November-December Backyard Birds

Here's a collection of birds seen in the backyard over the last two months of 2016. There's not a lot of variety in birds, but the cold conditions in late December allowed for some unique shots.

The most common and frequently seen birds in the backyard are the Dark-eyed Juncos. Here's one in the benign conditions of November.


Dark-eyed Junco - Backyard, North Delta BC - November 11, 2016

I was lucky to catch a visit by a flock of Bushtits a couple of days later.


Bushtit - Backyard, North Delta BC - November 13, 2016


Bushtit - Backyard, North Delta BC - November 13, 2016

Early December was still on the mild side, this female Downy Woodpecker and her mate can be seen in our yard every day of the year. Our Suet feeder prevents the resident Squirrels from hogging the Suet.


Downy Woodpecker (F) - Backyard, North Delta BC - December 3, 2016

We have a resident male Anna's Hummingbird in our yard. I caught a few close-ups of him, some with the purple iridescence showing in the throat area.


Anna's Hummingbird - Backyard, North Delta BC - December 4, 2016


Anna's Hummingbird - Backyard, North Delta BC - December 4, 2016

Anna's Hummingbird - Backyard, North Delta BC - December 4, 2016

After the first snowstorm in the third week of December, conditions were a bit harsher for the local birds.

Dark-eyed Juncos - Backyard, North Delta BC - December 18, 2016

Dark-eyed Junco - Backyard, North Delta BC - December 18, 2016

With the freezing temperatures, I had to bring in the hummingbird feeder at night, or replace the sugar water the next morning. The male Anna's survived the cold snap in spite of my early negligence on keeping the feeder unfrozen.

Anna's Hummingbird -  Backyard, North Delta BC - December 18, 2016

We have a number of resident black squirrels in the yard. They were scrambling for food during the snow days. The Christmas lights are reflections off the window. 

Black Squirrels - Backyard, North Delta BC - December 18, 2016

We had another snowfall on Boxing Day, this Junco looked unfazed.

Dark-eyed Juncos - Backyard, North Delta BC - December 26, 2016

On the other hand, this Northern Flicker was complaining loudly.

Northern Flicker - Backyard, North Delta BC - December 26, 2016

December 17 - Another Wild Bird Chase

Today's quarry was a reported Eastern Phoebe seen at Jericho Beach. This was in the middle of some winter weather in Vancouver and temperatures were frigid. I'd seen this bird in Calgary many years ago (see photo below) and again in Point Pelee, Ontario in 2012.


Eastern Phoebe - Inglewood Bird Sanctuary, Calgary AB - Summer 2002

It took me quite a while to get from North Delta to Jericho, and then a bit more time to find the frozen pond where the bird had been seen. It was getting late in the afternoon by this time and my hopes were dwindling. The first bird I saw in the frigid surroundings was a Song Sparrow.


Song Sparrow - Jericho Beach Park, Vancouver BC

Next up was a Northwestern Crow trying to find some food in the frozen environment.


Northwestern Crow - Jericho Beach Park, Vancouver BC

The  Mallards that habituate the park were not doing much better:

Mallards - Jericho Beach Park, Vancouver BC

Also unhappy was this Ring-billed Gull:

Ring-billed Gull - Jericho Beach Park, Vancouver BC

I gave up on the Phoebe and headed towards the shoreline to take a few scenery shots. Here's the skyline looking towards the North Shore.

The last bird I saw was an American Wigeon male swimming just offshore.

American Wigeon - Jericho Beach Park, Vancouver BC

Early December Birding - Failures and Successes

December 3, Brunswick Point, Delta:

On this Saturday  I set out for Brunswick Point again in hopes of seeing any of these birds:

• the American Tree Sparrow that I had chased earlier in the month
• the juvenile Gyrfalcon that I narrowly missed on my last outing due to time constraints

On my way I spotted some Trumpeter Swans in a farmer's field and stopped to have a look. There were swans in the field along with some Northern Shoveler Ducks.

Trumpeter Swans and Northern Shovelers - 33 Ave and 34 St, Delta BC

Also in the area were a good number of Robins feeding on the berries in the trees.

