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Bird and Nature PhotographyBritish Columbia, Canada |
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| Photo Blog 2009-02-28 The last few days have only afforded the opportunity to get out for shorter walks. When this is the case, Reifel is usually where I will go.
How can one not enjoy quick strolls through this wonderful place?
There is always something to see and photograph.
The American Bittern continues to fish along the centre dyke trail.
There are ample opportunities to photograph some of our common perching/song birds.
No shortage of water fowl.
Sandhill Cranes nest locally, but Reifel has also been home for up to eight over the winter.
And there is always the ever present Great Blue Heron.
I am fortunate to have this conservation area so close to home. The south arm of the Fraser River is also home to some local Mute Swans. They are not native to the area, but an introduced species.
They can be seen fairly regularly in Canoe Pass as you go over the Westham Island bridge which is on the way to Reifel. | Home | 2009-02-21 A number of my recent blog entries have covered some of the wintering raptors and owls seen in the Lowermainland area of British Columbia. Taking my wife to get her hair done the other day got me thinking of a local wintering shorebird of note. While she is getting her hair cut in Tsawwassen I will usually go to the Ferry Causeway with my camera gear to see what might be around. The Willet is a relatively large sandpiper.
The mystique around this particular Willet is that it has been wintering in the same spot at the foot of the Tsawwassen Ferry Causeway for over a decade.
This is quite extraordinary.
While there have been other Willets seen locally over the years, none as regular as this one. | Home | 2009-02-20 The Long-eared Owl while more common to the south central area of British Columbia will occasionally be seen in the Lowermainland area during the winter. Seeing them can be difficult because when roosting during the day they will be tucked away deep inside the trees. While I have seen a Long-eared Owl before, I have yet to get any photographs. An opportunity came up the other day through a friend to see one of these elusive winter visitors. While I normally comment on where my photos are taken, this was on private property. Expecting only to catch a partial glimpse of the Owl through the branches I was delighted to see it on the branches out in the open.
Being a shy bird and wary of visitors, it did not stay out in the open long.
It was a wonderful chance to see one these owls again and to get my first photos. | Home | 2009-02-19 On the agenda this day was to meet friend and fellow bird photographer Mike Yip from Vancouver Island. Mike was coming over to photograph the normally elusive American Bittern that I had seen recently at the Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary. Mike had been at Reifel for a while before I met up with him in the afternoon. He had already found and photographed one Bittern along the East Dyke trail. The other that had been frequenting the slough along the centre dyke trail was also there and did not disappoint.
It was a real treat to watch this Bittern fishing out in the open again on the branches in the slough.
I put together a short photo series of the American Bittern fishing. The Barred Owl is another regular visitor to Reifel and common to the area. This one was on the shady side of the tree with strong backlight making it tricky to photograph.
On the way out of Reifel the juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron was active and out in the open.
Always fun to see these birds awake and moving around.
Mike and I then headed out to Boundary Bay to look for Short-eared Owls. Recently they have been active in the area of 72 Street and on arriving there were a few up hunting over the marsh.
Unfortunately Mike had to leave in order to catch the ferry back to the Island. You can check out Mike Yip’s website here: Vancouver Island Birds. I remained a little longer photographing the owls in the late afternoon sun.
| Home | 2009-02-18 If at first you don’t succeed, try again. That with a little luck paid off today in getting some photos of the White-breasted Nuthatch after a few unsuccessful attempts. The White-breasted Nuthatch is more likely to be seen in the Okanagan and southeast portions of British Columbia and is an uncommon visitor to the Lowermainland area. This particular bird has been frequenting Beach Grove Park in the Tsawwassen area of Delta. I was beginning to wonder after an hour of listening and looking with nothing. As luck would have it I saw the Nuthatch fly fairly low into a tree not too far off.
When I had seen the bird previously it was high up in the trees and would have been difficult to photograph. With this bird, lower is better, especially with them constantly moving while checking the tree for insects.
