It was a sunny and hot weekend, and after not really getting any bird watching done last weekend (well, with the exception of the Raptor show) I was itching to get out. The Reifel Bird Sanctuary isn’t really this busy this time of year, with people or bird varieties, but I find it so peaceful walking around the trails, and was curious to see what kind of young ones might be around. According to my list I only spotted 19 varieties in my 2 1/2 hours there, but I did find a few to add to my 2015 list!! 🙂 We stopped at the walkway around the warming hut to see who was hanging out. Of course there was the usual Canada Geese floating around, some Mallards getting feisty with each other and the cute little Tree Swallows flitting through the air, occasionally landing on their nesting boxes.
We were making sure our belongings were all intact and sunscreen was applied when I happened to look up, and saw a little Barn Swallow just sitting on the edge of a nest. He didn’t seem particularly interested in any contents of his nest so I could only assume it was empty … perhaps he was a youngster and this was the home he grew up in? I would have asked him but wouldn’t have expected a response. He was totally unphased by my careful approach (snap a few shots … creep closer .. snap a few more and repeat…) and I was pretty happy with the first picture. Then I hear a bunch of noise in the trees just beside the warming hut, and looked over to see another one just perched on a branch out in the open. I’m always happy to see them sitting still as it’s a rare occasion. I went through my archives and found the picture below, from last summer also taken at Reifel. The Swallow had built it’s nest right in a little look-out meant for people to look out towards the Fraser River. I remember on this occasion being a little startled when this Swallow flew in just above our heads’ to feed it’s little ones. Guess they’re not too concerned about staying away from us humans.
BCSONGBIRD 
Lovely pictures and story :-). I love watching them fly near the pond at Jericho Beach. The only time I’ve seen a still one was when I poked my head under the pond’s small foot bridge. It was so exciting to see its colours unblurred.
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Thank-you. I love watching the swallows chasing down the bugs. My cats and I stare out our window often, as I live in an apartment on the twentieth floor and have many of them flying by our balcony especially first thing in the morning, and then around dinner. Love listening to their chatter (well … except for 5 in the morning when I’m still trying to catch a few more zzzz’s) and watching them swoop through the air.
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Neat! Interesting highrise swallow experience. I agree, their chatter as they zip around is quite wonderful :-).
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