May 2009 - Page 3 of 3 - Sean Phillips Photography

Intermediate Morph Swainson’s Hawk

I’m not totally sure on the identification of this bird. I believe that it’s an intermediate morph Swainson’s Hawk, but I’ve never seen one before so I can’t tell for sure. It really doesn’t look much like any other kind of Hawk that I’m familiar with, but it also doesn’t look clearly like a Swainson’s either. The light morphs (which account for over 90% of Swainson’s Hawks) have a much more pronounced white chin and a dark band across the upper chest that this bird doesn’t display.

Can anyone help me confirm the identification???

UPDATE – I’ve added another picture, although it doesn’t really reveal anything new. I’ve had one suggestion that it may be a Broad-winged Hawk, but really no better information than what I’ve already posted…

House Finch perched on a branch

I spent a lot of time this weekend watching the birds in my backyard and in my neighbourhood. I was really amazed at the variety of birds that pass through every day, and excited to see several of these Finches dropping by pretty regularly. I was very happy when this one stopped to pose for a few portraits, especially since it was perfectly framed by the surrounding branches!

Red-winged Blackbird perched on a Fencepost

I’m happy to have Blackbirds back in the area because they are always very curious and fun to watch. They sing all the time and are never too shy to pose for the camera! I was out looking for Yellow-headed Blackbirds when I saw this one perching on a post beside a slough. I actually found lots of Yellow-headed birds, but didn’t manage to make any great images. I’m very happy with what I got from this Red-winged beauty instead!

Red-necked Grebe at Carburn Park

I was at Carburn Park for a walk with my family this morning and there were photographers and bird watchers all over the place. Many of the photographers were set up on the small pond watching a Grebe that was hanging out in the middle. Not wanting to disturb the birds (ie. scare them away from the other observers) we continued on our way around the park. When we got back to the pond I noticed that many of the photographers had bunched together to chat, and that the Grebe that they were watching was still way out in the middle of the pond.

But I also saw that a second bird had come to the surface around the corner from them, and that it very close to shore. I started walking towards it and then ran the rest of the way as soon as it dove back under the water. I wanted to be as close as possible to it, without scaring it away when it surfaced again. Fortunately it came back up in almost the same spot and I was able to make some really nice images!

Red-shafted Northern Flicker hunting for bugs

I’ve seen Northern Flicker’s on the ground before, but they usually don’t allow people to get very close. I would never describe these woodpeckers as shy, as they do tend to allow a close approach when they are perched in a tree, but if you walk towards them while they are on the ground they tend to take off pretty quickly. So I was very pleasantly surprised when this one allowed me to walk up to within about 15 feet of it while it continued to hunt for bugs in the ground. You can see the dirt all over its beak from where it was stabbing it into the ground in search of food.