Blackie Spit, Surrey B.C. April 17th 2013. Sunny but below seasonal average temperatures.
One of my favourite spots for photographing birds is
Blackie Spit is nearby to my home so mercifully I don't have to fight the notoriously congested Lower Mainland traffic to get there. Living so close to Boundary Bay, which the spit is part of is an added bonus, especially as the annual Spring migration begins to take hold.
As you can read from the link above, Blackie Spit offers the birdwatcher an opportunity to view a wide diversity of species. I had gone out early before the joggers and dog walkers to hopefully photograph shore birds on the flood tide.
 |
| Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola) |
 |
Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichensis)
 |
| Greater Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes) |
|
The birds never came too close so after the tide ebbed and on my way back to the car I walked through a small copse where I noticed several North-western crows harassing what turned out to be a immature Red-tailed hawk. I was devouring a rodent it had caught moments before. I am not too sure how long it took to catch the critter but it needed only two or three minutes to finish the meal. The hawk made several other dives into the undergrowth but without success. What was unusual that Red-tails are usually quite skittish but this one paid no attention to me or passersby, perhaps hunger outweighed any percieved danger.
 |
| Immature Red-tailed Hawk (buteo jamaicensis) with prey |
 |
| On the lookout for more prey, the young hawk was comfortable with my presence. |
John thanks for sharing a bit of your insights into Blackie Spit - nice finds there.
ReplyDelete