DARE TO BIRD

Since I was a little girl my dad would take me to view the large flocks of Snow Geese that pass through every winter in the lower mainland. Some farmers hate them and want to shoot them as they eat up the crops like tubers along with the swans. The Geese are voracious eaters and noisy too but I love the noise they make. Ilya and I were driving to Brunswick Point for sunset when we saw a large field full of Snow Geese along with some Blue Geese. It was amazing to see over the 150,000 estimated Snow Geese in the fields. There was 3 Blue Geese present in the flock that we could see. We looked for an Emperor and Ross's Goose but to no avail. I am always eager to pratice flight shots so did that when the flock took up. Here is a video Ilya Povalyaev made of the geese taking flight it was so moving to watch. I am still in awe everytime I see large Snow Geese flocks taking flight. They are so beautiful with their white and black tipped wings. For this reason I get several re...

I went down to AZ for ten days and had a great trip. At this time of year most of the rarities and Arizona specialties have left (including the Tufted Flycatchers and Plain-capped Starthroat). The last Elegant Trogon left the day I got there and one apparently showed up the day I left LOL! However, at this time of year there are also very few birders and it's a great time to explore the year round birds of the Sonoran Desert.  Also, it is the best time of year to see the rare Lucifer Hummingbird and large numbers of Hummingbirds are still here. Plus the number of hawks and vultures is impressive to see as they gather to feed before their big migration. Last time I was here in Feb I got all the owls that occur here so I did not spend much time looking for them this trip. Many of the migratory owls have departed and at this time of year the resident birds are hard to find but I was surprised to still find a few owl species. I really liked birding in AZ in Sept because t...