Boundary Bay (All Kinds of Birds)

                                  Friday Dec 14th 2012 Boundary Bay-Sunny and Cold.

Birding on Boundary Bay is never dull, even in the depths of winter rare and unusual avian visitors make it one of the best birding hotspots in North America. 

In the previous blog I featured some so so images of the Sage thrasher (a lifer) which I had taken under less than ideal conditions. I just had to return with the tripod and all the gear and try for some better compositions. Three long days had passed before some suitable light conditions returned and other commitments were behind me, I was just raring to go!
As usual the weather forecast was vague to useless, despite the promise of sun it spotted with rain all my way to 64th. I thought the day would be lost to the rain but when I arrived the wind suddenly died down, the skies cleared and the sea mist quickly evaporated. Perfect!

I began my search for the Thrasher but I couldn't see it anywhere, so I headed for a white dot on the horizon, a snowy owl was perched in a tree a few hundred feet from the pathway.

Snowy photographed from the Dyke.

A few shots (12) were taken without spooking or approaching the young owl too closely when I noticed a Northern flicker (below) land on a bush about 50 feet away. It took me a few minutes to gain the trust of the woodpecker, the resulting photograph is one of my all-time favourites, the colour of the tail feathers are amazing.

Northern flicker (Red-cross/Yellow shafted intergrade)

Orange-crowned warbler.

Behind me on the ocean side I heard a flock of Orange-crowned and Yellow-rumped warblers. They were feeding on yarrow seeds. There were also a flock of White-crowned sparrows, purple finches and in the distance a Northern Shrike perched on a bush.

White-crowned sparrow

Purple Finch 

A Northern shrike looks for rodents or small birds.


AND NOW TO THE ORIGINAL ASSIGNMENT
GET SOME DECENT PICTURES OF THE RARE PACIFIC COAST VISITOR
THE  SAGE THRASHER

Sage thrasher.

Sage thrasher searches for food.

Sage thrasher.
I prefer the clean background long lenses provide but it is as important to show habitat.

Thanks everyone for looking in at the blog. Your comments are really important to gauge how this avian journey is progressing.

Happy Holidays