November 4 - Arrival of the Snow Geese

While reviewing my choices for the Best of 2018 post, I noticed I'd missed this day when I caught up on my November posts.

I can't say this is the day that the Snow Geese arrived from the north, but it was the first day I saw them in numbers. Just after I crossed the Westham Island bridge, I saw many geese in a farmer's field.


Snow Geese - Westham Island, Delta BC

They were clustered close together and can do significant damage to crops. The farmers do put in winter cover crops to assist feeding the geese and protecting the fields.


Snow Geese - Westham Island, Delta BC

The darker coloured goose in the foreground is an immature first year bird.


Snow Geese - Westham Island, Delta BC

When I reached Reifel, I saw another new arrival since my last visit, a Black-crowned Night Heron. Each winter, six to eight of these birds stay over until spring. It is believed that they come from nesting areas on the Columbia River in Oregon or southern Washington.

The birds are out in the open but always manage to look inconspicuous as they sleep during the day. I was lucky to shoot this bird with an eye open.

Black-crowned Night Heron

Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

Right out in the open are the Wood Ducks, quite often on tree branches just above eye level.

Wood Duck - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

The next photo is a happy accident, a Chickadee with its tongue showing. This is quite a rarity to see. There appears to be a seed under the tongue.

Black-capped Chickadee - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

The next bird is a repeat of the first bird I saw in 2018, a Harris's Sparrow. In the summer they are up in the Northwest Territories on their breeding grounds. In late Fall or Winter, they occasionally show up on the west coast. 

Harris' Sparrow - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

In breeding plumage, this sparrow has a black face and cap, quite different from the look here.

Two more shots to round out this post, the first shows a group of Yellowlegs, probably Greater.

Greater Yellowlegs - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

And finally a shot of a Northern Pintail doing some preening...

Northern Pintail - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC