Juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Heron - Second Bird

Here are a few shots of the second of two Night Herons that were hanging out near the river in Jordan Falls. Bottom photo from August 3, the others from August 4. I don't think that the kingfishers were wanting to share their little patch of the river with the heron, on at least one occasion a bird appeared to be dive-bombing it. That's not what is going on in the third picture but the heron seems to have it's eye on the female kingfisher.

Terns at Sunset

There was quite a magnificent sunset on July 31 at the location where I was birding. I took the opportunity to shoot some of the many terns that were in the area at the time. I felt a little regret that I didn't actually take time to photograph the sunset properly on the way home, there were some beautiful colours in the sky and on the ocean surface. I knew by the time I found a suitable spot and changed lenses, settings etc. that I would have missed my chance.

Killdeer

One of two Killdeer I discovered near Matthew's Lake on July 31. This one is a juvenile judging by the light edging of the feathers on it's back. The other bird was an adult. These were taken late in the day as the light was fading.

Kingfishers on the Rocks

These were all taken at the same location in Jordan Falls from July 25 - August 4. There are three different birds in these photos starting with the juvenile female at the top with her incomplete rusty belt and then the adult female with her complete rust coloured belt. I believe the third shot from the top is the juvenile male from the back followed by a couple more of the adult female and then the juvenile male at the bottom with his lack of a second band but showing some rustiness in his belt that the adult male would lack.

Juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Heron

This was one of two juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Herons I found hanging out around the walking bridge in Jordan Falls on July 25. This one decided to co-operate in having its picture taken while the other flew in another direction. I've seen the second bird since then and only know it's not the bird pictured here because the eye colour is slightly different. I don't know whether that has anything to do with the sex of the bird since presumably the birds are of the same age. Here the eye colour is predominantly red whereas the second bird has a more yellow to orange iris. There will be pictures of the second bird forthcoming.

Common Terns

I'm seeing a lot more terns in recent weeks than earlier in the season including lots of juveniles like in the bottom picture. Maybe they've had a better than average year for breeding given the lack of severe storms this year compared to some other recent years. July 23, East Jordan (top) - July 31, Matthew's Lake (bottom).

Belted Kingfisher In Flight

I've been spending quite a bit of time lately trying to photograph kingfishers. These were some of the first shots I was able to get. Just a warning for anyone who doesn't like these birds - you're going to see a lot of kingfisher content in the next little while on this blog. If I had to pick a favourite bird to photograph, this would probably be it. July 24, Jordan Falls NS.

Juvenile Spotted Sandpiper

I was checking my local pond for Solitary Sandpipers when I found this guy instead. I rarely see Spotted Sandpipers in that spot but this day was an exception. I haven't seen it since but there has been the other species on more than one occasion. Not much water left in there to attract birds at the moment. July 18, East Jordan.

Gadwall and Green-winged Teal Drake

I shot these two birds about a week apart in the same pond at Hemeon's Head. The Gadwall (top) on June 18 and the Green-winged Teal on June 26. The last couple of times I've been in that area the pond has mostly dried up from lack of rain and there hasn't been any birds there to photograph.