First time to Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary: Part 1

This morning was the first time that I been to the infamous Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary on Westham Island. I had heard nothing but exciting encounters from friends and family, and I finally get a chance to see it for myself today. Such a memorable moment.

The weather today was kind of nice, so there were plenty of people there, ranging from families to amateur naturalists to professional photographers. The parking lot was full when we got there before noon - full of car and full of Mallards. Many parking spots were in fact taken by lazy Mallards, so I had to get out of the car and "encourage" the mallards to move along while my family parked the van.

The whole sanctuary was in fact overran by mallards. None of them were afraid of humans, and they were either following you for food or flying right over your head for a sudden landing.

Since I saw and photographed many birds, I will just post the photos and leave it at that.

American Coot (Fulica americana). Note their interesting lobed toes (compared to gallinules for the rest of their relatives in the Family Rallidae).

Sleepy Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax). Couldn't get a clear face shot because they were too far away and they are mainly nocturnal feeders.

I believe they are male House Sparrows (Passer domesticus) still in their breeding plumage. They can be identified by their black bib and black bill.

On the other hand, the female House Sparrow is best identified by their buffy eye stripe and unstreaked breast.

Dark-eyed Junco (Junco hyemalis).

The acrobatic and highly vocal Black-capped Chickadees (Poecile atricapillus).

A beautiful male Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos) that flew onto this trunk just to pose for me. Thank you, sire!

Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus). The glossy black male on the left, and the first-year male on the right.

The always magnificent-looking Wood Duck (Aix sponsa)! I believe this is one of the best photos that I have taken with both the male and female so perfectly positioned. Just this photo makes my day.

First-time seen Golde-crowned Kinglet (Regulus satrapa). I identified it mainly by the color of its crown. I didn't even know that I had taken a picture of it until I sort through the pictures. What a lucky find!

I also observed a Bald Eagle and many Sandhill Cranes flying above me in the sky, but I was too late in taking pictures, such a shame. Anyways, many more photos to come tomorrow (Part 2). Stay tuned!

By the way, I watched the PBS's "Nature" television series on American Eagle tonight. Great footages and stories, although watching them swooping down on coots made me kind of sad because I really enjoyed the coots today. But hey, it's all a part of life. A preview video of tonight's episode can be seen here. I would love to have the chance to see so many of them up close at the same time, perhaps at Brackendale this winter?
.