Sunday, April 30, 2017

Finishing off April

April 27 - Burns Bog Walk


This post deals with the tail end of April 2017. Most of the the photos were taken on Sunday April 30th, but a few deal with the week before.

On Thursday April 27th I took a quick walk on the Burns Bog boardwalk, which is close to where I live. I've had some luck on this path, but today was more typical of most of my outings in the bog.

My best experiences have occurred at the point in the boardwalk where I'm as far west as possible, closest to Highway 91. On this day the I only saw a couple of common species. I can always attract a Song Sparrow at this location with some pish-pish calls.


Song Sparrow - Burns Bog, Delta BC - April 2017

Another bird was further along on the trail, an American Goldfinch.


American Goldfinch- Burns Bog, Delta BC - April 2017

I didn't see any other birds on this walk. I took some photos of this attractive bog flower, which I've been unable to identify.



April 29 - Belmont Golf Course

Quite often on the weekends, I play at this golf course in the Walnut Grove area of Langley  I try to bring a camera, but on this day I only had my IPhone.

The course always has a good population of Canada Geese. While putting on the 10th green, I noticed a different looking goose in with the Canada's. I took a few IPhone pictures and captured this Greater White-fronted Goose (on the right).

Greater White-fronted Goose - Belmont Golf Course, Langley BC - 2017 Bird #138

A bit later in the round a Stellar's Jay flew over, it was 2017 Species #139. I did not get a photo and have not done so yet in 2017 at the time of this post.



April 30 Part 1 - Wild Hummingbird Chase

Some earlier posts in April detailed visits to the Richmond Nature Park, where I'd taken some photos of local hummingbirds, along with common finches, nuthatches and sparrows. Suddenly there were reports of a rare Black-chinned Hummingbird at this location.

This hummingbird is commonly seen in the American Southwest, and sometime creep up into the Okanagan. I'd seen the bird in Arizona in 2008, so this was not a lifer chase.

I showed up on the Sunday morning, and was not surprised to see a good number of photographers present. On my earlier visits there were one or two including myself at this location.

Before the rarity showed up, a few of our common hummingbirds appeared.


Rufous Hummingbird - Richmond Nature Park, Richmond BC

Also on site was our common Anna's Hummingbird.

Anna's Hummingbird - Richmond Nature Park, Richmond BC

Next up was a female Rufous with her long tongue protruding :

Rufous Hummingbird (F) - Richmond Nature Park, Richmond BC

Finally the bird everyone was looking for showed up:


I've left this uncaptioned as it was revealed about a week later that this bird was a hybrid between an Anna's and Black-chinned Hummingbird. Although very interesting, and very attractive, it is not countable as a member of either species. The folks that run the local Bird alerts contacted a Hummingbird expert in California who confirmed the hybrid. They also referred this to David Sibley, he of the Sibley Field Guide to Birds, who confirmed the Hybrid hypothesis. So a bird went briefly on my 2017 list, and then came off. I felt fortunate to see and get an excellent shot of this rare hybrid.

Since I was onsite, I captured some nice shots of birds I'd seen at this location on earlier visits.

Red-breasted Nuthatch - Richmond Nature Park, Richmond BC

Purple Finch (F)  - Richmond Nature Park, Richmond BC

Queen Elizabeth Park

Atter Richmond, I headed North to Queen Elizabeth Park, where spring migration was producing a few unusual birds. Unluckily for me, I was never able to see some of the rarer birds such as Nashville Warbler and Olive-sided Flycatcher.

I did have some luck on this day with one of the more common migrants.

Just below the "Seasons in the Park" Restaurant is an excellent place to look for these migrants. Here's a view looking up at the restaurant:


Just off the parking area I spotted some movement and with some pishing calls was able to produce some Orange-crowned Warblers.

Orange-crowned Warbler - Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver BC - April 2017 - 2017 Bird #140

Our version of this warbler is more colourful than the one seen in the East, a nice change as they see much greater diversity in Warbler species than we do out here.

Orange-crowned Warbler - Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver BC - April 2017

Also in the same area was another familiar Warbler:

Yellow-rumped Warbler - Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver BC - April 2017

Down below near the Duck Pond, I saw more Orange-crowned Warblers, and also this Kinglet:

Ruby-crowned Kinglet - Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver BC - April 2017

On the duck pond were a pair of Gadwall Ducks, quickly becoming my favourite Dabbling ducks.

Gadwall - Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver BC - April 2017

Finally, a good shot of the Gadwall female:

Gadwall (F) - Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver BC - April 2017

This was the end of April. The next month's birding would be spotty due to continuing bad weather. It's detailed in subsequent posts.