American Robin - 33 Ave and 34 St, Delta BC

I parked and headed out on the dike along Brunswick Point. There's a couple of benches along the trail that are good marking points for directions. Just past the first bench, there was a photographer in the field looking for Short-eared Owls. I took the movie below of an owl in flight, not sure how it will turn out here.

A long walk along the trail resulted in no Tree Sparrow and no Gyrfalcon. I did get a nice photo of this Bald Eagle.

Bald Eagle - Brunswick Point, Delta BC

December 4, Pitt Lake Regional Park, Pitt Meadows BC

Unlike the day before, I was on a tight schedule on this Sunday morning. I had to cook a family dinner in the afternoon for Sunday evening. There had been reports of over 100 Bohemian Waxwings on the Nature trail at Pitt Lake. It was a 45 minute drive each way, so I knew I'd have little time to find the birds.

As a bonus I spotted an American Kestrel on the way out. It's not a great photo, but nice to see:

American Kestrel - Rannie Rd. Pitt Meadows BC

I parked and headed out on the Nature trail. I only had to walk about 5 minutes before encountering a flock of 50 - 100 Bohemian Waxwings. I had both cameras with me and took shots with both. Two other birders. Melissa and Bridget, showed up. Melissa is the author of the Lower Mainland Rare Bird alert site, and Bridget was the young woman who first found the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in Vancouver. This is my first shot so I at least had a record of the birds.

Bohemian Waxwings -  Pitt Lake Regional Park, Pitt Meadows BC

I took about 50 photos and tried to get close-ups of individuals wit both cameras.

Bohemian Waxwing -  Pitt Lake Regional Park, Pitt Meadows BC

Bohemian Waxwing -  Pitt Lake Regional Park, Pitt Meadows BC

Bohemian Waxwing -  Pitt Lake Regional Park, Pitt Meadows BC

Here's a photo of the Pitt Lake area on this beautiful day:

I spotted a bird as I was heading for my cat and snapped a shot. I only realized what it was after the photos were downloaded to my computer.

It's not surprising that a large number of small birds would attract a predator such as as Northern Shrike.

Northern Shrike-  Pitt Lake Regional Park, Pitt Meadows BC

I jumped in the car and headed home to start dinner.

November 27 - Persistence Pays Off

Earlier in November there were reports of a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker in the Southlands area of Vancouver. This location is south of SW Marine Drive and is more known as a hub of equestrian activity. I had visited the area on 13th and 20th of November but had no luck with the bird. There were a number of birders on both days as we combed the streets around the area bordering the McLeery Golf Course.

The Yellow-bellied Sapsucker is an eastern Woodpecker that is seen on rare occasions west of the Rockies.

On this Sunday, I made another trip, even though rain was threatening. There was only one other birder present, but he had located the bird and directed me to it. It was still hard to spot in the trees,  but it had a distinctive call and was quite vocal on this day. I located it and took a couple of photos with the Nikon.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - Vancouver BC

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - Vancouver BC

I was having trouble keeping it in the viewfinder, so I grabbed the Canon. This isn't quite as detailed but provides a different look.

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker - Vancouver BC

It was raining heavily by this time so I called it a day.

Nov 19 - Brunswick Point

I returned to Brunswick Point again hoping to see the American Tree Sparrow I had missed on my last visit. As I was walking along the dike I met up with two of the foremost birders in the Lower Mainland. One of the first birds spotted was a Northern Shrike hunting on the foreshore.

Northern Shrike - Brunswick Point, Delta BC

This is a Robin sized bird that hunts and kills small rodents and other songbirds. It is called a butcher bird for its practice of impaling its prey on sharp spikes or fence posts. You can see the hook in it's beak in the photo below.

Northern Shrike - Brunswick Point, Delta BC

This bird was on the hunt and it didn't take long for it to locate and kill a vole on the foreshore. Here it is munching on a morsel shortly after the kill.

Northern Shrike - Brunswick Point, Delta BC

Another hunter common in this habitat is the Northern Harrier.

