Len and Dian's Senior Moments

Thursday, August 8, 2013

The Birds of Wilband July 30 - Aug 8 2013

I have taken to hiking around Wilband detention ponds in the morning. It beats the higher temperatures of midday. Here are some of the birds I have seen in the last week.

It is always a thrill to see Canada Geese in flight-especially when they are heading straight toward you.

A Lesser Yellowlegs and Spotted Sandpiper were enjoying each others company and the flies.

Lesser Yellowlegs

A female Belted Kingfisher soared overhead bringing my quick draw techniques into play.

Common Yellowthroats are everywhere. This is a female.

More Spotted Sandpipers? No-Wilson's Phalaropes surprised me.

I have not seen Phalaropes at Wilband before.

Here we go again with the quick draw skills. I imagine myself as an old west gunfighter with gun (camera) at the ready. A subject such as this American Bittern only gives you a few seconds to get shots off.

Luckily the camera was in the right settings to capture these shots.

There is no time to adjust shutter speed etc.

One just has to be ready for these rare opportunities.

The morning sun adds to the brilliance of this Anna's Hummingbird.

Finally a Northern Rough-winged Swallow. The Yellowthroat, Anna's and this bird were all taken while standing in the same spot.

Someone mentioned they don't see many birds at Wilband. If one moves slowly, peeks into habitat and stops and observes, one can always find something.

End of this blog.

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Thursday, July 25, 2013

Wandering Tattler July 25 2013 Iona Jetty

Thanks to Tak Shibata for finding the Wandering tattler on the Iona south jetty and Mike Tabac for reporting it. It gave Dian and I an excuse to leave hot Abbotsford for the cool ocean breezes. We found the Tattler about half down the jetty and shortly after we were joined by Mark Wynja and Paul Levesque. The bird was easy to photograph from the top of jetty as it foraged along the shoreline and here are some of the results.

End of blog.
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Wednesday, July 24, 2013

The Birds of July 2013

July is usually a month of boredom for a birder. Most migrants have passed through and those that are left are losing their breeding finery. However some of the birds that headed north are starting to show up again on their way south. An example is the Wimbrel.

Whimbrel at the Ferry Jetty

Whimbrel

Black Oystercatcher Ferry Jetty

Bushtit Mill Lake

A Bald Eagle was being harassed by Gulls and Crows at the ferry jetty. It was quite a distance away. Not clear shots but nice to catch the interaction. The Eagle defended itself against the gull but was indifferent to the crows.

I thought the Eagle may have had eye problems as many of my shots showed clouded eyes. However I did see a few photos with clear eyes. It appears the eagle may have activated the nictitating membrane every time it was attacked.

Glaucous-winged Gull

Tangle Bank Nursery in Abbotsford grows Crocosmia and it really attracts the Anna's Hummingbirds. I had to buy some.

I have a hard time picking out the best picture.

Tangle Bank Nursery ( http://tanglebank.com ) ( http://goo.gl/maps/M4lUu ) is a boutique nursery with a nice cafe. Very friendly to photographers and a joy to visit, if even for a cup of coffee and muffin.