A Three Sandpiper Morning

Aug 1/14 White Rock Pier/Blackie Spit/Tsawwassen Ferry 

7a.m White Rock

Yesterday Raymond Ng and I waited an hour for the sun to rise on the White Rock beach. We were there to photograph a Willet. Neither of us had birded much in July so we were hopeful the photo shoot would be productive. The challenge is that in the early morning the Willet tends to hang out on the shaded part of the beach. After an hour of patiently waiting and just as the sun and Willet were in perfect alignment a beachcomber flushed the bird, leaving us with little to show for our efforts. You win some, you lose some and i'll leave out the expletives!
So the next day I decided to give it another try. I arrived to find the Willet closer to the pier and in the only shaft of early morning sunlight available. Again a walker disturbed the bird but by this time I already had a few shots in the bag.

Willet (Catoptrophorus semipalmatus)
The Willet is one of the  larger members of the sandpiper family. It has a wingspan of 26 inches.

7.45 a.m Blackie Spit, Crescent Beach 

As I had time on my hands I decided to try for the Long-billed Curlew at nearby Blackie Spit. The tide was creeping in as I arrived. I spotted the bird resting on one leg which gave me the opportunity to approach while getting the sun at my back. After twenty minutes creeping across the sand and mud I was close enough for a few shots. I spent about twenty minutes photographing various poses, even one with a reflection, finally the bird walking away at its own pace. I backed off and we both went about our day.

Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus)

You your way, i'll go mine!

The Long-billed Curlew is a large sandpiper with a wing span of 35 inches. Listed as uncommon.

11.00 a.m Tsawwassen 

A business meeting at 9.30  meant I would loose the good light, so by the time I got to the ferry terminal the light was less than ideal. Backlight and shimmering heat of the rocks made photography a little challenging. However, I decided to try for a few shots to make it a three sandpiper day.

Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)

The quality and direction of light had by mid morning deteriorated so much that these two shots lack the quality and 'feel' of the Willet and Long-Billed Dowitcher photographed earlier in the morning. I'm sure a birder would be happy to see them but for the photographer these are just ID shots. The solution is to go again, much earlier and hope for the birds to co-operate.

Photographed with a D300s, 500mm F4 and 1.4x converter.

It's never too late to start birding!

John Gordon

Langley/Cloverdale

Birds on the Bay and Beyond Poster

Feb 16/14  Birds on the Bay Poster.

I was honoured when Jude Grass asked me to contribute a photo of a Whimbrel for the current Birds on the Bay programs.

                                                 
                                                       Birds on the Bay programs link

Some more pictures of Whimbrel migrating through Boundary Bay. The birds rest and feed around Boundary Bay and surrounding farmland, fuelling up before heading northward. Whimbrel breed in the Arctic sub-artic heath and marshland and migrate back to South America following breeding and rearing their young. 

Whimbrel (Numenius phaeopus)

I used a D300 with 500mm F4 and a 1.4 TC converter handheld to snag this flight shot. The poster picture was reversed for compositional considerations with my permission.

Good Birding

John Gordon

A Tagged Whimbrel EH!

Jan 2 2013 Tagged Whimbrel.

Below is a message that popped up on my Flickr account this morning shedding light on a tagged Whimbrel I had photographed in Churchill, Manitoba in early June 2013.
I was in Churchill for avian migration and no, there weren't any Polar bears. I had sent the information in months ago and had a quick response but today more information arrived to shed some light on the bird in question. 
I had been photographing some Stilt Sandpiper when I spotted this bird. It was a long distance shot and I didn't notice the tag at first. 
What I love is the EH tag. Many Canadians, even myself a transplanted Brit include at the end of our sentences.  As in beautiful plumage, eh!

Below is the message:
"Hi John, 
We first tagged this guy on June 21, 2011, at his nest near Launch Rd at Camp Nanuq. I assume that's where this was taken? He was there this summer again, too! Thanks for getting a shot of him, and on an early date. We just got back our first set of geolocators from the Churchill Whimbrel, and in 2013, they all arrived on the breeding grounds between May 26 and 29. He probably spends his winters in Pará, Brazil."

Andy Johnson

 Whimbrel EH!

Churchill Manitoba Part 1

May27- June 1 2013 Churchill, Manitoba. Canada
Part two of my three week road trip began in Winnipeg. A Churchill bound VIA Rail train leaves three times a week and is one of the great rail journeys of North America. The train leaves Sunday noon with two nights on board arriving in Churchill Tuesday morning. I chose a cabin as this allowed me to edit my files from the Ontario portion of the trip and catch up on some sleep.
The changing landscape was an added bonus as the rolling farmland and lakes slowly changed to Aspen to stunted tundra Lodgepole Pine. As the train neared Churchill a single Sandhill Crane kept pace with the train before heading off and Willow Ptarmigan could be seen sitting in bushes.
Once in chilly Churchill my host Yijon kindly drove me around and at one of our stops a pair of nesting Merlins noisily made their presence known. I took a few quick shots as a Raven was nearby and I didn't want to draw the birds from their nest.

