Date: 2/27/25 12:08 pm From: Bryan Reynolds <nature_photo_man...> Subject: Purcell City Lake birds - 24 Feb
All,
I went out again to the Purcell City Lake on Monday to see what I could find. On my first lap, I didn't see much. I stopped at the main parking area (where I got some so-so shots of Northern Flickers on the 13th) and all the regular birds were doing their thing. So, I decided to photograph a few, concentrating on action and behavior. American Coots were feeding, tipping up, diving, popping back to the surface like a cork, and chasing rivals. A Great-tailed Grackle and Ring-billed Gull got close for some portraits (they were wanting food), and a European Starling sparkled in the sunlight. A Canada Goose got really close, so I got some feather detail and pattern shots. When no flickers showed up, I decided to drive back around the lake. The next subject was a Northern Mockingbird eyeing me from a snag. Then, I noticed a raptor (Red-shouldered Hawk) sitting in a tree along the shore, so I crept up with my vehicle. It was fairly low in the tree and I stopped at a distance away to get some preliminary photos. I restarted my vehicle and got a little closer. The bird seemed tolerant of this, so after a few more bursts, I got even closer. It again practically ignored me, and on its own accord, flew to another tree a short distance away, again perched low. So, I maneuvered my vehicle and got close to it. Same as before, it was very tolerant and I fired away. It kept looking at spots on the ground, and I assumed it was looking for prey. Just as I thought this, it swooped down to the ground, just feet from my door and in the perfect light angle. I had to actually zoom back my lens because the bird was so close. It looked down and picked up a recently autotomized tail of a Five-lined Skink and swallowed it. It then kept looking down around its feet and after a bit, it picked up the body of the skink, swallowed it and then flew off. I kept firing off shots through this whole event and I'm very happy with the results. After this, I drove a short distance and noticed a Turkey Vulture perched on utility pole. Like the hawk, this bird was also very tolerant and allowed me to get very close. As it sat on the pole, I got shots of it yawning, stretching, fluffing and defecating. The final shots of the day were of a Great Blue Heron fishing through an ice hole and catching dinner.