Sunday, April 23, 2017

Sunday in Richmond - Part 1

I mentioned in an earlier post that Richmond Nature park was a good place to see Purple finches. On that day I did not see any, so I returned for another try. Since my last visit, they had put up hummingbird feeders. I stopped to check out the action there first.

My first shot was an Anna's male, displaying his breeding colours.


Anna's Hummingbird - Richmond Nature Park, Richmond BC

There were Rufous Hummingbirds as well, I caught this female away from the feeders.

Rufous Hummingbird (F) - Richmond Nature Park, Richmond BC

I was in luck for my purple finches today, there was both a male and female present.  The Purple can be distinguished from the House Finch by the deeper red/purple colour that covers much of the body, both front and back.

Purple Finch - Richmond Nature Park, Richmond BC - 2017 Bird #132

Here's the female, the brown streaks on the breast and a bit of a crescent below the eye.The lower bill bottom edge is straight, it is curved on a House Finch.

Purple Finch (F) - Richmond Nature Park, Richmond BC

A multi-species shot as the finches compete for seeds.

American Goldfinch and Purple Finch - Richmond Nature Park, Richmond BC

Here's a couple of shots of an American Goldfinch male:


American Goldfinch - Richmond Nature Park, Richmond BC

And a different angle on the Purple Finch:

Purple Finch - Richmond Nature Park, Richmond BC

And a Chickadee to end the visit.

Black-capped Chickadee - Richmond Nature Park, Richmond BC

My next stop would be Iona Regional Park in Richmond, detailed in the post below.


Sunday in Richmond - Part 2

My next stop was Iona Regional Park. My target was a Lapland Longspur that had been seen on the South Jetty, about 2/3 of the way out. Longspurs are related to Sparrows and are commonly seen in the far north during breeding season. They are seen during migration at Iona, where the Jetty offers a tundra like habitat with rocks and open ground.

I believe I caught one glimpse of the Longspur on my walk, enough to count it on my year list. I'll post a photo from a previous year when I get to that point in this post.

You are welcomed to Iona at the base of the South Jetty by this nice metal sculpture:



Some days the long walk on the Jetty can be unrewarding. It's 4 KM out and 4KM back with the ocean on both sides. Today would be a special day with much to see.

The first birds I saw was this pair of Bald Eagles, an adult and juvenile on a small island as the tide went out.


Bald Eagles - South Jetty, Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

I heard some croaking noises and spotted a group of Terns on the tidal flats north of the jetty. The sound indicated Caspian Terns, and my visual ID confirmed it. The key identifying features are large size, black legs and bright red bills. The top of the head looks flat, it is rounder on the Common Tern, the only other likely possibility here.


Caspian Tern - South Jetty, Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC - 2017 Bird #133

A bit further along I spotted a group of ducks swimming towards shore. They were Red-breasted Mergansers. I see this species at Point Roberts quite often, but normally only females. This was a mixed group of males and females. The crests on both are very distinctive. The males are the more colourful birds on the right.


Red-breasted Merganser - South Jetty, Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

Next up was a Great Blue Heron fishing in the shallow water:


Great Blue Heron - South Jetty, Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

A Caspian Tern flew overhead, showing off the field marks described earlier. Also showing was the dark primary feathers on the underside of the wing.


Caspian Tern - South Jetty, Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

Another bird that is seen at times at Iona is the Bonaparte's Gull. This small gull is easily identified in breeding season by the black head. It has distinctive red legs, which can help in non-breeding plumage. It also is normally seen in large groups.

Bonaparte's Gull - South Jetty, Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC - 2017 Bird #134



Bonaparte's Gull - South Jetty, Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

I was now about halfway out on the Jetty. A pair of Common Goldeneye ducks were fishing just off the jetty. The female is the top bird without the white cheek patch.

Common Goldeneye - South Jetty, Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

Another kilometer of so later I caught a brief glimpse of a colourful sparrow sized bird. Another birder had seen it in the same area that day. This is a photo taken of a male on April 21, 2015 at Iona. The bird reported this year was also a male.

Lapland Longspur - South Jetty, Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC - 2017 Bird #135

Another eagle flew over showing all its splendour. 


Bald Eagle - South Jetty, Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

At the end of the Jetty there's a viewing platform that looks west. If you look down, there are large rocks where shorebirds sometimes congregate. Today there was a lone Savannah Sparrow, a bird that I had not yet seen in 2017. It is identified by the yellow eyebrow and the black streaks on the breast. This bird was hopping around on the rocks. I tried to get some artistic captures with the bird on the rocks with the seaweed.
Savannah Sparrow- South Jetty, Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC - 2017 Bird #136



I started back towards shore. About one kilometer later a large sandbar had been uncovered by the tide. It was being shared by Bonaparte's Gulls and some small shorebirds, appropriately named Sanderlings. These ones were in breeding plumage, in winter they are predominately white and pale gray.

