I did not see the Sparrow, but on my way back to the car saw spotted some shorebirds perching on the pilings along the river. Someone had seen Red Knots they the day before, but I saw only Black-bellied Plovers and Dunlin, both of which over-winter here. The Dunlin are the smaller birds in the middle and on the left side of this shot.
Dunlin and Black-bellied Plovers - Brunswick Point, Delta BC
Here's an interesting shot of a BB plover, with a bit of artistic cropping.
Black-bellied Plover - Brunswick Point, Delta BC
As I got back to my car, I could hear a Northern Flicker calling nearby. I found it on the chimney of a farmhouse.
Northern Flicker - Brunswick Point, Delta BC
My next stop was Reifel Bird Sanctuary, a short hop away from where I was. Upon arrival I spotted some Sandhill Cranes by the entrance. I had read recently that the chick born in the spring disappeared in August and was presumed dead. Hopefully the parents will be successful next spring.
Sandhill Crane - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC
I took a different route than I normally do and was rewarded with a view of a pair of Ring-necked Ducks. This species is poorly named as you can rarely see the ring on the neck, while the white ring on the bill is obvious. The male is on the left and female to the right.
Ring-necked Duck - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC
My next destination was the blind in the Northwest corner of the property. I spotted a Fox Sparrow on the way. Similar to the Song Sparrow, this species has a rounder head and no central breast spot.
Fox Sparrow - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC
At the blind I saw a pair of Hooded Mergansers swim by but they were gone before I could take a photo. Much more cooperative was a female Belted Kingfisher that posed on a snag about 60 meters away. I had both cameras with me and the bird was unaware of me in the blind. The first photo was taken with my Canon SLR with the 400mm lens. It was cropped using Picasa after uploading to my PC. I believe this is the best representation of the colours I was seeing.
Belted Kingfisher - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC
The next shot was a zoom with the Nikon P900C zoomed out to maximum optical extension. No cropping in post, the look is a bit softer, but with good detail. The colours are muted.
Belted Kingfisher - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC
The last is also with the Nikon, but it is a capture from a video taken with the same zoom as the still photo. The detail is still quite good and the colours are richer. I was able to catch what looked like a yawn.
Belted Kingfisher - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC
Here's another zoomed out capture of a Northern Harrier at quite a distance.
Northern Harrier - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC
This is a scenery shot looking out onto the western foreshore. Reifel is a very beautiful place in Fall and Winter.
More ducks, this shot is probably under-exposed but that creates an interesting motion effect.
Northern Pintail (Female on left) and Mallard - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC
I had now made my way around to the south-east corner of the sanctuary where the shorebirds hang out. I believe that one or both of the two on the left might be Lesser Yellowlegs but I can't say for sure. Or they might all be Greater Yellowlegs.
Lesser? and Greater Yellowlegs - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC
I was almost back at the entrance by now. There were some ground-feeding sparrows on the trail including this one.
Golden-crowned Sparrow - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC
Finally back at the entrance, some of the Sandhill Cranes had decided to go for a swim in the Display Pond. This captures the bulk of the species, not to be trifled with if you encounter one on the trails. Note the little morsel it has captured.
Sandhill Crane - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC
That was it for this Saturday, I'd be back out to Brunswick Point the following week.
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