The rain this morning likely a contributing factor to the smaller crowd at Reifel this afternoon. Fortunately the showers stopped just before I arrived. The target bird for today being a Black Phoebe that was reported the middle of last week.
My first pass along the east dyke trail where it has been seen the last few days met with negative results. While continuing to look for the Phoebe,
… there were some Solitary Sandpipers in the slough adjacent to the trail,
… and a Brown Creeper along the trail to keep me occupied and entertained.
After a little more walking and talking to a couple of other birders who had just seen it, I decided to stay put at that spot as it had also been seen frequenting this area in the morning.
It was not too long before the Black Phoebe returned and provided good viewing and photo opportunities.
I was soon joined by other birders and photographers looking for the bird. The Black Phoebe is a rare visitor here, with the BC Bird Alert site indicating that this bird is the 27th record for the province. It has been several years since I last saw and photographed one, so this was a good day.