April 17, 2016 - Queen Elizabeth Park

Last year in late April there was a massive Warbler Fallout at Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver. So far this year, there had only been a few reports from the park. There was a report on Saturday the 16th of a Hutton's Vireo being seen in the park. I knew where I'd seen them last year, so I thought there would be a good chance of seeing on in the same area.

I always park near the Pitch and Putt course on the south-west side of the park, for one thing it's still free to park there :-) . It's also where the main bunch of Warblers were last year. But it was very quiet this year. I ran into a birding couple and they told me that there were Merlins nesting over by the tennis courts, and the male was very conspicuous. So I took a look.

Sure enough, he was in the open high up on a tree.

Merlin - Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver

The Merlin is a member of the Falcon family, and is about 2/3 the size but only 1/3 the weight of the more familiar Peregrine Falcon. It feeds on small birds and larger flying insects.

The female could be heard on the nest nearby but was out of sight.

Here's one more look at this beautiful bird.

Merlin - Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver

Next I walked around the park and headed north to the area by the Duck pond. I saw the other birders again in the area, and together we spotted a Hutton's Vireo in the trees. It was in deep shade and my first photo was quite dark.

Hutton's Vireo - Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver BC

This bird is almost identical to the Ruby-crowned Kinglet, which is a totally different species. However, the behaviour is much different. While Kinglets are very active, flitting from branch to branch, Vireos are slow moving and methodical. The  Vireo's bill is thicker than that of the Kinglet.

The bird moved into a better lit area and I got a shot I was happy with.

Hutton's Vireo - Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver BC

The only other bird photo of note was this Gull near the duck pond.

Glaucous-winged Gull - Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver BC