Pitt Lake Revisited

Another visit to Pitt Lake, or Grant Narrows Regional Park as it's also known. I was accompanied by my friend Mary-Jean this time and there was some hope of more birds than my last visit two weeks before.

Our first stop was Catbird Slough, where I had seen the Osprey show that last time. The first bird we saw was much smaller than an Osprey, but maybe just as ferocious.


Rufous Hummingbird - Catbird Slough, Pitt Meadows  BC.

The next birds we saw were a pair of Gadwall. These ducks always seem to be seen together as a pair. The female is in the foreground.

Gadwall - Catbird Slough, Pitt Meadows  BC.

We then drove on to the Pitt Lake parking lot. As we were driving we saw a large brownish bird flying low through the marsh, it had powerful wing beats. Mary-Jean suggested Great Blue Heron, but it was too brown and was flying faster than a Heron does. A couple of days later she had done some research and suggested American Bittern. I tend to agree with that, but I don't feel I saw it well enough to add to my life list.

Updated May 30, 2016 - I saw a similar bird in flight in the same area with other birders. They confirmed it was an American Bittern so Mary-Jean gets credit for her ID after all. I was too slow to get a photo, but had a good look. This is lifer #418 for me and a lifer for Mary-Jean as well.

Once we parked, there was a more common bird on a wire overhead, a Brown-headed Cowbird. Since this bird is a nest parasite (it puts its eggs in other bird's nests), it is not a real welcome sight.

Brown-headed Cowbird - Grant Narrows Regional Park, Pitt Meadows BC

A sure sign of late spring is the arrival of Cedar Waxwings. These birds arrive in numbers and always appear in flocks. They are predominately berry eaters, so they are often quite visible as they feed. We both got some good photos, although the lighting was poor.

Cedar Waxwing - Grant Narrows Regional Park, Pitt Meadows BC

Cedar Waxwing - Grant Narrows Regional Park, Pitt Meadows BC

We saw a few other more common birds on the Nature Trail including a Song Sparrow, a Northern Flicker and a Tree Swallow on the same tree, and a solo tree Swallow.

Song Sparrow - Grant Narrows Regional Park, Pitt Meadows BC

Northern Flicker and Tree Swallow - Grant Narrows Regional Park, Pitt Meadows BC

Tree Swallow - Grant Narrows Regional Park, Pitt Meadows BC

We took a brief walk on the dyke back towards Katzie Marsh where we saw a group of Cedar Waxwings, perhaps the same ones we'd seen earlier.

Cedar Waxwing - Grant Narrows Regional Park, Pitt Meadows BC

Back at the parking lot, there was a Common Raven in an interesting spot.

Common Raven - Grant Narrows Regional Park, Pitt Meadows BC

On the drive back to Pitt Meadows, I spotted an old friend I'd seen two weeks ago in about the same spot on Rannie Road.

American Kestrel (F) - Grant Narrows Regional Park, Pitt Meadows BC

And sitting nearby was a small bird that should have been aware of nearby predators. 

White-crowned Sparrow - Grant Narrows Regional Park, Pitt Meadows BC

However, the Kestrel was unaware and we were on our way after a good morning at Pitt Lake.