I was off from work until January, so I had more time to spend on this day's outing. On my way to Brunswick Point I stopped in a rural area that can be productive for Raptors and possibly Shrike.
My first bird of the day was this Red-tailed Hawk. it looks quite threatening in this photo but it was just stretching its wings and was not threatening the photographer.
Red-tailed Hawk - 33 Ave and 34 St, Delta BC
There were many cars parked on the side of the road as Brunswick Point is popular with duck hunters, dog walkers, and birders. It is also popular with photographers whose one goal is to shoot Short-eared Owls.
The first bird I saw was virtually ignored by most people even though it was out in the open. It was a Cooper's Hawk, a small Accipiter that hunts songbirds and small mammals. Although I had seen a couple of them this year, this was my first opportunity to get some photos. This one was taken with the Nikon.
Cooper's Hawk - Brunswick Point, Delta BC
The other common species out on the foreshore is the Northern Harrier. They compete with the Short-eared Owls and often steal their catches.
The Gyrfalcon location was about another kilometre along the trail, farther than the casual trail users go. My mantra for rarities is "Don't worry about finding the bird, just find the birders". This paid off once again as there were three people up ahead looking into the tall trees that surround a berry farm.
The Gyrfalcon was in the trees, but was sitting in an obscured location that was poorly lit. This photo was taken with the Canon SLR and cropped after downloading. The dark colouring indicates that it is a juvenile as adults are mostly gray or white
After a while the bird moved to a more open location and I was able to get this shot with the Nikon zoomed out to the maximum.
Gyrfalcon (Imm) - Brunswick Point, Delta BC
The Gyrfalcon is the king of the falcons with a wingspan of about 4 feet and weighing about 3 lb. A Peregrine Falcon is about half the weight, although the wingspan is just a bit less. At this location it would hunt both the Ducks and shorebirds along the coastline.
As I made my way back to the parking area I spotted this male Common Goldeneye in the Fraser River.
Common Goldeneye - Brunswick Point, Delta BC
Right by the parking area were a couple of Swans in a farmer's field.
Trumpeter Swan - Brunswick Point, Delta BC
The Gyrfalcon was the last bird I added to my 2016 year list, it was number 209.
No comments:
Post a Comment