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.

July Backyard Birds

We have had a great variety of birds in our backyard over the years. We live above Burns Bog and have been feeding birds since the early 80's. However, our primary bird seed feeders are located in spots that don't lend themselves to photography.

However, the hummingbird feeder is on our back porch, and down below we have a nice large flat bowl that we keep filled with water. I always take my camera out with me when sitting on the back porch.

This is a sampling of birds seen while enjoying the summer heat on the porch.

Anna's Hummingbird

We keep the feeder filled year round as the Anna's here do not migrate south in the winter. They have a very early breeding season to avoid competition with the much more aggressive Rufous Hummingbirds. They arrive in early March and take over for a couple of months.

I believe the birds in the photos below are juvenile male Anna's. The photos were taken two weeks apart, so it might be the same bird. The second one is definitely a male.

Anna's Hummingbird (Imm) - Backyard, North Delta BC - June 30 2016

Anna's Hummingbird (Imm) - Backyard, North Delta BC - July 13, 2016

We have resident chickadees year round and not just Black-capped.

Black-capped Chickadee - Backyard, North Delta BC.

Chestnut-backed Chickadee - Backyard, North Delta BC.

The American Goldfinches come and go, sometimes we see them in winter in their dull basic plumage. In the summer we see them in alternate (breeding) plumage.

Here's a male that I waited just a bit too long to snap the shutter.

American Goldfinch - Backyard, North Delta BC.

About 15 minutes later I was more alert and captured this female at the water dish.

American Goldfinch (F) - Backyard, North Delta BC.

American Goldfinch (F) - Backyard, North Delta BC.

We also have an apple tree in the back yard which attracts birds when the apples ripen.We see Downy Woodpeckers practically every day at our suet feeder, but it was a treat to see one in the apple tree.

Downy Woodpecker - Backyard, North Delta BC.

Another bird I hear in the yard but struggle to see is the Bewick's Wren. I have heard it numerous times this year, but have not seen it, never mind taken a picture. There's still a third of the year to go so I still have hope.

That's it for this post, the next one will be from August.

White Rock Pier and Blackie's Spit

I had the day off as I was playing in a golf event in the afternoon. I took the opportunity to head south and visit the White Rock Pier and Blackie's Spit at Crescent Beach.

The wind was up - again - so there were no ducks, loon or grebes visible from the pier. It was probably too early in the season as they are more prevalent in fall through early spring.

I did see a Great Blue Heron on the hunt.


Great Blue Heron - White Rock Pier, White Rock BC

I left and made my way north and west to Crescent Beach. As I was pulling into the parking area I spotted some Gulls on the sand. I was still missing Ring-billed Gulls from my my year list, but these turned out to be adult and immature California Gulls. Most birders would rather see these than Ring-billed.


California Gull - Blackie's Spit, Surrey BC

The key identification features for this adult are:

• the red and black spot on the bill
• the yellow legs
• the dark eye

The black wing-tips are normally seen in younger birds, so perhaps this is not quite an adult yet.

Here's a photo of a younger bird:

California Gull (Imm) - Blackie's Spit, Surrey BC

The younger California Gulls only have black on the bill and the legs have a blueish tint to them. In all the photos I took of this bird, it seems the left leg is bluer than the right. I think this is a first-summer gull (about 1 year old).

I left the parking area and walked east to the small nature area. On my way, I saw Anna's Hummingbirds floating around like nymphs, quite different from the Rufous which are like fighter jets. They were too elusive for a photo, but I did see this House finch perched in a tree top.

House Finch - Blackie's Spit, Surrey BC

I wanted to check out the Purple Martin boxes that are mounted on piers about 50 metres from the shore. I had been here in the spring and did not see any Martins. This time there were a few pairs and I suspect some babies inside the boxes.

Purple Martins (Female on left) - Blackie's Spit, Surrey BC

A bit of drama ensued when a juvenile Bald Eagle arrived on the scene and perched on a piling near the nest boxes. The Martins started dive-bombing the Eagle, pulling up just around its head.

Bald Eagle (Imm) and Purple Martin - Blackie's Spit, Surrey BC

I tried to catch this on video with my IPhone through my scope:

As I was leaving the area, I spotted this Northern Flicker on a nearby tree-top. It's a common bird, but I haven't taken many good photos of them this year.

Northern Flicker  - Blackie's Spit, Surrey BC

The last bird I saw was another common one, the unpopular invasive European Starling. I have to admit that sometimes they can be very attractive subjects.

European Starling - Blackie's Spit, Surrey BC

It was time to go play golf in Delta. The wind really came up in the afternoon and we were right on Boundary Bay for a taste of Links golf in the Lower Mainland.

Young birds at Reifel Bird Sanctuary and Terns at Tsawwassen

It was a rare Saturday with no golf, so I went birding instead. I had not been at Reifel Bird Sanctuary in a while and thought it might offer some good photo opportunities.

I was informed by Vari, the woman who greets guests at the ticket booth, the the Sandhill Crane chick had survived this year and was wandering about the sanctuary with its parents. As I was heading in, I saw these three cranes and I believe the one on the left is the chick. I could be totally wrong on this assumption.


Sandhill Cranes - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

There were some shorebirds about in the West Field but not close enough for photos. As I was walking I noticed this Barn Swallow just outside an open shelter just off the trail.


Barn Swallow - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

I ducked into the shelter to see what was in there and was surprised to see a nest full of chicks.  It was too close for my lens, so I got my phone ready and ducked in for a second and got this shot. I think there were four in the nest. The look pretty close to fledging.

