October 29 - Rainy morning, Sunny afternoon

The day started with heavy, heavy rainfall. I had to go to Burnaby for another reason, but took my camera and binoculars with me. I stopped at Piper Spit in Burnaby Lake Regional Park, normally a very busy place. There was only one other car in the parking lot. I ventured  out to the boardwalk and took a few shots in the rain.



There were some ducks and other birds around. Normally they would be closer, but no one was feeding them on this wet day.

I noticed a group of shorebirds huddled together. I'm calling them Long-billed Dowitchers based on them being in fresh water. They are very difficult to tell from Short-billed, which prefer salt water. And the bill look pretty long!


Long-billed Dowitcher - Piper Spit, Burnaby Lake Regional Park, Burnaby BC

One duck that came a bit closer was this female Wood Duck:

Wood Duck (F) - Piper Spit, Burnaby Lake Regional Park, Burnaby BC

I came back to my car and noticed some activity in the bushes and tree nearby. I got a nice close-up of a Chickadee.

Black-capped Chickadee - Piper Spit, Burnaby Lake Regional Park, Burnaby BC

Upon returning home, I spent some time taking photos in our yard using my Iphone to remote control the Nikon Camera. This is detailed in another post.

The afternoon got sunny and I decided to head out again, this time south to Blackie's Spit at Crescent Beach in Surrey.

As usual, I spotted someone taking photos on the east side of the spit and quietly joined him. He was shooting a small shorebird, which I identified as a Dunlin in winter plumage. These are the most numerous shorebirds on Boundary Bay in late Fall/Winter. 

Dunlin - Blackie's Spit, Surrey BC

Also in the area were numerous Wigeon ducks, mostly American but a few Eurasian mixed in. This photo shows a Male Eurasian Wigeon defending his territory from a competitor. The background bird is a female.

Eurasian Wigeon - Blackie's Spit, Surrey BC

We had already seen a few Marbled Godwits mixed in and I had taken some so-so photos. This is the best one I managed. I had seen them earlier in September at Boundary Bay but at long distance.

Marbled Godwit - Blackie's Spit, Surrey BC

Also joining the party was the Long-billed Curlew, which had been seen here earlier in the month. A fine way to end the day.

Long-billed Curlew - Blackie's Spit, Surrey BC