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.

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.

Good Friday - Richmond Nature Park, Iona and Serpentine Fen

Richmond Nature Park

This is my go-to spot for seed loving birds like Purple Finches. I had not seen one yet in 2017 and made it my first stop on this holiday Friday. I did not get my Finch on this day, but took some great shots of other seed eaters.

The light in the early morning was perfect for close-up photography. The first bird I recorded was one of the most common.


Black-capped Chickadee - Richmond Nature Park, Richmond BC

The next bird I saw was a Fox Sparrow. This is my best shot of the year of this species. The dark spotting on the breast indicates Fox rather than Song Sparrow.


Fox Sparrow - Richmond Nature Park, Richmond BC

After struggling to get a good Red-Breasted Nuthatch photo in the Okanagan, it was a pleasure to get these close-ups today.


Red-breasted Nuthatch - Richmond Nature Park, Richmond BC


Red-breasted Nuthatch - Richmond Nature Park, Richmond BC

I left the Nature Park and drove across town to Iona Regional Park. I did not have time to walk the Jetty, so I toured the areas around the outer ponds.

Iona Regional Park

I saw my first Rufous Hummingbird of the year perched on a stump.

Rufous Hummingbird - Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC - 2017 Bird #126

Just outside the gate to the inner pond was a Tree Swallow. Its nest was probably close by.

Tree Swallow - Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

I opened the gate and went into the Inner Pond area of the sewage treatment plant. The trees along the fence line are good for ground feeding sparrows such as this Golden-crowned.


Golden-crowned Sparrow - Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

Just over the fence was a Yellow-rumped Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler - Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

I made my way around the sewage ponds and found some large shorebirds feeding in the muck. They were Dowitchers, probably Long-billed. 

Long-billed vs Short-billed Dowitcher identification is one of the most challenging. I'm going with the fresh water rule here and calling these Long-billed

Long-billed Dowitcher - Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC - 2017 Bird # 127

I returned to the gate and crossed back into the area around the outer ponds. A small bird was flitting about, another Ruby-crowned Kinglet. I've seen these birds everywhere this spring during migration.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet - Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

I left Iona and travelled south towards Surrey. I decided to check out Serpentine Fen in the hopes of seeing Orange-crowned Warblers or Common Yellowthroats.

Serpentine Fen - Surrey

I had no luck with those Warblers, but did see some more Golden-crowned Sparrows. 

Golden-crowned Sparrow - Serpentine Fen, Surrey BC

Golden-crowned Sparrow - Serpentine Fen, Surrey BC

On one of the ponds I spotted a pair of Gadwall, the most likely duck to see male and female close together. These were no exception.

Gadwall - Serpentine Fen, Surrey BC

My final bird of the day was this handsome Song Sparrow.

Song Sparrow - Serpentine Fen, Surrey BC

My next outing would be on Easter Sunday.