Sunday, April 27, 2008

Riverbank Hike Part Two

Well, it looks like this latest series of photos from the river may stretch to 3 or even 4 parts as it seems I took more photos than I thought.
Unfortunately last week's weather was nothing but grey skies, but that didn't put me off, as sometimes you can have some nice surprises in even the worst of conditions...

Eastern Phoebe :
I watched as this little Flycatcher would fly off for awhile then return to its perch along the edge of the water bobbing its tail. I hid and waited in some bushes for over 20 minutes while it was gone and got my knees very wet and muddy in the process, but was rewarded when back he came to that favorite perch :



Hermit Thrush :
The night before I went out, it had snowed, so the next day it was still pretty cold out, hence why this little Thrush is all fluffed up :



American Kestrel :

This handsome male hunted near the Weir for about 30 minutes.



Ring-billed Gull :





Richardson's Ground Squirrel :

Our little 'Gopher' was not expecting to see snow in April ...



Osprey :

This is the prime time to see this impressive Hawk as they follow the river. Hopefully I can get some in better light another time ...





Kildeer :

Its always easy to tell if these birds are around as they are very loud ...



Black-billed Magpie :

I stood and watched this bird from about a meter away as it completely ignored me and gorged itself on what looked like a House Sparrow. This is one of the tamer images ...

14 comments:

The Birdlady said...

Oh my goodness...SNOW! We're finally getting warm here. The photos are wonderful! The hermit thrush and kestral all fluffy are beautiful, and I don't think I've ever seen a kildeer flying.. Beautiful photos.

Rocky M said...

Hi Nick,
Great photos once again my friend.It looks as though the overcast conditions worked in your favor here.The black and white birds are difficult to expose properly under bright sunlight without blowout or underexposure in the dark areas.Besides any day is a good day to get out and do some birding and photography.:)

Shelley said...

What an outstanding birding day. But I did enjoy the gopher photo - his face looked so curious in the midst of snow.

Jotter Jan said...

WOW Nick...what fantastic images!!!! Your Kestrel was just phenomenal!!!

Stacey Olson said...

Nick, you really do have some fantastic photographs. Very impressive.. thanks for sharing.

Nick S said...

Thanks very much everyone, more to come very soon :-)

Sandpiper (Lin) said...

Wonderful pictures, Nick!! I'm enjoying this walk! You saw so many things. I look forward to seeing more. Thanks for sharing.

Aunt "B's" Backyard said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Aunt "B's" Backyard said...

Beautifully done, Nick!
Your photos are exceptional as always, great work!!

Nick S said...

Thankyou very much for your comments everyone :-)

John Theberge said...

I was eagerly waiting for part 2 to be posted. It was worth the wait.

Larry said...

Wow-just tremendous photos you have! It almost makes me want to learn how to be a photographer.You must have been at your craft for may years.-I especially love the kestrel photo.

Nick S said...

Thanks John & Larry :-)

kjpweb said...

Amazing photos, Nick! The Kestrel is stunning - so the Kildear in flight!
Kudos and keep 'em coming!
Cheers, Klaus