Dabbling with Ducks Plus Hawks and Finches

Monday  Nov 25 2013. Blackie Spit, Crescent Beach Surrey, B.C. British Columbia.

I have to admit that I have not had the opportunity to study the difference between American and Eurasian Widgeon until today. I had seen them through bins but now I had a mixed flock in right in front of me and within camera range. The flock not only had the two aforementioned species but also a number of hybrids.
I am posting these pictures to see if anyone is actually reading this blog as there is no better way to monitor blog readership than to misidentify a species. Your feedback is appreciated if I have mislabeled any of these beautiful dabbling ducks.

 Male American Wigeon (Anas americana)

American and Eurasian hybrid.
Note: I have been told this actually an Eurasian not hybrid. I'm learning too, thanks to Mike Tabak for the identification.

Eurasian wigeon (Anas penelope)

After photographing the ducks on the spit I took a walk into the wooded area east of the car park. There I saw the silhouette of a bird of prey. It turned out to be a Cooper's hawk.

Cooper's Hawk (Accipter cooperii)

The Cooper's swoops down into the undergrowth but was unsuccessful.

 It suddenly flew down from a tree, crashing into the undergrowth, the bird re-appeared sans prey and continued hunting.

The bird was originally perched in a tree and then went diving and hunting in dense bushes.

I managed to grab a few perched shots and then it flew off, even with a high shutter speed the wings are blurred. The most vital part of flight shots is using at least 1/1000 or faster shutter speed to capture a sharp eye, slower speeds can create a blur which spoils the final image.

The weather was cool but sunny so I decided to take a wander to the other end of the conservation area close to the railway line. There are a number of Pacific crab apple and hawthorn trees which are still laden with berries. There I found Downy Woodpeckers, Golden-crowned Sparrows, Northern Flicker, Raven, North-western Crows, Great blue Heron, Bald Eagle, Double crested Cormorants and Purple Finches.

Purple Finch (Carpo purpureus)

A male Purple Finch gorges on Pacific crab apples at Blackie Spit.

Good birding to you all
John Gordon

Boundary Bay Berry Bonanza

Jan 12 2012 Boundary Bay 72nd Ave, Delta B.C.
Sunny and Cold
Talking to other birders it is clear that Boundary Bay is regarded as one of Canada's premier birding hotspots in Canada. Simply, there are birds everywhere!
My first shots of the day were taken within site of the parking lot. In an an joining field a Short-eared owl is being harassed by a Northern harrier. A few yards further along a flock of Purple finch feed on winter berries, picking out the seeds from the pulpy outer portion. On a tall electrical tower a Peregrine falcon launches itself in search of prey.
Close-by another solitary Short-eared owl put on a show for everyone including the many children who had been brought to the dyke to see the Snowy owls. Eventually the short-eared owl landed close enough to take head shots. Many didn't notice the long-eared owl which came out to hunt just as the sun kissed the horizon. To find three owls in a such a small area is quite remarkable!
In a few short hours and without too much effort and expense these images were captured, closing out another picture perfect day on the West Coast.
See next blog for Short-eared owls photographed the same day.

Female Purple finch (Carpodacus purpureus)

Male Purple finch

A Purple finch extracts a sed from a berry

Boundary Bay (All Kinds of Birds)

                                  Friday Dec 14th 2012 Boundary Bay-Sunny and Cold.

Birding on Boundary Bay is never dull, even in the depths of winter rare and unusual avian visitors make it one of the best birding hotspots in North America. 

In the previous blog I featured some so so images of the Sage thrasher (a lifer) which I had taken under less than ideal conditions. I just had to return with the tripod and all the gear and try for some better compositions. Three long days had passed before some suitable light conditions returned and other commitments were behind me, I was just raring to go!
As usual the weather forecast was vague to useless, despite the promise of sun it spotted with rain all my way to 64th. I thought the day would be lost to the rain but when I arrived the wind suddenly died down, the skies cleared and the sea mist quickly evaporated. Perfect!

I began my search for the Thrasher but I couldn't see it anywhere, so I headed for a white dot on the horizon, a snowy owl was perched in a tree a few hundred feet from the pathway.

Snowy photographed from the Dyke.

A few shots (12) were taken without spooking or approaching the young owl too closely when I noticed a Northern flicker (below) land on a bush about 50 feet away. It took me a few minutes to gain the trust of the woodpecker, the resulting photograph is one of my all-time favourites, the colour of the tail feathers are amazing.

Northern flicker (Red-cross/Yellow shafted intergrade)

Orange-crowned warbler.

Behind me on the ocean side I heard a flock of Orange-crowned and Yellow-rumped warblers. They were feeding on yarrow seeds. There were also a flock of White-crowned sparrows, purple finches and in the distance a Northern Shrike perched on a bush.

White-crowned sparrow

Purple Finch 

A Northern shrike looks for rodents or small birds.


AND NOW TO THE ORIGINAL ASSIGNMENT
GET SOME DECENT PICTURES OF THE RARE PACIFIC COAST VISITOR
THE  SAGE THRASHER

Sage thrasher.

Sage thrasher searches for food.

Sage thrasher.
I prefer the clean background long lenses provide but it is as important to show habitat.

Thanks everyone for looking in at the blog. Your comments are really important to gauge how this avian journey is progressing.

Happy Holidays