It is always a good morning when you can add a new bird to the life list. | Home | 2009-02-17 This last week I have managed a few walks to the usual spots in Boundary Bay and Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary. A couple of other locations, Jericho Beach Park and Beach Grove Park, were also checked for specific birds. The Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary while still fairly quiet from a birding perspective will usually always have some cooperative subjects.
Bald Eagles are still abundant in the area and Reifel is no exception.
One unique winter visitor to Reifel is the Black-crowned Night-Heron. This is probably the only place in British Columbia, if not Canada, that you will see these birds at this time of year.
During the day these birds are usually tucked away in the trees and difficult to photograph. Occasionally they will become active and roost a little more out in the open.
Jericho Beach Park in Vancouver has been home to another raptor that will winter in this area. Last winter there was an immature Northern Goshawk at this location, this winter the attraction was an adult bird. Or so we thought initially. I have seen and photographed an immature Goshawk before, but not an adult bird. I went to Jericho Beach Park on New Year’s Eve and managed to get some distant shots of the adult Goshawk. Because my attention and focus was on the adult Goshawk, I did not pay much attention to another bird in the area I initially thought was a Cooper’s Hawk. Not until it took flight and made a couple of passes on the duck pond did I realize this was in fact another Goshawk and there were actually two at this location, the adult and an immature/juvenile. I was fortunate that afternoon to get a series of photos of the immature bird with its prey. I went back to Jericho this past week to photograph these birds again before they move on. I only managed very distant views of the adult bird. The immature Goshawk was active and went after a squirrel and made a couple of passes over the duck pond.
Unfortunately I did not get the photo opportunities I was hoping for, but it was still interesting to see and watch these birds.
Beach Grove Park in Delta has had another uncommon visitor to the area, a White-breasted Nuthatch. This would be a new bird for me. I have made a couple of visits to the park and have seen the bird, but have had no luck in photographing it. While there one day a Peregrine Falcon paid a visit to ensure everything stayed out of sight.
The Northern Harriers in Boundary Bay always provide an opportunity to work on technique and getting different kinds of photographs of these birds.
Whether roosting on the ground or in flight.
The Short-eared Owls are still around and have provided some distant flight shots, but I have still not managed anything in fairly close, so the quest continues.
On the topic of owls, the Northern Saw-whet Owl is another winter visitor that can usually be seen at the Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary. Difficult at times to see let alone photograph as they are so small, only about 8” in length, and when roosting during the day will be tucked away deep inside a tree or bushes. I was fortunate to photograph this Northern Saw-whet Owl in the Alaksen National Wildlife Area located next door to Reifel.
On my way out of Alaksen I happened across this cooperative Cooper’s Hawk.
I followed this with a quick walk through Reifel. Much to my delight I found an American Bittern foraging in the open in the slough adjacent to the centre dyke trail.
Usually these birds are tough to see and photograph as they usually stay hidden in the tall grass and reeds in the mash.
The Bittern was cooperative allowing me to approach to the bank of the slough. It was a real treat to watch and photograph this usually secretive bird as it fished in the slough.
Doubly so when it was in the same spot again the next day.
| Home | 2009-02-08 I have managed a few afternoons out in the Boundary Bay area in the ongoing quest for better Short-eared Owl photos. Also one brief walk out at the Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary. Reifel has been fairly quiet of late, but on my last loop through the inner ponds I came across a Common Merganser that appeared to have something it was struggling with in the water. On getting closer I could see it had a fish of some sort. It was not until it tried to eat it that I could see just how big this fish was.
I was astonished at the size and amazed as the Merganser worked on swallowing its catch.
One thing you can usually always count on out in Boundary Bay is the Northern Harriers.
My last few walks were no exception to this with several working the marsh and adjacent fields.
The last few days however, there had not been any Short-eared Owls up hunting in the usual spot. So before leaving I decided to go for a quick walk in the area east of 72 St. Not far along the dyke I noticed a Short-eared Owl fly in from the marsh and land on a fence post. A couple of years ago this would occur regularly, not so often these days. Before trying to get closer I took one distant shot.
