Bullock's Oriole

Before i became a birder i had no idea we could see orioles in BC., i thought they were only found in the east or deep south for some reason.
Seeing these colourful birds here for the first time was pretty special. Not the easiest bird to shoot, i've tried to get something this nice for 5 years now, finally a sweet encounter early this morning in Pitt Meadows :)

 

 

As well, picked off a few shots of a nice Wilson's Warbler and another Orange-crowned Warbler in a funny pose.

 

 It's nice to take a day or two off work sometimes...

Mothers Day weekend

Nothing too special from last weekend folks, but i was happy to get some shots of Killdeer and got some decent looks at my first Savannah sparrows of the year on Mother's Day (i had to cut my session short because i had to meet my mother of all people ).

Rufous Hummingbird

Ha, finally nailed a decent shot of these guys the other day.
Every year i dedicate a few days to work the Rufous hummers at Maplewood.
Not having a feeder around one must rely on spotting a perch in use and just waiting, yesterday it all came together.
Made a print of it just now and it looks pretty nice i gotta admit    

When i first arrived i noticed one of the birds perched on a big stumpy perch, the perch swallowed up the little guy so i decided to place a smaller branch on top of the stumpy bit with a little scrap piece of electrical tape i had in my bag and sure enough, after waiting a bit i nailed one on it

Virginia Rail

A few weeks ago i had some luck at Maplewood with the Virginia rails as well, in fact just the day before i had been joking with another photog i usually see there that it would sure be great if a rail popped up in front of the far reed bank and the next day one did for me

I've been itching to get out shooting for weeks now but i needed to finish our bathroom renovation, it turned into a huge job but i knew the sooner i finished it the sooner i could get my life back.

Going to get busy shooting-wise soon though, i've booked the last week of May and first week of June off work and am planning a mega BC road trip, hoping to get up to the Peace River district - Dawson Creek and Fort St John, for eastern species to check off my BC list. Kamloops is on the menu as is Cranbrook and Creston Valley (if we don't run out of time) and the Okanagan, target birds will be Calliope Hummingbird, Williamson's Sapsucker, the eastern warblers and anything else that jumps in front of my viewfinder

Brandt's Cormorant

This species is believe it or not one of those "common" birds i still had not seen or photographed.
The beauty of birding is that there is always next year if you dip and eventually you do get it, if you try hard enough.
Didn't have to try too hard for this handsome bird in breeding plumage, infact, i walked from my house with gear and tripod to Lonsdale Quay and got some shots finally, always great when you can get a Lifer so close to home.

Also picked up some nice shots of Pelagic Cormorant, those guys are always around the Seabus terminal.

Snowy Owls again

Decided to head out to Boundary Bay one last time before the Snowies all head back up north.
Was pretty easy shooting, they (around 12 stil left that i could see) were all roosting on driftwood next to the dike, so no one really had to go off trail as they were close already.

 

Burnaby Lake

Went out to Burnaby lake last weekend to shoot some water fowl, while there i saw my first Rufous Hummingbird of the day as well (no good shots yet tho).

Wood Duck

American Coot

Green-winged Teal

Weekend Birds

It was an alright weekend birding-wise, spent a lot of time pursuing only a couple of birds, had limited success with the target birds but it was the bonus birds that turned out to be the best shots in the end anyways.
Getting this Hooded Merganser up close and down low at Ambleside was pretty sweet.

The next morning Audy found a Pacific Wren nest and a couple of birds busy doing what they do this time of year.
It was a special shot and i set up for it by laying down on the ground and putting an extension tube on since it was a close look. Even at ISO 800 and flash only a couple were sharp due to the dark location, happy with this one no matter what though.

Say's Phoebe

Got back from shooting in Richmond (no Horned larks, alas) Saturday morning and found out about a just discovered Say's Phoebe at Maplewood, local uber-birder Rob Lyske first spotted it and i was able to say thanks in person as he was just leaving when i arrived on scene.

I got a few shots off early and waited as the bird flitted from perch to perch, flycatching it's way down the mudflat shoreline.
I wanted to wait for it to come back closer to the "beachfront" so i could get some better shots but got too cold sitting there and figured what i had was decent enough for a record shot at least.

Quite a few birders out looking for it, i guess an early record for the Vancouver area perhaps, i know there was one at Blackie Spit last year..

Picked up Greater White-fronted Goose in Richmond earlier as consolation for dipping on the Horned larks.

Harlequin Duck

Went out after work today to West Vancouver and checked out a few spots, Harlequin ducks were the target and i got lucky (love it when that happens), the trick was getting into position and waiting for the ducks to come to shore, i had to be laying down for it to happen as they are extremely shy ducks.

Costa's Hummingbird - Finally

I've wanted this species for a while, missing it in Arizona two years in a row.
I found out about this fella showing up at a feeder in Kerrisdale way back in 2010.
At the time, i was given an invite by the owner to "view" it only, she wouldn't allow photographers onto her property, fair enough but if i couldn't shoot it, i couldn't list it so didn't bother.
Time goes on, i visit Arizona hoping i'll get it down there in it's natural habitat instead, no dice.
And now it seems like it's come back to the same feeders after an absense and people are getting views of it from the alley, i'm thinking i might have a shot at it finally.
This morning Audy and i went out to Camosun and 33rd and staked out the alley for an hour, getting brief distant looks every 15 minutes or so and then it would fly off somewhere.
Audy did some searching after i asked her jokingly to find the "secret perch" as the looks from the alley weren't exciting me all that much.
A while later she runs back and tells me that she did indeed find the "secret perch" (nowhere near the feeders or alley, that's all i'll say so don't ask) and i proceeded to get some shots i could be excited about, finally.
Big North American and BC Lifer of the Day!

My Little Chickadee

Maplewood Flats, North Vancouver.
It's always nice when you can get at least one shot to post when you come back from shooting.
I don't expect too much when i go out after work, some days there is not much, but at least this fella was obliging today. : )