A walk out to the beach provided a good opportunity to see many Killdeer, and Spotted Sandpipers.

The Killdeer will fly around in circles if they see you, then land and do the broken wing act, to try and distract any predator from the nest.

The Spotted Sandpipers are a little braver, and will let you get quite close if you do not make sudden movements.

They like being on stumps and sometimes in the branches of the small bushes.

The end of June and into July have provided some nice hot weather. After what many were calling “Junuary”because of cold and rain it is finally nice to be out with camera.

Birds are at a minimum, but there is a lot of the colourful insects, and hummingbirds.

The owlets at George Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary are now flying around from tree to tree, which makes for some tricky, but interesting photo ops.

All 3 are doing quite well, and it is nice to see they are growing and learning each day.

This sanctuary, although regulated, is true nature in the wild. There is an abundance of migratory birds,songbirds, and raptors that make any day worth the trek.

A yawn before a morning snooze.

This owl actually laid down on the branch to sleep, and it was at times appearing  ready to fall off.It was fine.

Have a visit to the gallery to see more, and larger sized images .

The weekend brought a good photo opportunity for some Cooper’s hawks doing what they do.

I was surprised when the day was seemingly coming up empty, so as usual I get ready to pack it in, when a few of these birds just flew in and stayed long enough for some very good shots.

While the female was eating her lunch, the male popped on top.

Totally unexpected!Soon there will be more little ones around for all to enjoy.

For the complete collection, browse the gallery

April finally brought a nice day, and on a Saturday of all things.

Hummingbirds flocked around cat tails to peck off some fluff for their nests, which was fun to capture.

Then an opportunity was found to photograph this barred owl perched in a tree not far off the ground.The best part of the day was when another owl started hooting, and this one responded back a few times. The echo and sound throughout the forest was amazing. More of this can be seen in the gallery.

Links to species…

Songbirds

Owls

Eagles/Ospreys

Ducks

Hummingbirds

Hawks/Falcons

Herons-Cranes

Geese

An updated gallery can be seen here.

The December highlights were a Great Horned Owl high in a tree at George C Reifel Sanctuary.

A couple of Bald Eagles were rebuilding the nest, and I managed a few shots of one bringing branches to it.

Then a Sandhill Crane was strolling on the ice, and had the misfortune of cracking through it.

See you in January.

Wishing everyone an auspicious 2008!

Right now there is not many species of birds to photograph around my area. One thing that also happens is a typical trend in Vancouver where Monday to Friday are sunny, then weekends turn to rain. Almost like the weather purposely destroys outdoor activities when the majority have time off work.

Anyway..this weekend was a change, and hot with sun. It is continuing through this week too.

That means I can get out in the evenings for an hour or so and practice on what little varieties of birds we have.

Ducks…..and more ducks.

It is good to keep in touch with my in flight shots though.

The sun gives a nice glow to many of them.

The first of a few screensavers is available for download if you go to this page

The first has a flash preview to see how it will appear on your monitor.
In all there is 18 photos of birds, dragonflies, and frogs.

The unique thing is the transitions of image to image.

Any comments or questions, type here, or use my contact form.

I will add more frequently so check back!

Enjoy