As I slowly started moving toward the Owl a Northern Harrier came in and started harassing it. You can imagine what I am saying to the Harrier under my breath but to no avail, it scared the Owl off. The light was questionable for flight shots at this point, but the Owl did make a few passes back and forth along the marsh.
While watching the Owl in flight the Northern Harrier landed on a stump not too far off. It actually posed quite nicely for me.
Perhaps it wanted to make up for scaring off the Owl. Perhaps not, but it was a nice shot to end the afternoon with. | Home | 2009-02-03 This time of year the Boundary Bay area is always a good place to go for raptors. There is no shortage of Bald Eagles and Northern Harriers which are common place year around and the winter months will attract others we will not see all the time. The Rough-legged Hawk is one of these visitors at this time of year. This winter there seems to be good numbers of these hawks in the area. I have found these hawks, like others, are hard to approach and will usually take flight with any kind of unwanted attention. This can make getting photos difficult. On arriving in the bay area there was a Rough-legged Hawk roosting in a tree not too far from the road. I approached slowly and parked expecting the hawk to take off but it did not. I knew if I got out of the car it would be gone which is why I will usually have my camera ready on the seat beside me. I took this shot out the car window.
As mentioned the Northern Harrier is common to the Boundary Bay area year round. They will usually provide one with plenty of opportunities for flight shots as they cruise the marsh area hunting. Often this can be done right from the dyke trails without having to wonder out into the marsh.
One reason I will spend many an afternoon walking the bay area this time of year is for the Short-eared Owl. In particular the area between 64 St. & 72 St. This year they just do not seem to be as active in the late afternoon as they have been in previous years, spending most of the daylight hours roosting in the marsh. Today was different with a few Short-eared Owls up and hunting the marsh along the foreshore. This required walking out into the marsh to get some shots. Having watched them for awhile I walked out to a spot with a good view of the area they were actively working.
Of course Murphy’s Law kicked in once out in the marsh with a couple of the owls hunting closer to the dyke. Not wanting to move around too much I just stayed put.
It was not long before the owls settled back down into the marsh with just one still actively hunting.
As I was getting ready to head in from the marsh a Bald Eagle was flying in from the bay with a fish.
Another great day on the bay. | Home | 2009-02-01 This weekend was road trip time. I owed my sister in Campbell River a visit and there was a Northern Hawk Owl reported in Nanaimo. So I was off to Vancouver Island and kill two birds with one stone so to speak. No pun intended of course ;-) The Northern Hawk Owl is common to the Central Interior and Northern British Columbia. It is rare to see them in the Lowermainland or on Vancouver Island. This would be a new bird for me not having seen or photographed one before, or as birders would call it, a life list addition. On arriving early in the afternoon at Morden Rd. in the south Nanaimo area there was no mistaking I was in the right place. There was no shortage of people, big lenses, scopes and binoculars. The local residents were very accommodating to the birders and photographers with a couple a savvy young fellows even setting up a coffee stand in their driveway. They happily wandered amongst the visitors, chatted about the bird’s activities and seemed as excited about their temporary new neighbour as everyone else was. From speaking to people who had been there since the morning the Northern Hawk Owl had not disappointed anyone. It had been making regular visits to the tree line and been actively hunting in the area. While getting setup I had a distant view of the bird and it was not long before it came back to the tree line adjacent to the roadway.
It was quite active along the tree line with a couple of obvious perches it preferred. The Northern Hawk Owl appeared quite tolerant and unconcerned with all the people around. This was a pleasant surprise for anyone trying to get photos.
While it had been a beautiful day up to this point, unfortunately the clouds started moving in.
I was not going to let this deter me, especially with such a cooperative subject.
The grey backgrounds and sun behind the clouds did make it a little more difficult to get usable shots.
All in all, it was a great day. An uncommon bird that was more than accommodating along with the chance to meet and chat with some new people as well. I followed all this up with another wonderful visit with my sister. | Home | Previous Photo Blogs | 2010-07
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© Jim Martin |
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