September 25 - Lucky Life List Addition

On Friday September 23 a Rock Wren was reported at Maplewood Conservation area in North Vancouver. Although the American Ornithological Union (AOU) classifies them as abundant, I had only heard of one other report in the Lower Mainland in the last few years.

This species like areas of jumbled rocks and slopes, which makes them difficult to find.

I arrived at Maplewood early on Sunday morning and scanned the area around the a small footbridge where the bird was first spotted. The jumbled rocks were plentiful, but no bird was apparent. Another birder came by and asked me if I was looking for the wren. I said yes, and he pointed to a spot about 200 meters away where two other birders were located. He said, they're looking at it right now.

I made my over quickly, while attempting to be quiet and non-intrusive. When I arrived, the Wren was about 3 meters away in plain sight. I snapped off two shots with my Canon SLR as shown below.


Rock Wren - Maplewood Conservation Area, North Vancouver.


Rock Wren - Maplewood Conservation Area, North Vancouver.

The second photo reminds me of a miniature Burrowing Owl.

This last photo was taken with the Nikon Coolpix. It has a quite different look, richer in colour.


Rock Wren - Maplewood Conservation Area, North Vancouver.

The Rock Wren was lifer # 420 for my AOU North America life list.

Not much else was happening so I left to look for a Lewis' Woodpecker that had been spotted near the PNE grounds. I had no luck with that.

I stopped at the Hastings Park Conservancy on the PNE grounds for a quick walk around. This photo gives a feel for  the environment.



There has been a Green Heron reported here quite frequently, but all I saw were a few Mallard Ducks.


Mallard -  Hastings Park Conservancy, Vancouver BC

I headed for home to record my lifer, only my fourth of the year.

September 4 - Iona Ponds and Jetty

There were reports of a Wandering Tattler on the rocks near the end of the Iona Jetty, so I decided to spend the Sunday morning doing the 4 Km walk out to the tip of the Jetty.

Upon arriving, I made a quick diversion to check out the settling ponds in the Sewage treatment plant. There were no notable shorebirds there, but plenty of Sparrows. A Brewer's Sparrow had been reported, but I had no luck with that one. What I did see were many Savannah Sparrows.


Savannah Sparrow - Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC


Savannah Sparrow - Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

I also saw this House Finch.

House Finch (F) - Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

I headed out onto the Jetty, scouring the rocks for any signs of a Tattler ( a rock dwelling shorebird) . 

Looking out to the north, I noticed this raft of Cormorants, an unusual sight so close to shore.

Double-crested Cormorant - Iona Jetty, Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

Near the end of the walk to the tip, I spotted some Common Loons. This one was still featuring most of its Alternate (breeding) plumage.

Common Loon - Iona Jetty, Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

I reached the tip and had no luck with the Tattler. It was quiet overall, but there were some Cormorants out on the rocks. One was sitting in the crashing waves.

Double-crested Cormorant - Iona Jetty, Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

It seemed to adjust its head position with the rhythm of the waves.

Double-crested Cormorant - Iona Jetty, Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

On my way back, I spotted some Ring-billed Gulls. They are quite common, but I had not taken many photos of them so far this year. They are identified by the black ring on the bill and the pale yellowish eyes.

Ring-billed Gull - Iona Jetty, Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

So ended the day at Iona.

September - Boundary Bay Shorebirds and other Migrants

This post details six separate visits to Boundary Bay in the month of September. Each visit was eventful in some way, but most had only a few photos worth sharing. Refer to my August posts on Boundary Bay for details of the annual Fall Shorebird migration.

September 1 - Ruff Revisited

Three days after seeing the Ruff and Buff-breasted Sandpipers, I returned with my friend Mary-Jean hoping to show her at least one of these two rarities.

Upon arriving, we met up with Logan Lalonde, a 16 year old birder from Kelowna. He was the assistant guide on my Okanagan birding tour in April 2015.

I felt the best strategy was to follow Logan as he has the knack of finding birds others would miss. Sure enough, about 15 minutes down the path towards 96 St, Logan and another young birder were stopped and taking photos. 