Merlin (Falco columbarius)

My first day out on the tundra was one of assimilation, the terrain so different from anything I had ever experienced. My very first shot was a Lesser Yellowlegs atop a tree, normally I would see them on the beaches of Vancouver. I then decided to go into the nearby Churchill Northern Studies Centre to get some tips about where exactly to look for birds. They were very helpful and had hot coffee. Slowly but surely the tundra began to reveal its secrets. A flock of American Golden Plover feeding on insects, a Northern Harrier hovering overhead and a pair Bonaparte's Gulls beginning the nesting process. Churchill doesn't give up its secrets easily so patience is a requisite, something I had cultivated when I used to fish.

The cold wind off Hudson Bay meant wearing three of layers of clothing so whenever possible I photographed from the truck ($75 rental a day and $2.08 a litre for gas) the vehicle also acted as a blind and windbreak. Next up was a trip along Goose Creek Rd, where a number of ponds and sloughs had thawed and were being used extensively by Hudsonian Godwit as well as Stilt, White-rumped and Solitary Sandpipers. There were also a smattering of Short-billed Dowitchers which were easy to identify as similar looking Long-billed rarely visit Churchill.

Hudsonian Godwit (Limosa haemastica)

 I had photographed Stilt Sandpipers (below) at Refel on their Fall return migration to South American but to see them in full breeding plumage was especially rewarding. Occasionally a Merlin would disturb the feeding shorebird flocks and reveal single sandpipers like the White-rumped hidden amongst the Stilts. All very exiting, enough to make one forget about the cold.

Stilt Sandpiper in breeding plumage (Calidris himantopus)

Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis)

Melting snow opens up new feeding opportunities. Seeds and insects make up most the Buntings diet.

Next was a visit to 'The Beach" a ramshackle collection of cabins and fish boats near to the downtown core. A flock of Snow Buntings were feeding on the foreshore. Common Eider, Thayer's and Glaucous Gulls were out on a distant ice flow. One bird that is present year round is the European House Sparrow.

Finally, I include a distant record shot of a Whimbrel with a tag. If anyone has any ideas about its origin please let me know.

Whimbrel with EH tag

Whimbrels (Perseverance Pays Off)

 176 Street and 8th Ave, Delta  and 176 Street and 8th Ave,  Surrey, B.C. Sunny 24c

The day started with a tip that there were 12 Whimbrel on 112th Ave in Delta. It was noon and the fields where the birds were feeding was shimmering from the heat. Sunscreen and a hat were the order of the day. A farmer was preparing the soil for a potato crop and the Whimbrel were feeding on the disturbed ground. A few Killdeer, Crows, American Robins and Savannah Sparrows were also taking the opportunity to find an easy meal.
Fellow photographer Raymond and myself spent several hours skulking around the hedgerows hiding from the birds but as soon as we got anywhere near a Red-tailed hawk and then a noisy farm vehicle would push then back out of range. The shimmering heat coming off the fields made photography difficult and almost impossible to get anything in sharp focus. Another problem was that the birds were almost the same colour as the soil making for a very drab images. Every single shot from 112th was eventually deleted.
After several hours and wanting to get out of the sun the decision was made to head for the cool of the Little Campbell River to look looking for warblers or flycatchers. The cool forest glade soon revealed a  a number of Pacific-slope Flycatchers and a Swainson's Thrush. Being out of the scorching sun was a great relief and the backlit Maple leaves made ideal props for the diminutive flycatchers.
After an hour or so the light was beginning to soften and as evening approached and it was back to 176 Street to stalk the Whimbrel flock which we estimated to be between 185-225 birds. an exact account was difficult as there were even more birds in another field. The Whimbrel were feeding on a freshly hayed field and despite the dry weather there seemed an abundance of worms for them to feed on. Here are the results of the photo session. Total time spent photogtaphing six hours plus four hours looking for the birds. time well spent, you bet!
 I have to admit that I would have settled for any in-focus shot after spending so much time trying to find the birds so I was elated to have at least 50 keepers from the day plus the bird was also a 'Lifer'

Whimbrel (Numenenius phaeopus)

Picking off a single bird is easier than trying to follow a flock. Nikon D300 500mm  F4 with 1x4 converter.

These large sandpiper like birds can stand 18 inches high. Most breed in the Arctic, the Hudson Bay area, the West  Coast and winter south of the USA.