George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary

[brandon]

I wasn't really expecting to take pictures today because the weather was supposed to be pretty crappy....but when I woke up it was a beautiful day. When I'm out taking pictures I often end up talking to other photographers and a few have mentioned this great place to photograph birds....the George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary in Ladner, BC. This place was awesome......from songbirds to waterfowl to birds of prey, this place had it all. A 4$ entry fee gets you into the sanctuary and is it ever worth it. Here are a bunch of photos from today

 

These first 2 are of a Rufous Hummingbird

 

 

This one is a Black-capped Chickadee

 

Here is a Canada Goose sitting on her nest

 

A Northern Flicker taking a break from pounding its head off of this tree

 

Alright now for the highlight of the trip.....The main reason I wanted to go to this place was because I was told there was a nesting pair of Great Horned Owls.....These beautiful birds have a nest in a pretty convenient place....right next to the trail. The pair of Owls have 3 babies and they are nestled in the "V" of an old Cottonwood tree. Since the babies are almost the same colour of the tree and quite small, they are very hard to see in the first place and especially hard to take pictures of.....here are a few peek-a-boo pics of the babies......some of the pictures aren't as sharp as I would like but I thought I would post them anyways

 

 

 

 

 

 

I tried to get some pictures of the mother who was in a pine tree a few feet from the Cottonwood but she was so well covered by branches that the pictures didn't turn out too well.....however the father was in a more visable spot on the opposite side of the babies as the mom.... here are some shot of him

 

 

pre-stretch

 

leg stretch

 

flexing those huge wings

 

 

enjoy

[fatherof3]

awesome shots,well worth the entry fee

[b2kptbo]

Beauties...

[Deano]

Great shots Brandon, $4, a coffee and Bagel at Tim's is almost that much, well worth the fee.

[Sinker]

Great shots!!!

 

Did you get any waterfowl pics?

 

Sinker

[brandon]

nah no waterfowl pics on that trip....hard to justify taking waterfowl pics when theres a nesting pair of great horned owls........not to mention i filled all 3 gigs of memory I had.....I plan on taking more diverse pictures next time including some of the sandhill cranes that live there too. One problem with taking waterfowl pictures there is that the water is all muddy.....which doesn't look too great....I may however just sit and wait for some flight shots.....I'll be sure to post them when I get them though

[Tarzan's Jane]

Excellent pics Brandon...love the peek-a-boo baby owls.