It was the Ruff, a lifer for Mary-Jean and possibly the first bird she has seen that is classified as Rare in North America (they are common in Europe and Asia). This shot is a bit better than any I took three nights previous.

Ruff - between 104 and 96 St. Bounday Bay Delta BC

The only other photo opportunity was presented by this Pectoral Sandpiper.

Pectoral Sandpiper - Boundary Bay, Delta BC

September 3 - Red Knot and Marbled Godwit

On this evening I met up with a local birder who had come to see a reported Red Knot and the Ruff. He is a hard-core lister and needed these two for his year list. I walked with him and we found the Red Knot west of 104 St in with a group of Black-bellied Plovers.

The term Knot originated in Europe over 200 years ago and may have something to do with King Canute. This species is seen in high numbers in Spring on the Delaware Bay in it's full orange-red breeding plumage. This one was a good sighting as it was still featuring some of that colour.

Red Knot, Boundary Bay, Delta BC

This was my second of the year, I'd seen one in May as detailed in this post:

Boundary Bay Shorebirds Part 2

This shot shows the size comparison between the Knot and Plovers.

Red Knot and Black-bellied Plovers, Boundary Bay, Delta BC

I also had a Marbled Godwit pointed out to me, this one was pretty hard to see. It had its head tucked in and was mixed in with a large number of Plovers. It's the bird on the right. This is my first and only sighting of the year to date.

Black-bellied Plover (left) and Marbled Godwit,  Boundary Bay, Delta BC

This photo was taken near San Francisco last year, showing what the bird looks like.

Marbled Godwit, Belmont Slough, Redwood Shores CA, USA

September 19 - Pacific Golden-plover

Another week night visit to Boundary Bay. I started at 104 St and met up with one of the local shorebird experts. Then a tour group from Minnesota showed up. My companion didn't like this and left to drive to 96 St. I stayed with the group and was rewarded when the tour leader spotted a Pacific Golden-plover.

It was quite far away, and only viewable through a scope. I was able to locate it and follow it as it moved westward. I shared my scope with some of the tour group so that everyone got a look.

This plover is listed as Common on the AOU checklist, and we usually get a handful each Fall in migration. Relative to the thousands of Black-bellied Plovers that come through, it's always a treat.

I took a digiscope movie of the bird and captured this snapshot from that.

Pacific Golden-plover - Boundary Bay, Delta BC

Just as I left, I took this shot of a rainbow over South Surrey.

September 20 - Take the Other Turn

I returned the next night and pretty well had the entire bay to myself. I had a plan to head east towards 112 St and see if I could locate some American Pipits. I had seen them near the path and on the foreshore in previous years. Pipits are ground-dwelling songbirds that hunt for insects and small prey in fields and foreshore environments.

This was also the first night with my replacement Nikon Coolpix camera. The one I had bought in Alberta in July broke down after 6 days, and it took 7 weeks to get a replacement. I figured the zoom capabilities would be good for Pipits. 

After parking, I took this shot of a pair of Collared Doves, a sign that no Falcons were nearby.

Eurasian Collared Dove - Boundary Bay Airpark, Delta BC

After walking west about a kilometer I same some movement on the foreshore - Pipits. I struggled getting a photo as they were constantly on the move, this is the best one.

American Pipit - Boundary Bay, Delta BC

As I returned to 104 St, I captured this shot of the rear side of a Yellow-rumped Warbler.

Yellow-rumped Warbler - Boundary Bay, Delta BC

Playing with camera, I tried for close-ups of some nearby Plovers. This one's in basic (non-breeding) plumage.

Black-bellied Plover - Boundary Bay, Delta BC

On my way home, I took this sunset shot, something I could not have done with my Canon SLR with the 400mm lens.

September 22 - Out for a Lark

On this night I was accompanied by Mary-Jean and Celia, a mutual friend and co-worker. The tide was not right for shorebirds, but I hoped to find some more Pipits for Mary-Jean. We met up with a gentleman named Roger, who happens to be one of the pre-eminent birders in Canada. He led us to a spot west of 104 St. where there were a pair of Horned Larks.

