled in with me there,

… continuing to forage amongst the seaweed.

As the tide came in I met up with Roger and John who had been watching the plover flocks. They had seen the Red Knots and Marbled Godwit that have been around the last few days. Neither them or myself had seen a Buff-breasted Sandpiper. We all headed back up on to the dyke and headed west towards the pilings. In that area Roger spotted a juvenile Ruff. We saw it fly west, circle high overhead and then drop back down to the beach. After checking all the way to 96 St. we could not relocate the bird. Roger left us at this point and John and I headed back still trying to relocate the Ruff. He had also heard from another birder that there were four Buff-breasted Sandpipers to the east closer to 112 St.

Just west of 104 St. we came across Mike who had located the Ruff.

Not wanting to spook the bird I stayed up on the dyke initially.

After almost an hour of watching and photographing,

… I had an opportunity to move down from the dyke amongst the logs.

This provided a closer and better vantage point for photos.

Cannot ask for much more than this with a fairly rare visitor like the Ruff.

A quiet afternoon at Reifel visitor wise, but there were a few interesting birds around. Sightings from earlier included a Ruff, Red-necked Phalarope and Green Heron.

First up was the Ruff in the west field. This appears to be the same escapee first seen at Boundary Bay just over a month ago.

The same three bands high on the left leg and two low on the right. Next was the Red-necked Phalarope and while I did get to see it, it was too far off for photos.

Around the tower I managed to see one of the Bullock’s Oriole,

… and some Cedar Waxwings. As for the Green Heron, sadly I could not relocate it.