Northern Harrier - Brunswick Point, Delta BC

I had a work commitment on this Saturday afternoon, so I had to leave the other two birders and head back. After I left them, they found a juvenile Gyrfalcon further on up the dike, and they saw the American Tree Sparrow on their way back.

My only other sighting was this very common Cormorant along the River as I walked back.

Double-crested Cormorant - Brunswick Point, Delta BC

Now I was off to work to help pay for my birding activities!

November 12 - Brunswick Point and Reifel Bird Sanctuary

It was the Saturday after Remembrance Day and I was hoping to see some memorable birds. There had been reports of an American Tree Sparrow at Brunswick Point. This location borders the Fraser River, with a long dyke that separates farmland and foreshore. If you continue along the dike heading south-west you'll end up in the Tsawwassen reserve and eventually the jetty leading to the BC Ferry terminal.

I did not see the Sparrow, but on my way back to the car saw spotted some shorebirds perching on the pilings along the river. Someone had seen Red Knots they the day before, but I saw only Black-bellied Plovers and Dunlin, both of which over-winter here. The Dunlin are the smaller birds in the middle and on the left side of this shot.


Dunlin and Black-bellied Plovers - Brunswick Point, Delta BC

Here's an interesting shot of a BB plover, with a bit of artistic cropping.


Black-bellied Plover - Brunswick Point, Delta BC

As I got back to my car, I could hear a Northern Flicker calling nearby. I found it on the chimney of a farmhouse.

Northern Flicker - Brunswick Point, Delta BC

My next stop was Reifel Bird Sanctuary, a short hop away from where I was. Upon arrival I spotted some Sandhill Cranes by the entrance. I had read recently that the chick born in the spring disappeared in August and was presumed dead. Hopefully the parents will be successful next spring.

Sandhill Crane - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

I took a different route than I normally do and was rewarded with a view of a pair of Ring-necked Ducks. This species is poorly named as you can rarely see the ring on the neck, while the white ring on the bill is obvious. The male is on the left and female to the right.

Ring-necked Duck - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

My next destination was the blind in the Northwest corner of the property. I spotted a Fox Sparrow on the way. Similar to the Song Sparrow, this species has a rounder head and no central breast spot.

Fox Sparrow - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

At the blind I saw a pair of Hooded Mergansers swim by but they were gone before I could take a photo. Much more cooperative was a female Belted Kingfisher that posed on a snag about 60 meters away. I had both cameras with me and the bird was unaware of me in the blind. The first photo was taken with my Canon SLR with the 400mm lens. It was cropped using Picasa after uploading to my PC. I believe this is the best representation of the colours I was seeing.

Belted Kingfisher - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

The next shot was a zoom with the Nikon P900C zoomed out to maximum optical extension. No cropping in post, the look is a bit softer, but with good detail. The colours are muted.

Belted Kingfisher - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

The last is also with the Nikon, but it is a capture from a video taken with the same zoom as the still photo. The detail is still quite good and the colours are richer. I was able to catch what looked like a yawn. 

Belted Kingfisher - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

Here's another zoomed out capture of a Northern Harrier at quite a distance.

Northern Harrier - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

This is a scenery shot looking out onto the western foreshore. Reifel is a very beautiful place in Fall and Winter.

More ducks, this shot is probably under-exposed but that creates an interesting motion effect.

Northern Pintail (Female on left) and Mallard - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

I had now made my way around to the south-east corner of the sanctuary where the shorebirds hang out. I believe that one or both of the two on the left might be Lesser Yellowlegs but I can't say for sure. Or they might all be Greater Yellowlegs.

Lesser? and Greater Yellowlegs  - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

I was almost back at the entrance by now. There were some ground-feeding sparrows on the trail including this one.

Golden-crowned Sparrow - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

Finally back at the entrance, some of the Sandhill Cranes had decided to go for a swim in the Display Pond. This captures the bulk of the species, not to be trifled with if you encounter one on the trails. Note the little morsel it has captured.

Sandhill Crane - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

That was it for this Saturday, I'd be back out to Brunswick Point the following week.