Larks are usually seen on the ground, similar to Pipits. They are renowned for their song when breeding. In North America we only have the Horned Lark, which is plentiful on the Prairies in the breeding season. There is a small introduced population of the European Sky Lark on Vancouver Island near Victoria.

These photos are a bit on the poor side, but this is my first and only Horned Lark for the year.

Horned Lark - Boundary Bay, Delta BC

Horned Lark - Boundary Bay, Delta BC

We headed towards 112 St. to look for Pipits, but our only sightings were some sparrows. The photo below was taken by Mary-Jean. At first I thought it might be a White-throated Sparrow (rare for here) but when she sent me the file, I changed my mind to Savannah Sparrow.

Savannah Sparrow - Boundary Bay, Delta BC by Mary-Jean Payeur

That was it for this night.

September 24 - One last visit

This visit was on a Saturday afternoon, so I had a bit more time than usual. I headed west from 104 St and met up with a group of 3 birders. Two of them were from out of town and were being guided by a well-known local birder. They were all members of the BC Field Ornithologists organization, a group I will consider joining when I have more time for birding.

The tide was ebbing but there were good numbers of Plovers not too far away. The guide picked out a golden plover and we got our scopes on it. We believe it was a Pacific Golden-plover based on the wing projection. It was too far for the cameras, but I took a couple of videos with the phone through my scope. It's difficult to tell which plover it is from these captures.

Pacific Golden-plover? - Boundary Bay, Delta BC

Pacific Golden-plover? - Boundary Bay, Delta BC

Further on we saw another Plover that was much closer to shore. This one we identified as an American Golden-plover based on the long wing projection past the tail. The bird was close enough for the camera.

American Golden-plover - Boundary Bay, Delta BC

The last bird seen was a Pectoral Sandpiper close to shore.

Pectoral Sandpiper - Boundary Bay, Delta BC

This was my last visit to Boundary Bay for the Fall season. I'll be back there occasionally during the winter and will try to catch some shorebirds in breeding plumage next spring.

August 29 - Shorebird Magic

It was a Tuesday night with a favourable tide schedule, so once again I headed for Boundary Bay after supper. Not mentioned in a previous post was that I prevailed on my wife Edith to follow me in our other car to 104 St where parking is allowed. Then she'd drive me to 96 St and drop me off. I was recovering from a mild knee strain and was able to turn the round trip between the two locations into a one-way walk.

Just past 96 St. I met up with an group of birders who had seen a Ruff in the last half hour. A hawk or falcon had dispersed the shorebirds including the Ruff.

Ruffs are occasional visitors to the Pacific Coast, their normal home is Europe and Asia. It's not unusual for a juvenile to take a wrong turn and head down from the far north on our coast instead of the the Asian coast.

I had seen a Ruff on two occasions in previous years, so I was not crushed that it had disappeared.

I started travelling West towards 104th Street when I spotted a collection of peeps on the foreshore. It was a mix of Western Sandpipers and Sanderlings, the latter a year bird for me. The Sanderling is easy to pick out, as their Basic non-breeding plumage is a white body with gray wings, as can be seen in this photo. The Sanderlings are in the centre and foreground left in this shot.


Western Sandpiper and Sanderling- 96 St, Boundary Bay, Delta BC

Something caused the flock to start and fly off, you can see the Sanderlings in the centre of this flight shot.


Western Sandpiper and Sanderling- 96 St, Boundary Bay, Delta BC

With the high tide, other shorebirds were in range for good photos, including this Pectoral Sandpiper.


Pectoral Sandpiper - 96 St, Boundary Bay, Delta BC

As I approached 104 St. I saw another well known birder who specializes in Shorebirds. He signalled me to come over and quizzed me to identify the shorebird he was looking at. I had a good idea of what it might be, and when I looked, I knew it was the Ruff. I told him it had been seen earlier, which informed my guess.

The crisp, fresh looking plumage indicated that this Ruff was a juvenile. Here's the best shot I got at this point in time. The Ruff is much larger than the common Sandpipers, there is a Pectoral in the foreground for comparison.


