Barrow's Goldeneye (April 05)

Couple of shots from Sunday at Whytecliff in West Van.

Was hoping for Harlequin ducks but saw not a one, Black oystercatchers though.
Been shut out a few times recently while going out, a couple of weekends ago i drove out to Grant Narrows and walked the nature trail hoping for Pine grosbeaks but was a few days too late, not much else that morning, same thing with the Stanley Park seawall last time i went out that way, nothing much at all, Saturday morning i hit up Maplewood hoping for the Rusty Blackbird but struck out again.
No worries though, migration is starting to heat up now and there will be plenty to shoot, now if it would only stop raining

Northern Shrike (Mar 26)

Had a pretty awesome morning in Richmond, i like to get there pretty early before things get too busy.
No sooner had i gotten my gear together and left the car when i spied a Northern Shrike in a small tree, so noticeable from a distance, it looks bigger than a sparrow and reminds me of a big cotton ball in a tree.
I tried to get a bit closer to it but then it flew off to it's next perch.
Knowing how shrikes like to work i knew that it would eventually come back to the same perch i had seen it on.
I could have stealthily followed it from bush to bush but knew it was a losing game as they will never let you get close, especially if you are carrying a big lens on a tripod, kind of like kingfishers that way.
I decided to hunker down next to a bush in close proximity to the perch and another one to the left of me the bird could set down on as well.
With tripod legs short and me sitting on the ground hunched down i decided to wait, give it 1/2 hour before giving up and beginning my actual walk, which i hadn't even started yet.
My ploy worked as suddenly the shrike set down on the perch to the left of me, even closer than the one i thought it would land on.
It was so close!
i slowly moved my lens hoping i wouldn't scare the bird but it just sat there.
Full frame shots with the 500mm f4 and 1.4x tele (these are cropped a bit).
Since i was already in position down low the bird didn't care at all that i was there and i took a number of quality shots.
One of those species that i get shots of every year but usually long range crops, never close like this
A good morning, hope Doug had some luck with the shrike, i saw it 2 more times during my walk, once in among the bird bander's net setup near the far eastern edge of the outer ponds and the last time when i was driving out, it was perched on the barbed wire airport fence.

Bufflehead (Mar 23)

Thought i'd post another duck from Burnaby lake, a couple of these little guys around but they were kind of shy.
Always tricky birds as far as exposing the white goes, as everyone who has shot one knows.
Overall, the scene is a little darker than i would prefer but i like the pose.

Wood Duck (Mar 19)

The weather wasn't great Friday but at least it wasn't raining when i went out.
Decided to shoot some waterfowl for a change and picked up a few shots of the Wood ducks that frequent Burnaby lake.
never seen the water so high at Piper spit, most of the ducks were hanging out in the small side channel and isolating subject from the masses was sometimes difficult but i got a few shots.



Thanks for looking.

Second Times The Charm (Mar 07)

Wanted to share a few shots from the weekend.
I feel i haven't been getting out enough and wanted to get some solid shooting done for a change and hopefully pick up a few of the "rare" birds i've chased unsuccessfully recently.

Saturday morning i headed out to Reifel first thing.
In the back of my mind i wondered if the Hawk-owl would be around but i didn't see it on the drive in and didn't worry to much about it since if i really wanted it i would have gone for it months ago.


Black-crowned Night-heron


Bewick's Wren


Wood Duck


Intergrade Flicker

After Reifel i headed out to the Harris's Sparrow spot in Boundary Bay for second time and was finally rewarded.
Mark Wynja was out looking as well and together we got brief looks at this difficult to photograph (at least at this location) bird.
1 shot was all i got.


Harris's Sparrow

Tsawassen jetty was next and i ran into the Snow Bunting.


Snow Bunting

Sunday morning i headed out to Iona and had some back-lit looks at the Short-eared Owl that i see on a regular basis, getting shots is a bit more difficult with this bird.



Picked off Western Meadowlark as well and ran into 4 or 5 of my new Nemesis bird - Common Snipe (still looking for my first shot of these guys).

Later i headed out to Strathcona Park and had a second go at the Western Scrub-jays.
After about an hour of waiting saw two of them but good looks were hard to come by.



While at Strathcona i got a call from one of my photog friends and he told me a Long-eared owl had been found at Boundary Bay and i rushed back, a Lifer is a bird you should always make an effort for and i was rewarded in the end (as were a bunch of other photogs and birders).


