The Birds They Keep on Coming

June 1-14 2016 Various Lower Mainland Locations

Adult Cedar Waxwing

This house finch has what appears to be horns. Last year a similar bird came to our feeder with the very same 'horns'
I have heard that it is some kind of disease. Does anyone have any thoughts about this?

Male Lazuli Bunting. Winters in Mexico
Like the colour it's named after, the lazuli bunting is one of the most colourful birds found anywhere in North America or that case, anywhere in the birding world.
I have taken this shot from a low angle to include the blue sky and as little of the tangled blackberry bush as possible to simplify the composition. The colours found in the sky and bird co-ordinate in a way that pleases the eye.

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Below I have photographed the same bird and when it flew to a nearby fencepost. I noticed a barn in the background so I re-positioned my tripod to work with the contrasting colours. The 'feel' of this picture is quite different from the one above. I also used the 8x10 frame rather than the 8x12. I can always go back my raw files and re-crop if a magazine comes looking for a cover shot. When shooting stock, always leave room for the magazine editors to place their title and inside contents.

Lazuli Bunting
I used a D500 and 500 F4 with a 1.4 converter to compress the background resulting in a gentle tradition from the barn in at the top of the background to the green grass at the bottom of the image. There has be no manipulation except for cropping and sharpening.

Red-breasted Sapsucker
I have been waiting for this shot of a red-breasted sapsucker for years. Finally I was able to find a location where the background was uncluttered and the bird was in the classic feeding position. The red, black and white of the bird set against the green leaves is for me at least, perfect colour co-ordination as nature intended it and as an added bonus the image appears pleasing on the eye.

Female red-breasted sapsucker
This illustrates a sapsucker gathering food. The bird has drilled hundreds of holes in a weeping birch tree where insects including red ants are attracted to feast on the sap. Red ants make up most of the sapsucker diet.  The sapsucker then returns on a regular basis to pick off insects. While photographing the sapsucker a rufous hummingbird also came to feed on the sap.
Red-breasted sapsuckers can be found year round in BC.

Ruffed Grouse
This ruffed grouse waits to cross a logging road, note the raised crest.
Ruffed grouse winter in BC.

Rufous Hummingbirds breed in BC and winter in Mexico.

The Reifel Sandhill Crane colt at 17 days old.
The Reifel sandhills are resident year round, unlike most sandhills which migrate to the USA for the winter.

Willow flycatcher.
The only way to distinguish a willow flycatcher from a least flycatcher is by voice.
Winters in Central and South America 

It never amazes me each time I go out bird in the British Columbia. My friends and relatives in the UK tell me how beautiful our Canadian birds are and when I visit them I tell them how beautiful their birds are. Anyone who has seen a goldfinch or bullfinch would readily agree. It just goes to show there ar beautiful birds everywhere, we only have to open eyes and listen to the birds!

"It's never too late to start birding" 

John Gordon

Langley/Cloverdale

BC Canada