Barn Swallows - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

A bit further along I saw this recently fledged Tree Swallow, with parents nearby.

Tree Swallow - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

There wasn't much other bird activity, so I tried to get some nice profiles of the ducks that were around. I always admire the lovely female Wood Duck.

Wood Duck (F) - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

And here was a cooperative female Mallard.

Mallard (F) - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

I left Reifel and took a side trip to the Tsawwassen Ferry jetty. There had been reports of 50+ Caspian Terns in the Compensation Lagoon on the north side of the Causeway. I pulled into the taxi spot and was lucky that there were some spaces.

A short walk to the Lagoon and I was rewarded, I counted 85 Caspian Terns. Photo conditions were challenging, but I got a couple of shots of a lone tern hunting closer to my position.

Caspian Tern - Tsawwassen Ferry Jetty, Delta BC

Caspian Tern - Tsawwassen Ferry Jetty, Delta BC

That was the end of my day, the Terns were the first for the year, a nice addition to the 2016 list.

Return to Point Roberts

A week after my last successful visit I set out again for Point Roberts. It was a windy day (which would prove to be very important later in the day) so I was again pessimistic about seeing much on the water.

On this day I was right, the wind was blowing quite hard and there was nothing to see out on the water. I did get another good White-crowned Sparrow shot, possibly the same bird I'd seen last week.

White-crowned Sparrow - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

Since I had spent so little time at my first stop, I decided to try Lily Point Park on the south-eastern edge of the Peninsula. The park is at some elevation and overlooks the Strait of Georgia to the south-west. There is a trail loop from the parking lot that takes you through a mature forest.

As I was walking I heard Pacific Wren singing nearby. I managed to locate the bird and draw it out with a very short playback from my phone. It was in a very shady area in the forest and I struggled with exposure. The bird also kept moving and was aware of my presence. Here are the two best photos I managed, my first for  the year for this elusive species.


Pacific Wren - Lily Point Park, Point Roberts WA

The next photo is in mid-call and I was able to crop it to show more detail.


Pacific Wren - Lily Point Park, Point Roberts WA

I also heard a few Swainson's Thrush on the walk, but could not see one, let alone take a photo.

Here's the view overlooking Georgia Strait.


Lily Point Park, Point Roberts WA

On my way home I took Highway 17 (the Perimeter Road) and noticed a large fire burning in the distance. After crossing Highway 99, I drove right by the Burns Bog fire, probably about an hour after it had started. I did not stop to take a photo, but took this one from our street when I got home.

Burns Bog fire from North Delta

Fortunately the weather turned wet the next day and the fire was put out within a week of it starting.

Canada Day Lazuli Buntings at Island 22 Regional Park

Mary-Jean and I had planned to come here on our June 27th outing but arrived later than planned. I had to leave immediately for my golf game but Mary-Jean stayed around for awhile. Later that afternoon she sent me a beautiful photo of a Lazuli Bunting taken on a telephone wire just outside the park.

We agreed that this site needed another visit and Canada Day was a good choice. Island 22 is on the north side of Chilliwack butted up against the Fraser River. It is primarily used for equestrian events, but it also has a dog park and plenty of forested areas to explore.

We did see a male Lazuli Bunting upon arrival, but my photos were badly overexposed. The day was cloudy with a threat of rain and photo conditions were less than optimal.

The first acceptable photo I took was of a Cedar Waxwing.

Cedar Waxwing - Island 22 Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

We wandered around for a while hearing the occasional Willow Flycatcher, Western Wood-pewee and the ever elusive Swainson's Thrush.We tried another area that bordered a small lake and it seemed more promising, with sounds of bird activity.

We found a small path to the lakeside and quickly realized we had company, a family of Lazuli Buntings including both parents and a fledged juvenile.

The parents were squawking at us so we grabbed a few photos and backed off. Closest to us was the female.

Lazuli Bunting Female - Island 22 Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

The young bird was about 10 feet away from the mother closer to the lake. It appeared to have just finished eating something, probably an insect.

Lazuli Bunting Juvenile - Island 22 Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

Mary-Jean got a better close-up of the baby:

Lazuli Bunting Juvenile - Island 22 Regional Park, Chilliwack BC by Mary-Jean Payeur

The male was more elusive and it took a few tries to get a good shot of him.

Lazuli Bunting Male - Island 22 Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

We walked back to the parking lot and I heard a Pewee calling. I tried to point it out to Mary-Jean but it was very poorly lit and she did not see it well. Here's a photo that I've manipulated a bit to show more detail. The primary identification method is the call, the visual details are very similar with the small flycatchers. It has a bit more of a peaked head as well.


Western Wood Pewee - Island 22 Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

Just before we left, we made a quick trip back to the Bunting location. On the way I saw this butterfly, which sat still long enough for a good photo.  Butterfly identification is very difficult, I know for sure it is a Skipper. There are over 30 pages of Skippers in the Kaufman Field Guide to Butterflies. The Woodland Skipper seems to be a good fit for this one.

Woodland Skipper - Island 22 Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

As we were driving out, I heard and spotted a Willow Flycatcher on the wires overhead. Mary-Jean missed it as she was looking at a Tree Sparrow a bit further up the road.

This flycatcher is also easiest identified by sound, it makes a call that sounds like fitz-bew. Notice also the more rounded head compared to the Pewee photo.

Willow Flycatcher - Island 22 Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

That ended our Canada Day excursion.