Birding with Deon

So, yeh, i finally took a fellow bird photog by the name of Deon up on a long-standing offer to come check out his yard, he used to get Evening Grosbeaks and a few years ago the species was high on my list of "better shots" required. We never did get together until this weekend, it was worth the trip out, he truly does have a special backyard, the first bird i saw when arriving was a splendid Black-headed Grosbeak, close!
wasn't set up for a shot yet alas.

Steller's Jay



Brown-headed Cowbird



Northwestern Crow

At one point things got a little quiet, we realized later that the Cooper's Hawk sitting down the hill may have had something to with it.




A surprise visitor i wasn't expecting was this Pileated Woodpecker, which dropped in for a very quick look.




I still hadn't gotten a really nice shot of the Black-headed Grosbeak as it became a bit scarce but when i was packing up the gear (after we decided to wrap things up) it came back and i was able to get a clean shot of it, cool.




After the backyard Deon showed us a couple of his local birding spots and we had a nice walk but as it was near noon, bird activity had slowed down a bit, although it was still quite active.
we came across a couple of Common Yellowthroats singing away and i was quite happy with the shots from that session.

Later Deon showed us another spot where he figured Bullock's Oriole could be found.

All in all, an enjoyable morning in and around Maple Ridge with a nice guy, with a great yard, and a good eye for bird photography, cheers!

Weekend Birds

The birds were calling this week and since it was a little slow at work, decided to take the day off and headed out to Iona first thing Friday morning (May 03).
Actually, i headed to Terra Nova first and heard much Virginia rail activity but no actual sightings. The bittern was not apparent either so off to Iona. The gate was still closed when i got there so i took a walk through the treatment ponds, nothing much that i actually wanted to shoot although i did see shorebird flocks, as well as Tree swallows and numerous Y-R warblers, with a few orange-crowned mixed in as well.
Did manage a couple shots.






take off!

Later i saw some Yellow-headed blackbirds near the washrooms as well.
wandering back to the car i came across a mist nest with a couple of birds ensnared. 
A Hermit Thrush and a Red-winged Blackbird with jewelry around it's wrist (i guess it knew the drill already), i watched them struggle to free themselves for a bit and i gotta admit, they didn't look happy.

This morning i had warblers on the mind again, and like every year, my most desired local warbler remains the Townsend's warbler. I think because i have yet to nail down the classic uncluttered pose it drives me on to better my shots of this very cool species.
I think wood warblers in general are one of my favourite bird species to shoot, they have such great colours and the fact that they are not typically an easy shot adds to the thrill, when you finally get one in focus.
Anyways, Cypress Mountain keeps me coming back, and this morning, it was pretty good. Again though, i didn't quite "nail" the Townsend's shots but am satisfied with what i got.
The best bird of the morning, and one i just missed getting a shot of by a second was a striking White-throated Sparrow, traveling with a Golden-crowned Sparrow, they were just passing through though, unfortunately.

As well, saw a distant Hermit Thrush, along with American Goldfinch, and the ever present Steller's Jay.

The Easter Grouse

Happy Easter, i spent part of my morning (April 20) at Burnaby Mountain, hoping for some looks at Townsend's Warbler (read a report that there were 6 yesterday), no luck with the warblers but did locate the drumming Sooty Grouse in the same general location as last year.

Couple of photogs i know showed up and while the bird wasn't ever on the ground in full display or anything (fairly high up in trees), i at least got a satisfying look of it on a mossy branch.

Honestly though, i was more excited to finally get my first looks this year of Townsend's Solitaire, after dipping on them a couple times at the Lonsdale location here in North Van and once at Riverport in Richmond i saw not one but four of them in around the restaurant area and up by the grouse. :) 

oh yeah, ran into one of these guys again, as well :) 

Marsh Wren

Earlier this morning (April 18) in Richmond i spent some times with the wrens, while set-up, saw an active Virginia Rail in the reeds (tough to get a clean look) as well as a brief American Bittern visitation, only shots of bittern were quick grab shots as it flew off, quality was not great.

