Wagtails/White and Pied

Nov 5 2014 Ladner, BC Canada Cloudy 6c

My notes from  Nov 5.

"White Wagtail, good scope views-no photos and big twitch"

I found this file buried deep within a series of other shots. The Wagtail was so far way I didn't bother to check if it was even in focus. I was quite happy to have seen the bird through one of the scopes set-up at the site. Recently someone asked me if I had a record shot of the White Wagtail, so with much trepidation here it is.
The first year White Wagtail drew numerous birders and photographers to a muddy field in Ladner. It was a decent sized twitch with people booking off work, skipping school, many had come down with a mysterious ailment that birders sometimes contract when a rarity turns up!
This tiny black, gray and white bird was a lifer for many, including myself or so I thought. As it turns out this little guy is closely related to the Pied Wagtail of the UK which I photographed on several occasions, so it turned out not to be a lifer after all. It SUCKS!

White Wagtail (Motacilla alba)

The White Wagtail is a very rare visitor to BC while the sub-species the Pied Wagtail/White Wagtail (Motacilla alba yarrellii/alba) a British subspecies (below) is quite common in the UK. 

The  Ladner bird (Motacilla alba) inhabits the continent from Western Europe to Japan. 

Pied/White Wagtail (Motacilla alba yarrellii/alba) photographed in the Wye Valley near Tintern Abby. Gwent Wales.

"It's never too late to start birding"

John Gordon
Langley/Cloverdale