Ruff - 104 St, Boundary Bay, Delta BC

Some of the other birders I'd seen earlier showed up and they reported that there were three Buff-breasted Sandpipers further east towards 112 St. This would be a year bird for me. My only other sighting was in 2013.

I headed west to beat the sunset and came across another birder heading east to see the Ruff. He pointed out two of the Buff Breasted to me. They were not too close and blended in well with the foreshore. But, between my camera and digiscoping a couple of photos, I got the shots seen below. These were definitely juveniles. One of the three seemed a bit larger than the other two, probably one male and two females.


Buff-breasted Sandpiper - Boundary Bay, Delta BC 


Buff-breasted Sandpiper - Boundary Bay, Delta BC 

This shot is a digiscope using IPhone and spotting scope.

Buff-breasted Sandpiper - Boundary Bay, Delta BC 

I returned to 104 St and took a couple of last shots of the Ruff. This one with my camera.

Ruff - 104 St, Boundary Bay, Delta BC

The last is by digi-scope.I like the rounding effect on this one, looks like the Ruff is at the top of the world.

Ruff - 104 St, Boundary Bay, Delta BC

Nights like this are why birders love Fall Shorebird Season. More to come in September.

Late August - Cheam Lake and Iona

This is another post covering different outings.

August 25 - Cheam Lake and Chilliwack

I had the day off for another afternoon golf outing in Chilliwack, so I joined up with my friend Mary-Jean again for some morning birding. We decided to go to Cheam Wetlands Regional Park near Popkum (Bridal Falls) first as we'd had good luck there in June.

This time it was fairly quiet. It was a sunny with no clouds, but the light was challenging. The few birds we saw mostly had us looking into the sun. The first bird seen was this female House Finch.


House Finch (F) - Cheam Wetlands Regional Park, Popkum BC

There were a couple of Belted Kingfishers flying around and announcing themselves loudly. Once again, this shot was taken from a distance with the poor lighting conditions.

Belted Kingfisher - Cheam Wetlands Regional Park, Popkum BC

Our luck changed a bit when we spotted a Lincoln's Sparrow fairly close by. This was a lifer for Mary-Jean and my second sighting for the year. We both got good close-ups of it and the sun was in a good spot this time. It is one of the more attractive sparrows. 

Lincoln's Sparrow - Cheam Wetlands Regional Park, Popkum BC by Lou

Lincoln's Sparrow - Cheam Wetlands Regional Park, Popkum BC by Mary-Jean Payeur

We left Cheam and drove into Chilliwack to visit Island 22 Regional Park. As we were driving in we spotted Turkey Vultures circling over the farmlands. When we turned into the Park road, Mary-Jean spotted one across the river. We stopped the car and I took this photo with my IPhone and spotting scope.

Turkey Vulture and Glacous-winged Gull, Chilliwack BC

When I went to start my car, the battery was dead. We did a quick walk into the park, but the day was now hot and there was not a bird to be seen or heard. 

I found someone to jump start the car, and I dropped Mary-Jean off and went and played golf. 

PS - the battery was replaced a couple of days later.

August 28 - Iona Revisited

Another Sunday morning at Iona Regional Park Settling ponds. There were reports of Buff-breasted Sandpiper here the previous couple of days, a bird I had only seen once in 2013. I'd have no luck with that bird on this day.

Three was lots of activity but most of it was caused by Savannah Sparrows, which were out in good numbers. Here's one of the better photos.

Savannah Sparrow - Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

I also took a nice close up of a Lesser Yellowlegs. A previous post showed the Greater Yellowlegs, this one is noticeably smaller and the bill length is about the same as the head. I'm open to corrections on this.

Lesser Yellowlegs - Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

There was one other smaller shorebird present in good numbers. The Baird's Sandpiper is a bit bigger than the Western and has buffy colouring. The wings are quite long and project past the tail.


Baird's Sandpiper - Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

That's it for this post, the next few posts will be mostly Boundary Bay shorebirds.