American Bittern

If it weren't for my brother Dave, we never would have seen this American Bittern. Even though he is quite large his camouflage is absolutely fantastic. Even after Dave pointed him out it took a while to see him. He was moving very slowly, stalking something he saw in the water. I had never seen one and was thrilled when Dave pointed him out.

We were at Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary in Ladner, BC. Arvin, Helena, Dave and I all drove up to Ladner this morning to visit this wonderful sanctuary for birds. There were lots of birds there and quite a few people too, all enjoying each other's company. You can buy healthy birdseed there and of course everybody does. So the birds are quite happy to troop around fighting asking for goodies. 

There were Mallards, Widgeons, Pintails, and Canada Geese on the path. We even saw a pair of Wood Ducks among the throng. There were others swimming in the waters including Scaups, Mergansers and others. Two bald eagles were up a tree and there were a bunch of Great Blue Herons in the bushes and near the water. And there were six young Sand Hill Cranes who were on the path looking for handouts too. The place was buzzing with bird life.

We had a wonderful day and stopped at a barbecue restaurant with the word "pig" in its name, can't remember the exact name but the food was very good. We had a great time.