"A Little Off Course"

Oct 10 2013 White Rock, British Columbia Canada. Cloudy with Sunny breaks
A Black-necked Stilt, a bird rarely seen on our shoreline, has been spotted at one of B.C's most popular beaches. A walking path and busy railway track are only yards away from the scenic White Rock promenade from which the bird can be easily observed.
The long-legged bird began drawing birders and photographers soon after it was spotted by Floyd en al  Wednesday afternoon.

The Stilt is a 'Lifer' for me and a few yards down the beach was another, a Franklin's Gull. That is three 'Lifers' in October, the Lapland Longspur being the third.
I was also testing out a Nikon D800 which meant I missed a few flight shots because of the slow motor drive and buffer writing the huge files. The jury is still out and my tests on the D800 are still ongoing. I might just be the user, unfamiliar with the camera controls.

Black-necked Stilt (Himantopus mexicanus) in flight.

Scale: How big is this bird? About 14 inches tall. The stilt walks between two Cackling Geese on the White Rock foreshore. The bird is also hanging out with a Willet which winters on the coast. Both birds nest in the interior and prairies. The Willet migrates to winter on the coast and the Stilt to the warmer climes further south.

The bird itself was easy to find, no skill required, just look for the long lenses, tripods, safari hats, Billy Oddie lookalikes and a mostly unshaven male binocular carrying rabble.
I suppose this can be termed a "mini twitch" with passersby showing just as much an interest and sharing stories about their own sightings. Everyone, it seems has a bird story to share. Birds bring out the best in people, one of the reasons I enjoy birding so much.

The Stilt will refuel before heading to warmer climes possibly
Central America or the Southern USA for the winter.

The shot below is photographed with the $399 Canon SX50 HS. The APS sensor point and shoot is perfect for those who don't want to lug around tripods and heavy glass. It is ideal for the birder who wants to take identification shots and perhaps make small prints. I use mine to shoot scenics as well as test images like the one below. Compare it with the images above taken with the D800.

Even as a web shot a softness to the image is apparent and feather detail is poor.

Good Birding

John

A Mixed Bag and a 'Lifer' to Boot!

9.00 Leave home after leisurely breakfast


Mar 8th, 2013 Burnaby Mountain. Blue skies and sunny.


9.30 A.M.
A few feet above me a flock of Pine Grosbeaks are gorging themselves. I can't believe I've found them on my first try. It wasn't a question of finding the quarry myself as much as locating another photographer who had already found the birds! I suppose that's just another facet of the 'Total Birding' experience. anyway I digress....I best shut up and just take pictures!

Female Pine Grosbeak (Pinicola enucleator)

The Pine Grosbeak is a beautiful bird, even though the more brilliant male was missing from the flock  the females with their yellow-olive heads were stunning. I spent an hour with them.

Pine Grosbeak feeding on cherry buds.

The flock spent a good hour eating the tender cherry buds, disregarding some very loud groups of tourists passing directly underneath them. The flock kept on feasting, eventually retreating into some higher branches andout of range, most probably to take a rest from eating.. or to take a break from us humans!



11.30 A.M.  Deas Island Regional Park Sunny

Deas Island would seem to be the perfect resting place to go bird watching. The Fraser River skirts one side of the park, another sheltered body of water inside the park is used by the local rowing club offers shelter to ducks, herons and kingfishers. High above gulls and bald eagles circle in the air. A very vocal Winter wren makes checks me out, coming within inches of my shoulder, high above a flock of Yellow-rumped warblers search for insects and scores of Black-capped chickadees and Ruby-crowned kinglets flit from tree to tree.
The rattle of a kingfisher draws my attention away. There are so many branches obscuring the bird but eventually I find a small opening to shoot through. The aperture is set at F4, later I am surprised by the clarity of the files despite all the branches in the way.

Belted-kingfisher (Mecaceryle torquata

2.00 P.M. Ladner Trunk Rd.72nd Ave
Having found nothing of note at the base of 72nd Ave I decided to make my way home. As I reached Ladner Trunk Rd I spot a Red-tailed hawk perched up on a snag. I managed one static shot before it took off and I 'lucked out' with this flight shot.

Red-tailed  hawk (Buteo jamaicensis)

4.00 Arrive Back Home after yet another wonderful days birding in the Lower Mainland.

Christmas Bird Count Publicity

See previous blog for more owl pictures.

Rough-legged hawk, Barnston Island, Surrey
Pitt Meadows Bird Count Dec 15th 2012
© John Gordon Photography

Check the link below for more information

http://www.langleytimes.com/news/185061191.html

Long Distance Traveler

The breeding habitat of American Golden Plover is Arctic tundra from northern Canada and Alaska. They nest on the ground in a dry open area. They are migratory and winter in southern South America. They follow an elliptical migration path; northbound birds pass through Central America about January–April and stage in great numbers in places like Illinois before their final push north. In fall, they take a more easterly route, flying mostly over the western Atlantic and Caribbean Sea to the wintering grounds in Patagonia. (Wikipedia)

American golden-plover/ Boundary Bay

The bird has one of the longest known migratory routes of over 25,000 miles. Of this, 2,400 miles is over open ocean where it cannot stop to feed or drink. It does this from body fat stores that it stocks up on prior to the flight. It is a regular vagrant to western Europe.