March 25 Part 2 -Colony Farm Regional Park

Colony Farm is an interesting mix of land uses in Coquitlam. There is the park which includes communal gardens and an extensive natural area separated by the Coquitlam River. There is the Kwikwetlem First Nation lands. And finally the Forensic Psychiatric Hospital, just south of the gardens.

I had planned to do a quick tour of the gardens as many people have installed Swallow boxes on their plots. But I was warned off by a man who told me it was ankle deep in muck in many places.

So I made the trek across the river over to the main wildlife area. There is a substantial drainage ditch/canal that runs parallel to the river and I often see ducks swimming there. I once saw River Otters in there.

On this day I spotted a pair of beautiful ducks, Hooded Mergansers. It was a sunny day so the light was very good for photography. the male is in the foreground with the female behind him.

Hooded Mergansers - Colony Farm Regional Park, Coquitlam BC

I took advantage of the light to get some nice closeups of each of them.

Hooded Merganser - Colony Farm Regional Park, Coquitlam BC


Hooded Merganser (F) - Colony Farm Regional Park, Coquitlam BC

Further along the Hoodies were joined by a pair of Ring-necked Ducks. The male is in front followed by the female.


Ring-necked Ducks and Hooded Mergansers - Colony Farm Regional Park, Coquitlam BC

Near the end of the path I was following there is a large duck pond bordered by a marsh. This is a good place to see Gadwall ducks in early spring. The female is front left.


Gadwall - Colony Farm Regional Park, Coquitlam BC

These are dabbling ducks with the familiar head underwater and tail in the sky pose. At first they were taking turns doing this, but here's a shot of them both dabbling at the same time.

Gadwall - Colony Farm Regional Park, Coquitlam BC

In the marsh, the male Red-winged Blackbirds were competing for territory. 

Red-winged Blackbird - Colony Farm Regional Park, Coquitlam BC

On my way out I could see activity across the river on the other bank. It looked like there was some bathing activity going on.


Spotted Towhee - Colony Farm Regional Park, Coquitlam BC

I'm not sure if this Song Sparrow had a dip or was looking for bugs in the water.

Song Sparrow - Colony Farm Regional Park, Coquitlam BC

The mirror in this last photo caught my eye as I was heading back to the parking lot.



That was it for the last weekend in March. As it turned out I had two more outings before April rolled in.