Sanderling- South Jetty, Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC - 2017 Bird #137

Here's a shot of the Sanderlings and Gulls together.

Bonaparte's Gull and Sanderling - South Jetty, Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

On my way back, I saw the Merganser's again. This is more than I've ever seen at one time before.

Red-breasted Mergansers - South Jetty, Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

And finally, here's a good collection of Caspian Terns:

Caspian Terns - South Jetty, Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

It had been quite the bird-filled day, I was happy to get home.



Sunday, April 16, 2017

Easter Sunday at White Rock Pier and Blackie's Spit

White Rock Pier

I'm  not sure why I chose to head south on this Sunday, but it was a good pick. I arrived at the White Rock Pier shortly before 10:00 AM, beating the crowds that would be there later in the day.

This was a last chance to see some of the loons and grebes that frequent the waters off the pier before they disappeared inland for breeding. It turned out to be a good choice.

One of the first birds I saw was a Common Loon in full breeding plumage. It's amazing how these drab birds morph into such beautiful colours.

Common Loon - White Rock Pier, White Rock BC

Here's a loon that is still in non-breeding plumage, this may be a first year bird.


Common Loon - White Rock Pier, White Rock BC

It's quite rare to see a loon in flight, they stay in the water as much as possible.

Common Loon - White Rock Pier, White Rock BC

The next bird was one I was hoping to see, a Red-necked Grebe. I normally see them in the Okanagan on my June golf trip, but that is not happening this year. As a bonus, this bird was also in full breeding plumage.
Red-necked Grebe - White Rock Pier, White Rock BC - 2017 Bird # 128

Here's another shot of this handsome bird. Unlike many other types of birds, Grebes are sexually monomorphic, the males and females have similar plumage.

Red-necked Grebe - White Rock Pier, White Rock BC

A visit to the Pier is never complete without a Glaucous-winged Gull photo.


Glaucous-winged Gull - White Rock Pier, White Rock BC

As I was walking back I noticed a colourful small bird in the water. At first I thought it was an Eared Grebe, but then realized it was a Horned Grebe in full breeding plumage. I'm so used to the white and black colours of the winter. This is only the second time I've seen one in breeding colours.

Horned Grebe - White Rock Pier, White Rock BC

I snapped numerous photos as I might not see one again soon.

Horned Grebe - White Rock Pier, White Rock BC

And here's a movie of Grebe taken with the Nikon Coolpix.


I left White Rock with a smile on my face and headed for Crescent Beach and Blackie Spit.

Blackie Spit

After a quick stop at Starbucks, I arrived at Crescent Beach. As I was parking I noticed a large shorebird just off shore to the west. It was my first Greater Yellowlegs of the year. This one clearly has a much longer bill than the width of the head, a pretty reliable way to tell it from a Lesser Yellowlegs.

Greater Yellowlegs - Blackie Spit, Surrey BC - 2017 Bird #129

I made my way to the southeast corner of the park where the Savenye Nature area is located. There's a small body of water just before the area where you can often see Green-winged Teal. Today was no exception.


Green-winged Teal - Blackie Spit, Surrey BC

A Robin was singing in a nearby tree.


American Robin - Blackie Spit, Surrey BC

In a small wooded area a bit of pishing produced a Kinglet.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet - Blackie Spit, Surrey BC

The main purpose of this visit was to check the Purple Martin boxes. They are mounted on pilings about 50 meters from shore. The Martins have to compete with Starlings for the next boxes, and the split seemed to be about 50/50 this year. 

These photos were taken a long distance with the Iphone through my spotting scope. The lighter coloured bird is the female. The darker one is a male, looking somewhat  like a large swallow.

Purple Martins - Blackie Spit, Surrey BC - 2017 Bird # 130

This shot is a bit clearer and shows the male's colours better.
Purple Martins - Blackie Spit, Surrey BC

Also on the pilings was this Double-crested Cormorant in breeding plumage. This is the only time of year you see how it gets its name. This is also an IPhone/scope shot.


Double-crested Cormorant - Blackie Spit, Surrey BC

I next had a look in the flooded field next to the nature area, hoping to see more Yellowlegs. Instead I saw some large reddish shorebirds. I was so intent on taking Iphone/scope photos that I did not really look at the birds. I assumed they were Long-billed Dowitchers.

As I was leaving, I spoke to some other birders who reported they'd seen Marbled Godwits. I quickly reviewed my photos and realized that's what I'd seen. 


   Marbled Godwit - Blackie Spit, Surrey BC - 2017 Bird #131


Marbled Godwit - Blackie Spit, Surrey BC

I should get some better photos of these beautiful shorebirds sometime this year. These will have to do for now.

That was the end of another successful day of birding, it was time to head home for some Easter dinner.