Rain Training

After viewing a fellow bird photogs posted rainy shot this afternoon (April 17) i felt inspired to go out in the rain myself (and believe me, we had a fair amount today).
Having just picked up some new birding-related rain gear and since i also own a decent set of rain covers for camera and lens thought, why not?
Maplewood it was and i didn't get much further along than the hummingbirds and that's just fine, got a couple of interesting looks, the rain got crazy as i was chatting with another regular birder there and we both called it then.
got some shots and the new rain jacket and pants worked well too. :)

As long as you don't wreck your equipment by getting it too wet (always cover your stuff), shooting in the rain can be a rewarding experience.

we always seem to be planning birding trips during rainy seasons so it's best to feel comfortable in those conditions, when shooting. :)

ISO 800, f/5.6, 500mm + 1.4x tele.

North Van Bluebird & Hummer

Haven't been posting much because i haven't been able to get out much lately.

Not to worry, i've been immersed in birds in other ways, getting (paying $$ to a pro data recovery place) my "lost" HD's back was awesome (external hard drive that failed, with most of my shots from 2009, including Texas), i feel complete again, knowing those shots were missing never sat right with me but now i can include everything i want to into the book project i'm working on. As well, been planning our upcoming June birding expedition and it looks like it's going to be a good one.

Went out to Maplewood Flats after work this afternoon (April 11) hoping to finally get a look at a Mountain Bluebird here in North Vancouver, dipped a few times before when one has been reported at Maplewood, the birds never stay long so today was my lucky day with a female, shot from distance and cropped near 100%.

Before all that i spent some time with the Rufous hummingbirds, felt good to be out shooting again :) 

Richmond Hummers

Well, last weekend it was hummers at Deer lake, this weekend (Mar 16) it was Richmond Nature Park in the rain.
I tweaked my knee a bit at work last week and it left me immobile friday and saturday but this morning i was able to get out a bit.
Started off at Iona and took a walk around the ponds to see if the Tufted duck was apparent, it wasn't and i wasn't going to scan through the whole flock, lighting wasn't great, it was raining and i have it already so, off to Riverport to look for the Townsend's Solitaire. All i knew was that it was being seen near the Old Spaghetti Factory so a quick wander around the parking lot yielded nothing, off to Richmond Nature park next, they have a covered area where i have shot in the rain before and this time i actually set up my camera and took a few shots at +1000 ISO.
Saw my first Rufous of the year along with a few Anna's fighting for territory near the feeders.

Downy Woodpecker

You can always tell when someone has been shooting at the nature centre feeders because the BG gets that robin's egg blue hue from the nature centre walls.

Anna's Hummingbird

Happy to be able to get out shooting, at least a little bit anyways this weekend (Mar 09).
Maplewood was quiet except for robins and Varied thrush on friday afternoon and i didn't shoot anything except a crow, which i probably won't bother posting.
Today though was able to drag my birding partner out since it wasn't raining and we both needed some time outside.
had half an inclination to check out the Glaucous Gull reported at Deer Lake and that's where we ended up, spending a couple of hours this afternoon.
Never saw the gull but did spot a couple of Anna's hummingbirds along the boardwalk and as others have posted their shots here i will do the same :)
was kinda tough shooting though because of the huge amount of dog walkers and just plain walkers out on the walk but it's all good, got a couple of looks in the end, this being my fav.

Dipper-A-Go-Go

After work yesterday (Feb 22)  i decided to do some shooting on the north shore.
I don't know what it is but the thought of driving much these days to bird takes some effort, gas prices, stuck in traffic etc. so checking out spots closer to home is something i've been doing more of lately.
Although, i've been giving Maplewood a miss just because i've spent soo much time there over the years there are plenty of other opportunities in the hood.

Started out at Grouse Mountain and walked a bit of the powerline trail, so quiet you could hear a pin drop and i decided to check out the Capilano fish hatchery instead since i know American Dipper is fairly reliable there (and since it was my next "target bird"), although i hadn't seen any the last 3 or 4 times i visited.
This time i barely had time to focus on the (always there) Common Merganser's before i spotted a dipper just asking for it's photo to be taken, not only that, but i saw two :D














A fun way to spend an hour or so, be warned though that the hatchery closes at 4pm in the winter.
i was so engrossed in the action that i didn't realize that i was the only person there after a while and it took a friendly employee to come out and tell me that actually, they had been officially closed for 15 minutes already and the padlock was already up on the entrance :lol: He assured me that they wouldn't have left me locked up overnight, that's good.

If one spends the time there, one may see Belted Kingfisher, Bald Eagle, Common Merganser and what ever else decides to come down to pay a visit.

Although it's not visible at this posted resolution and size, i was quite happy with the amount of feather detail i picked up at ISO 800 in the natural light with the D7100 and 1.4x teleconverter + 500mm f4.