Birds from a visit to the George C. Reifel Sanctuary
I went to the George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary on Sunday. I was hoping to see Saw-Whet Owls but with the cold snap that hit Vancouver and the Lower Mainland a few days before, I was told they had disappeared. Hardier birds were hanging around the snowy pathways so I wasn’t disappointed with the visit. This Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) was hunting in the shallows near a blind and wandered very close.
A Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) squawks to its family nearby.
The same bird exhales a puff of warm air.
A Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus) drums on an old tree for insects.
A Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) swims between the ice chunks in a brackish pond.
Two female Mallards waddle down the pathway.
A pair of Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa) share a perch over the water.
A small flight of Sandhill Cranes transit between ponds at the sanctuary.
Christopher Martin Photography 
Those Wood Ducks (Aix sponsa) are so attractive.
December 28, 2013 at 7:40 am
Love walking around the George Reifel Sanctuary and seeing such a variety of birds and a few minks.
December 27, 2013 at 7:30 am
That mallard is adorable 😀 Beautiful photos, thank you.
December 27, 2013 at 4:56 am
Just wonderful and fileld with life and present!
December 26, 2013 at 3:07 pm
amazing stuff chris. really nice!
December 26, 2013 at 1:06 pm
unicue
December 26, 2013 at 11:43 am