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#90106
jewill wrote: Jan 22 6:28 pm
zwest wrote:I found a very reliable spot for them last summer around the Library PARC building at UBC (park at the SW Marine Drive viewpoint). I’m not sure if they’re still coming to that spot, but I’ve been meaning to take a look again soon.
Thanks Zach I’ll keep it in mind. On a similar note I went out to Maple Ridge this morning looking for the Gyrfalcon, Prairie Falcon and American Dipper - a trifecta of no shows! I’m not paranoid but I’d sure like to know how everyone else manages to find these birds - obviously someone is alerting them. :?
Those falcons are notoriously no-showy. The dippers are pretty reliable, but sometimes you need to scramble down a muddy trail to see them. Last time I went, one was underneath the 232 St. bridge and the other about 200m east.
#90112
Here's one from last weekend that I forgot about:

Rough-legged Hawk

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BTW Judy I went to Elgin this morning, and the first thing I heard as I stepped out of the car... Chip-chip-chip... chip-chip... chip-chip-chip... a Red Crossbill! It flew into the evergreens (towards Stewart Farm) before I could get my camera out of the bag. I noticed also today that someone reported a few in the SW Marine Dr. spot I mentioned previously.
#90113
zwest wrote:BTW Judy I went to Elgin this morning, and the first thing I heard as I stepped out of the car... Chip-chip-chip... chip-chip... chip-chip-chip... a Red Crossbill! It flew into the evergreens (towards Stewart Farm) before I could get my camera out of the bag. I noticed also today that someone reported a few in the SW Marine Dr. spot I mentioned previously.
Thanks Zach, at least I have a starting point now. Previously no one had said where in the park they had been seen. If you heard/saw 1 then there’s probably more so I’ll have a close look the next time I’m there.
Nice Roughie too!
#90114
A few from a trip to Blackie Spit today that I don't see thus far - apologies if any are duplicates!

First off, a male Downy Woodpecker to match up with the female up thread:
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Next, a Great Blue Heron (sorry if this is jumping the queue, I saw a note above but not the reply it was related to... :
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I also got some really nice shots of birds already listed, but may share those elsewhere. The 'never seen that before' catch of the day for me was a Peregrine Falcon looking to chow down on the Dunlin (I think) it had caught. Those are the shots that make me keep heading out!
#90118
jewill wrote: Jan 23 4:57 pm
zwest wrote:BTW Judy I went to Elgin this morning, and the first thing I heard as I stepped out of the car... Chip-chip-chip... chip-chip... chip-chip-chip... a Red Crossbill! It flew into the evergreens (towards Stewart Farm) before I could get my camera out of the bag. I noticed also today that someone reported a few in the SW Marine Dr. spot I mentioned previously.
Thanks Zach, at least I have a starting point now. Previously no one had said where in the park they had been seen. If you heard/saw 1 then there’s probably more so I’ll have a close look the next time I’m there.
Nice Roughie too!
The Crossbills that I photographed are on Mountain Highway, just north of Lynn Valley Road in N. Van. There is a dance studio with a greenspace behind it. I see them in that area around lunchtime.
#90123
Berdesdan wrote: Jan 22 1:25 pm Red Crossbill... We could create a count the birds in the photo challenge with this one.
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Ben, You're not kidding about challenging to count! Lol. That's actually a good idea for a challenge ... Maybe for February I'll put one out like that. For this photo, I looked at your image a little closer -- do you think you could crop it so you can see two or three of them together? It looks like you could and they'd still be in focus. Nice work on this one.
James
#90128
stumblingpiper wrote: Jan 25 3:08 pm Ben, You're not kidding about challenging to count! Lol. That's actually a good idea for a challenge ... Maybe for February I'll put one out like that. For this photo, I looked at your image a little closer -- do you think you could crop it so you can see two or three of them together? It looks like you could and they'd still be in focus. Nice work on this one.
James
Here it is. A little grainy, but you can see the crossed bill on one of the males.
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This one has some juveniles in it as well
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