August Birding

August 2015 Boundary Bay. Dry and Sunny.

I arrived at Boundary Bay at 5.30 a.m. I had the place to myself. The water was a long way out

The sun was yet to rise, the air was warm and a few flocks of sandpipers were beginning to fly along the shoreline on the incoming tide.

Sunrise Boundary Bay

Great Blue Herons preening. 

On Reflection 

Western Sandpipers

The above series from Boundary Bay were taken with a Nikon 500mm F4 D300s and 1.4x Converter

Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary

Westham Island. Delta BC.

All the Reifel pictures were taken with the Nikon D300s with a 300mm F4 with 1.4x converter. Due to the heat I didn't feel like lugging around a big lens and tripod.

American Goldfinch feeding on thistles.

Greater Yellowlegs
D300s Nikon 300mm F4 with 1.4 converter.

Juvenile Peregrine Falcon

 Aug 18 Boundary Bay Evening light.

All images below handheld Tamron 150mm-600mm and D300s.

Least Sandpiper

Semi-palmated Plover.

Trying to photograph these shorebirds at close range meant getting out where the birds were. I try to take care not to flush them as other birders might be nearby. While birders with scopes are happy to view birds at hundreds of yards the birds above was less than 20 feet from me. It took me ten minutes crouching down in the sticky mud but I was rewarded with these two images moments before sunset.

"It's never too late to start birding"

John Gordon

Langley/Cloverdale