I Went Birding Monday

Monday Feb3 2014 

 Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary/Ladner River Rd, 64th Ave and 72nd Ave.

As promised there was not a cloud in the sky Monday morning which meant below average daytime temperatures of just above freezing, perfect for spending a day outside.
The day began with a check on the Prairie Falcon which may have moved on as a Pergrine Falcon was now occupying the favoured perch. A quick drive along River Road turned up the Red-tailed Hawk with the big beak syndrome but not much else.
A walk around Reifel didn't produce too much photographically but I had a number of interesting conversations and had a wonderful packed lunch while overlooking the marsh and Fraser Delta. As I was leaving a Bald Eagle flew over head offering me the chance to a head-on shot.

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Moving on to 64th Ave two long-eared owls slept in a bush while being very patient with all the passersby including dogs and horses. There were only a few Dark-eyed Juncos where sometimes eight or nine species could be counted on a good day.
As 72nd Ave is on my way home I thought I might drop in and wait for the Short-eared Owls to begin their hunting. On my arrival at about 2.30 p.m the Northern Harriers were already hunting, a few were sparring with Bald Eagles or squabbling among themselves over Townsend's Voles, a favourite prey in the fields and foreshore.
A number of Bald Eagles were circling above the dyke when suddenly an immature bird landed right in front of me.

Immature Bald Eagle

The mature eagles were pairing up and in the distance could be seen swooping down on mixed flocks of American Wigeon, Mallard and Green-winged Teal.

Mixed flocks of duck disturbed by eagles.

As the sun began to fade and the 'sweet light' bathed the fields the Short-eared Owls began the hunt.

Short-eared Owl (Asio flammeus)

Sumas Prairie Raptors

Jan 24/14 Sunny Sumas Prairie, Abbotsford B.C.

Sumas Prairie, Abbotsford B.C Jan 24 2014

With Boundary Bay fogged in due to a week-long inversion I decided to head out to sunny Sumas Prairie in search of an elusive Gyrfalcon and some much needed sun. It wasn't long before the Gyr was found but it was too far away to get even a half decent picture. I was happy with the sighting and moved on to search for a Golden Eagle that had recently been seen in the vicinity. 

Following an hour of driving around, scanning every large tree for signs of the Golden Eagle a large silhouette in a distant tree promised success. Even with binoculars the bird was too far way, it was either an immature Bald Eagle or the Golden but I couldn't be certain.

Frustrated by the situation (the bird was on private land) patience again would have to come into play. Hopefully the bird would take flight and in my direction.
A great deal of birding I am finding is part research and the other half, plain good luck. A cold wind buffeted the car while I ate lunch and waited. The waiting reminded me when I used to fish for carp and tench back in the UK. Sometimes waiting hours or even all night for a bite. To bird you need patience, there's no way around it. I once spent ten days in silence at Buddhist retreat so waiting for an hour of two for a bird to move is not really a big deal.
I remember one particular day when after meditating for six or seven days with only minimal sleep my mind was in a quite a tranquil place. The internal chatter of the mind had died down and everything seemed well with the world..so I thought. Just as I was thinking I was getting the hang of the "meditation thing" a flock of birds landed just outside the monastery window. The flock burst into a noisy chatter and all the calm I had acquired suddenly vanished. Bloody birds, I thought. That night, we could if needed ask the monks a question and so I asked her was about the noisy birds and how they disrupted my 'precious' meditation.
Her answer was simple and became the title of my blog "Listen to the Birds". With those few words I understood the concept of letting nature be itself and not to try and impose any thoughts upon it. Those wise words are with me today as I bird and photograph our avian friends.

Suddenly out of nowhere a Bald Eagle flew toward the tree. It became clear the bird in the tree was indeed a Golden Eagle and a fierce battle for territory was suddenly being fought overhead. The Golden Eagle soared in an ever increasing spirals suddenly swooped down to drive the intruder away. No contact was made but there was no doubt who now ruled of the roost.
Who needs the National Geographic channel when we have this in our own backyard!
Here is one the resulting shots.

Golden Eagle ( Aquila chrysaetos)

The day continued with sighting of one Rough-legged and seven Red-tailed Hawks, five American Kestrels and one Gyrfalcon and a large flock of Western Meadowlarks.

Rough-legged Hawk (Buteo lagopus)

A long distance ID shot with some nice backlight. 

The day ended with a quick coffee run to the Great-blue Heron Reserve where we were alerted to the possibility of a Lincoln Sparrow hanging out with the Song and Fox Sparrows. An hour later, the shy and diminutive sparrow posed for pictures.

Lincoln Sparrow (Melospiza lincolnii)

Good Birding

John

Flight Shot Assignment/Bald Eagles

Delta B.C. 72nd Ave Dog Park. Thursday April 11, 2013 Sunny.
Todays assignment was to go out and cover as much ground as possible in search for new arrivals and hopefully a vagrant or two. The migration is slowly depositing birds all over the countryside, so it's an exiting time of the year all birders look forward to. So far the most obvious arrivals in our neck of the woods are the Common yellowthroats, the Townsend's solitair and the Rufous hummingbird.
Instead of the usual tripod and Gimbal head I went hand-held with my Nikon D300s and F4 300m lens, that way I thought I could  cover much more ground than usual and possibly get some flight shots of songbirds. Five minutes into my walk I came across a Bald eagle's nest in a small popular tree, one of the occupants was flying around in circles intent on something on the ground. I did eventually go for a longer walk but found nothing of note and at the end of the day I was more than happy to have had a break from dragging heavy equipment around all day.

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

Two Eagles

An adult Bald eagle tries to steal a fish tail from an immature.