Long-eared Owl

For a guy that doesn't really go out of his way to shoot owls i just realized that this was my 11th North American owl species photographed, not bad for just under 5 years of birding

Thanks for looking

Gray-Crowned Rosy Finch (Feb 20)

Had no idea it was going to be soo windy yesterday
Decided to drive out to Harrison Hot Springs to try for the Gray-crowned Rosy-finches that have been reported by many this last little while. Looked to be a nice day and a potential North American Lifer is always worth a drive.
Coming up on 5 years as a birder and bird photographer and i'm finding the new birds just don't come as quick as they used to
Anyways, after searching in what i call Arctic winds the whole 1 1/2 hours i was out and very nearly having my fingers fall off from the brittle cold (i still haven't bought a good pair of gloves yet) i finally located them, on the far side of the gravel boat launch parking lot, on a dirt bank hidden in heavy shadow.
I was on the way back to the car and happened to notice someone photographing the lake and mountains beyond. He was standing on a dirt bank and then i noticed a little dark shape flutter just below him
Sure enough, and 5 of them in all.
best of all was that 2 other groups of birders out the same time as i also got a chance to view them.
Michael Klotz was one of the birders and had driven up a number of times already unsuccessfully.
We were all quite relieved to finally see them and watched as the birds worked some seed that had been scattered on the bank until 2 cyclists wizzed by scattering the birds.
We watched as they flew high up in the air and towards the mountains to the east of us.



bonus bird (and my consultation prize if i dipped on the finches) was this approachable Snow Bunting on the lagoon walkway.
Fingers were seriously freezing while shooting this bird





Thanks for looking

Bohemian Rhapsody (Feb 13)

Hey all, got rained out yesterday but was able to get out early this morning and decided to stalk Maplewood.
Had heard about the Bohemian Waxwings coming to the garden area (near entrance) from various sources (and pics posted on this very forum) but had dipped the few times i've tried recently, always in the afternoon.
Morning was the trick, the first birds i saw when arriving were the winter bandits in question.

_________________

A Couple of BBay Birds (Feb 06)

Got up early on Saturday and decided to head out to see about the reported Harris's sparrow off 96th in Boundary Bay, i suppose i should have researched what an actual "tomato patch" looks like because i had no idea where it was that i was supposed to be looking
Didn't see the bird but i wouldn't be surprised if it was right in front of me all along.

Was planning to head out to Blackie Spit but ended up on the dike at Boundary Bay near the golf course.
Ran into another photog by the name of Peter (of Czech descent), and we walked together for a bit looking for Short-eared owls (yes, even i can't resist the allure of owls sometimes) and we came across a couple in the morning.
I had mentioned that from my research, late afternoon was best for the owls but he said not true, he has seen them at all times of the day, you just have to be lucky.
We were lucky i guess, bettered my previous record shots of this species (taken at Iona) so a pay-off in the end.


itchy-backed harrier


the look


i like the barbed wire in this one a lot.

thanks for looking

Trip Pics up

Hey all, I've finally finished processing about all the shots from Thailand i'm going to and they are now up on the Flickr page, for those interested.
Picked up over 60 Lifers, not bad considering this was our 3rd birding trip to Thailand.
Some decent shots among the many long range record shots but i sure got my fill of shooting the last little while.
Now it's time to head outside again closer to home for a change.



http://www.flickr.com/photos/revs45/sets/72157625641079221/

See you in the field

First Day Out

Hey all, finally was able to get out and do some shooting on Sunday.
It's been a busy stretch since we got back and getting a nice day when i wasn't stuck at work was a thing i couldn't pass up.

I had considered driving out to Boundary bay (and beyond) but decided to stay closer to home and minimize the drive seeing as it was Sunday (had it been Saturday however..).
I decided to follow up on some shots of a Western Gull at Garry Point in Steveston sent to me by a fellow photog.
A bit chilly in the morning and i wished i had gloves, gulls were found and i got some shots before dogs chased them away.
Pretty sure i got the Western Gull, also picked up a rare Glaucous-winged X and a nice Mew Gull, Ring-billed were plentiful as well.







Next i checked out Iona and flushed a Short-eared owl while walking along the logs, i hate when i do that, means i never get a shot, must look harder!

Later i saw two bird silhouettes flying past and guessed from their shape that they were meadowlarks.
Sure enough, later down the gravel road i came across a birder couple checking out a pair of Western meadowlarks in a tree and bush.
I picked up a few shots of the one in the tree as it sang away in the sunlight.





After shooting some Common Mergansers and Ring-necked ducks in one of the ponds decided to head back across the bridge and stopped off at Ambleside to shoot some Goldeneye's and look for the Eurasian Wigeon i saw posted on here earlier.
No luck with Goldeneyes but did get the wigeon.
Had a lot of fun shooting sparrows (White-crowned, Golden-crowned, Fox and Song) while waiting for ducks as well







Not super productive, but a good first of year outing regardless.
Had i thought my game plan out better however i would gone after some different birds for sure.