November 11 - Not a memorable day

I should have skipped birding on this day and attended a Remembrance Day ceremony somewhere. I went to two locations and saw some birds at the first, and none at the second. To make matters worse, I somehow lost my binoculars at one of the locations.

It was the first day where I wore my bulky winter jacket and the bins must have slipped out of the case on my belt without me noticing. They were getting old and I have a spare pair (not as good) but I'll need to invest in a new pair in 2018 before my April Okanagan Tour.

Iona Sewage Ponds

I was really hoping to see the Rusty Blackbird that had been here for the last week or two, but struck out on that one. The predominate birds on this day were Dunlin. These shorebirds tend to stay here for most or all of the winter. 

Dunlin - Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

Here's a movie of a few of them feeding in the treated sewage settling pond.

They stay in large flocks for protection from predators and burst into the air at the slighted provocation.

The movie below shows a flock taking flight due to the resident Peregrine Falcon taking a run at them. You see the falcon at the end of the clip.

The only other bird of note was a Ring-billed Gull.

Ring-billed Gull - Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

Queen Elizabeth Park

I left Iona and made the short trip into Vancouver to visit Queen Elizabeth park. It was devoid of birds, so all I got was this scenic shot.

I got back to the car and realized I didn't have my binoculars. I retraced my steps at the park but didn't find them. I decided to return to Iona and look there, but no sign of them at all. 

This was the start of the long weekend, so I had to carry on without them.

November 4 - Backyard Birds

Our house is perched on a hillside overlooking Burns Bog. There is one more street below us and then a drop off into the bog. We've always kept the backyard natural (or we've been too lazy to do anything with it (:-). Here's a sample of what it looks like.

We've been feeding birds since the early 80's and have quite a few that are year round residents.

An example of that is this Downy Woodpecker.


Downy Woodpecker - Backyard, North Delta BC

Dark-eyed Juncos are here all winter. They depart in mid-spring to go to higher altitudes to breed.


Dark-eyed Junco - Backyard, North Delta BC

We have been putting up a Hummingbird feeder for quite a few years. Early on, we only had Rufous Hummingbirds use it in Spring into Summer. Now, we have at least one Anna's Hummingbird that frequents it through the fall and winter. It seems to disappear when the more aggressive Rufous species show up.

The light was perfect on this day to capture a male Anna's in the apple tree near our feeder. After visiting the feeder it would return to the same perch on the tree.


Anna's Hummingbird - Backyard, North Delta BC

This is where the Nikon Super zoom excels. With a bird at a 30 ft distance, I can zoom and get sharp focus.


Anna's Hummingbird - Backyard, North Delta BC

Here's a movie of the Hummingbird also taken with the Nikon.

This last shot was the best I got with the Canon SLR and 400 mm lens, not as vibrant as the other two.

November 4 - Another Point Roberts Excursion

Each visit to Lighthouse Marine Park is different from the preceding ones in some way. The mix of birds varies with the seasons. On any given day I may get a great shot of a species I see frequently.

After filling my tank with gas I arrived and set out to see what was there on this day.

A female Red-breasted Merganser was quite close to shore and I got this shot with the Nikon super zoom.


Red-breasted Merganser (F) - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

As usual there were a few Horned Grebes close to shore. It's hard to believe that this drab bird morphs into spectacular orange, blue and yellow colours in breeding season.


Horned Grebe - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

The resident Bald Eagle has taken control of the pilings this morning::

Bald Eagle - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

You lookin' at me?

You can always see Common Loon here in winter. This is another species that morphs into something completely different in breeding season.

Common Loon - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

Not so with the Harlequin Ducks, they are spectacular year round. Here's a couple of males strutting their stuff.

Harlequin Ducks - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

It's really hard to get a photo that shows their dark eyes. You can see it in this shot.

I was lucky to get a shot of a Red-breasted Merganser female flying by at breakneck speed. They have quite a distinctive white pattern on the underbelly and on both sides of the wing.

Red-breasted Merganser (F) - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

Just as I was leaving a group of Trumpeter Swans flew by. I was slow with the camera but captured the last one in the formation.

