VN #072: Grassland Birds – Part II
Published April 29, 2025

Message: I have not posted Visual Narratives recently as we lost our internet connection for almost two weeks. Next, Rita and I are taking a month-long road trip to the Alberta Badlands; a place where we will explore and photograph for the first time. My next Visual Narrative will be in early June. Thanks!

 

Grassland Birds – Part II

When I was photographing the book Spirit in the Grass: The Cariboo Chilcotin’s Forgotten Landscape, springtime was my favourite time of the year.  Every bird sighting was a moment to relish, and every bird song, a symphony to listen to.

Within the vast areas of grasslands along the Fraser and Chilcotin rivers, birds appear small and sparse, and are extremely challenging to photograph. Each image capture was a moment I remember vividly; each a highlight of my day.

Northern saw-whet owl fledgling. One of North America’s smallest owls, it nests in cavities created by woodpeckers and remains in the Cariboo Chilcotin year-round.

Northern flicker. Like other woodpeckers, the northern flicker hammers out nest cavities in trees but primarily feeds on ants on the ground.

Short-eared owls, with their round head and very difficult to see short ears, live in open grasslands where they perch in low trees or on the ground.

Columbian sharp-tailed grouse. These amazing birds perform elaborate courtship dances conducted on traditional dancing grounds called leks, to which they return annually.

A long-billed curlew watches for predators from its exposed rock perch. These curlews are the largest shorebird in North America and are considered vulnerable to extinction in British Columbia.

American white pelicans are one of North America’s largest birds. On water, they use their pouched bills to scoop up fish, however, they also group together to herd fish into shallow waters for easy feeding.

 

The Cariboo Chilcotin grasslands, where these birds spend their summers, are one of the ecological wonders of the world. They contain one of the only remaining intact bluebunch wheatgrass grasslands in North America, and the world’s only porcupinegrass-needlegrass community. Sandhill cranes, one of the two oldest bird species on the planet, also reside here.

It has never been my ambition to be a bird photographer, but the grasslands book project certainly drew me to them. I have learned much from them ever since.

 

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