November 24 Part 1 - Westham Island and Reifel Bird Sanctuary

After a soggy Thursday, the weather was much better on the last Saturday in November. I decided to take advantage of the good light and visit Reifel Bird Sanctuary. I was also thinking of visiting the nearby Brunswick Point later in the day.

Just after I crossed the Westham Island bridge, I spotted a raptor on a power pole alongside the road. I was able to pull over off the road and get some shots through the windshield with the Nikon. The bird turned out to be a Peregrine Falcon!

Peregrine Falcon - Westham Island, Delta BC

I zoomed in closer and had the feeling that the Falcon was looking at me.


Peregrine Falcon - Westham Island, Delta BC

I carried on the the Sanctuary used the Nikon to shoot a couple of movies featuring some common birds seen here.

First was some Mallards:

Next were some Black-capped Chickadees that seemed to be materializing in a spot where some bird seed had spilled.

Staying with the common birds, I took a couple of portraits of Song and Fox Sparrows.

Song Sparrow - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

Fox Sparrow- Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

And here's a close relative, the Spotted Towhee...

Spotted Towhee - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

I had reached the North Dyke trail which has a good view of the Purple Martin boxes out beyond the Sanctuary boundaries. Of course, all the Martins have migrated south by this time of year.

Near the viewing tower I took this photo of a woman hand feeding a Sandhill Crane. This seems like a dangerous practice to me as a good peck could pierce the skin. Feeding cranes  is illegal in Florida. 

Sandhill Crane - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

I continued along the West Dyke trail and spotted my second bird predator of the day, a Northern Shrike.You can see the hook on the bill, good for ripping a songbird open.

Northern Shrike - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

Far off in the distance I spotted what looked like a Raptor on a tree stump. I zoomed the Nikon out to maximum and took this shot. When I looked at it on the computer at home, I realized it was another Peregrine Falcon...or perhaps the same one as earlier?

Peregrine Falcon - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

On my return to the entrance of the Sanctuary, I took this shot of a pair of House Sparrows. Fon an invasive species, they are pretty darn attractive. The female is on the left.

House Sparrows - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

The last bird for this visit was the ever-elusive Black-crowned Night Heron.

Black-crowned Night Heron - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

My birding day was not over, I decided to visit the nearby Brunswick Point back on the mainland side of the bridge. That's detailed in the next post.