Trumpeter Swan - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

I headed for home but took some interesting photos there as detailed in the next post.

October 29 Part 1 - Sailboats and Sanderlings at Point Roberts

Maybe I should just change the title of my blog to Point Roberts birding. Lighthouse Marine Park is one of my favourite places, and it's hard to resist the cheap gas across the border.

On this Sunday, this first thing I saw on arrival were a bunch of sailboats quite close to shore. I think these were sailing classes but I could be mistaken.


Sailboats at Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

On the birding front, I got a nice shot of a cluster of female Red-breasted Mergansers. I think the bird in the background is a Grebe.


Red-breasted Merganser - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

Suddenly a flock of Sanderlings flew past heading south east.


Sanderling - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

There wasn't much else to see other than the sailboats and I was preparing to leave when the Sanderlings reappeared, now heading north-west.



They settled down quite close to where I was standing. I believe that the brownish birds are Dunlin, another bird that is usually with a flock.



It looked like the flock was here for a daytime nap.



However some of the birds remained alert in case trouble came their way.



Here's a short movie of them:

As I was returning to the parking lot, I spotted this loon accompanied by a pair of guillemots.


Common Loon and Pigeon Guillemots - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

I returned to my car and headed over to Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta.

October 29 Part 2 - Brief Visit to Reifel

I made my way over to Reifel Bird Sanctuary hoping to see some Common Redpolls that had been reported. There were none to be seen on this day, but I spent some time photographing the usual inhabitants.

There's a number of resident Sandhill Cranes that wander around. These ones were just off the main trail.


Sandhill Crane - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

Wood Ducks are very common this time of year, and they aren't shy about begging for bird seed. This female is hoping someone comes along soon to replenish the supply.


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

I made my way to the blind in the north west corner of the Sanctuary. Out on the large pond was a Pied-billed Grebe and a number of Hooded Mergansers.


Pied-billed Grebe - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

This pond is quite deep and attracts the diving species.


Hooded Mergansers (3 males and 1 female)  - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

The shallower ponds are where the dabbling ducks hang out, including Northern Pintails.

Northern Pintail - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

In the fall it's time for the Snow Geese to arrive from the north, there can be thousands on Westham Island at this time. There were quite a few flying overhead, first heard with their loud honking and then seen.

 

Snow Goose - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

That ended my day, it was time to go home and help my wife Edith celebrate her birthday. 

October 22 - Life and Death in Point Roberts

Another Sunday trip for gas and birding at Lighthouse Marine Park. It was a sunny day with enough wind to create a good surf.



Close to shore were the usual Horned Grebes.


Horned Grebe - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

This lucky Grebe caught some lunch, and I got a great photo!


Horned Grebe - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

I noticed something floating close to shore and as it came closer I realized it was a Red-breasted Merganser that had succumbed to something fatal, perhaps it was hit by a boat.



The last bird of the day was this crow, demonstrating how windy it was.


Northwestern Crow - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

October 15 - Iona Jetty visitor

The bird alerts had reports of both Snow Buntings and Horned Larks being seen at various locations on the Iona South Jetty. Chasing down these birds would be a commitment as the end of the jetty is a 4 KM walk from the start. Of course, the sightings were reported closer to the end.

However, today was my lucky day. Just after I was halfway out, a small bird landed right in front of me. It was a Horned Lark. The absence of any dark on the chin indicates a female.


Horned Lark (F) - South Jetty, Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC - 2017 Bird # 210

These birds are not shy. I remember in Saskatchewan driving on some back roads and almost stepping on the birds as I got out of the car.

Horned Lark (F) - South Jetty, Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

I continued towards the end of the Jetty, no point in turning back after one success. Out in the open water was a large group of Surf Scoters.


Surf Scoter - South Jetty, Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

It's quite common to see Horned Grebes in salt water in winter anywhere in the Lower Mainland.


Horned Grebe - South Jetty, Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

The same applies to Common Loons.

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

On my way back I encountered the Horned Lark again.

Horned Lark - South Jetty, Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

I did not see the Snow Buntings but there had been reports from other places and I might get lucky on a  future outing.