Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary
Sometimes you really get lucky. Even though the light was a bit less than idea, this Anna’s dude decided to grace us with some wire fence posing, much closer than at the feeders. I haven’t seen this behaviour much previously; it seems to really happen when there are a lot of hummingbirds fighting over the feeders so they have to find alternative resting / staging spots.
But here’s a bird that is always willing to give sultry glamour shots!
This photo isn’t as crisp as I’d like, but I love the composition and colours and, well, pretty much everything else.
There’s always time for Northern Harriers!
On the northern dyke trail, we spied a group of of birders aiming their gear out at the marshes and… down? Yep, because the resident bittern was out taking a stroll by the trail. It didn’t seem to mind our presence, maybe because we made sure to be very quiet and respectful.
I’ll keep saying it: Ring-necked Ducks are gorgeous but that is a damn silly name.
But if I had to choose by sexiness, these dudes would be tops!
Centennial Beach
White-crowns leave their nesting areas (e.g.: the West End and downtown seawall) in the fall, and just scatter back into the Lower Mainland. I’ve mostly found them in fairly open places, but with good bush / scrub cover, which they assume is the balance they like. Also both times (Blackie Spit & here) they’re fairly close to busy suburban tracts. I assume this little guy, when it grows up, will nest in the nearby Tsawwassen neighbourhood.
Piper Spit
Light’s a bit off, but I do love the weird water textures here. And it’s not often you see Long-billed Dowitchers this close up. But here the water’s coming up almost to the spit.
And this guy, quite unusually resting on the ground off the water, giving us a great view. Though thinking about it, I’m not sure what their resting habits are? I really only ever see them in the water, busily foraging. So maybe this is normal for them, I don’t know. Plus, there was a little bush between it and any humans, so it must have felt doubly safe.
