Langley White Rock Christmas Bird Count

Dec 29 2016 
Come out and join members of the Langley Field Naturalists Jan 2 2017 for the annual Christmas bird account. Rather than repeat what has already been published in the newspapers click on the links below: Here are a few common birds from Brydon Lagoon shot during the recent cold snap.

American robin.

Golden-crowned sparrow.

Shot with the Nikon P900 point and shoot.

The Cloverdale Reporter

http://www.cloverdalereporter.com/news/408522855.html?mobile=true

The Langley Times.

http://www.langleytimes.com/community/408095856.html

"It's never too late to start counting bird"

John Gordon

Langley/cloverdale

BC Canada

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Dec 21-27 2016 Brunswick Point to Boundary Bay

Thousand of Dunlin and possibly a few western sandpipers flock around the Delta coal terminal where if the bird brains of commerce have their way a second coal port is planned. Also off Brunswick Point were a good trumpeter swans, thousands of dabbling and diving ducks. Just the thought of the disturbing the area more than it already has boggles the mind. 

Sandpipers feed on the nutritious bio-film. Scientists (what do they know) fear any more development off Brunswick Point will effect the flow in the delta, one of the most important stop offs for migrating sandpipers.
-sandpiper-secret-revealed-its-the-biofilm/

Some thoughts about composition

I shot from a high angle to incorporate the black log and burnt background. This composition makes the bird pop out against the background. I shot this on manual setting at 1/320sec at F5.6 ISO 800. Had I used aperture priority or another program mode the dark background would have overexposed the wren. Although I occasionally use aperture priority, manual setting usually provide better results.

 A low angled close-up portrait where I chose a background of a distant marsh. I also incorporated the tried and trusted two-thirds rule of composition. Note how the bird has room to look into the frame. Often we photographers crop too closely and the subject seems to be 'crammed' into the frame with nowhere for the subject or imagination to go.

With this shot I moved few feet and included more of the background allowing the shape of the log to lead the eye from the left upwards toward the bird.
I spent maybe ten minutes watching the bird from a distance, noting it movements before approaching and shooting handheld.
******

Merlin (Prairie race)
My next stop was to see if I could photograph the golden eagle on 72 but when I arrived I met Ray and Mike they suggested I go for the prairie merlin on 96. As we birders sometime do, I drove like the wind albeit at the speed limit. I arrived just in time to find the bird sitting in a tree.

 My camera was extracted from the car just in time to rattle off a few shots before it took off to hunt. I missed a perfect flight shot by millimetres and had to settle for this shot below.
This merlin is a lighter colour overall than the merlins normally seen on the coast,
while the setting sun also adds a warm tinge.

******

Dec 27th:
 Finally but not least I wanted to see if I could snatch a few frames of the golden eagle on 72 in Delta.  I had just spent the whole day n the Ladner bird count and had just a few minutes to catch the bird before sunset. I lucked out and within fifteen minutes the eagle had left its favourite perch to go hunting. Moments later it returned before a cloud blocked the 'sweet light' and it was time to head for home and watch the Liverpool game.

Golden eagle.

All shots handheld with the Nikon D500 and Nikon 200mm-500mm.

Finally but not least I would like to thank all those who have visited the blog over the past twelve months, those who have left comments and to those who through the blog I have met in the field. I have really enjoyed our chats. I learnt alot along the way.

Wishing you all healthy, happy and prosperous 2017

"It's never too late to start birding"

John Gordon
Langley/Cloverdale
BC Canada

Aloquette Christmas Bird Count

Dec 17 2016 Alouette Christmas Bird Count
(South of the Fraser River Portion)

Tynehead Regional Park/ Barnston Island /Big Bend Regional Park and surrounding area.

A  hungry coyote hunts in the snow at Tynehead Park. Nikon P900 at 2000mm

More about coyotes

At the feeder a dark-eyed Junco. P900 at 2000mm

The P900 with its 24mm-2000mm zom was of great use on the bird count. A long distant shot of a Cooper's hawk allowed us to ID a bird at leisure and to take shots like the one above at makeshift feeders around the park.

Fox Sparrow P900,

I overexposed this shot in the snow so as to bring out the details. Note the intricate chevrons on the bird's breast.

Purple finch P900 at 2000mm

Wim and Carlo look for signs of life at Tynehead Park.

More about Tynehead Park

More about Barnston Island

Below is a count of the birds south of the Fraser River that included Surrey's Tynehead Park, Big Bend Regional Park, Barnston Island and surrounding area. It does not include the count on the Maple Ridge side of the river.

ALOUETTE CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNT
Date: December 17th, 2016
Area 5		Sub-areas
	Species	1/2/3/13	7	6	10a	10b	5/11	Total
SPECIES					Hwy	S. Bend
Geese, Swans, Ducks
Greater White-fronted Goose								0
Snow Goose								0
Brant								0
Cackling Goose	1	3						3
Canada Goose	1	589						589
Tundra Swan								0
Trumpeter Swan								0
Swan Species								0
Wood Duck	1		7					7
Gadwall								0
Eurasian Wigeon								0
American Wigeon	1		1					1
Mallard	1	26	7	4		5		42
Cinnamon Teal								0
Northern Shoveller								0
Northern Pintail								0
Green-winged Teal	1	161				7		168
Canvasback								0
Redhead								0
Ring-necked Duck	1		3					3
Greater Scaup	1	1						1
Lesser Scaup								0
Scaup Species	1					1		1
Harlequin Duck								0
Surf Scoter								0
White-winged Scoter								0
Black Scoter								0
Long-tailed Duck								0
Bufflehead								0
Common Goldeneye								0
Barrow's Goldeneye								0
Hooded Merganser								0
Common Merganser	1	29				4		33
Red-breasted Merganser	1					1		1
Merganser Species								0
Ruddy Duck								0
Duck Species								0
Ring-necked Pheasant	1	3						3
Ruffed Grouse								0
Loons and Grebes
Red-throated Loon								0
Pacific Loon								0
Common Loon								0
Yellow-billed Loon								0
Loon Species								0
Pied-bill Grebe	1	2						2
Horned Grebe								0
Red-necked Grebe								0
Eared Grebe								0
Western Grebe								0
Cormorants
Brandt's Cormorant								0
Double-crested Cormorant								0
Pelagic Cormorant								0
Cormorant Species								0
Herons
American Bittern								0
Great Blue Heron	1	4						4
Green Heron								0
Eagles and Hawks
Bald Eagle	1	9	1	5		2		17
Northern Harrier	1	2						2
Sharp-shinned Hawk								0
Cooper's Hawk	1			1				1
Northern Goshawk								0
Accipiter Species								0
Red-tailed Hawk	1	8	4	1		2		15
Rough-legged Hawk								0
Rails, Coot and Crane
Virginia Rail								0
American Coot								0
Sandhill Crane								0
Shorebirds
Black-bellied Plover								0
Killdeer								0
Greater Yellowlegs								0
Whimbrel								0
Long-billed Curlew								0
Marbled Godwit								0
Black Turnstone								0
Sanderling								0
Western Sandpiper								0
Dunlin								0
Long-billed Dowitcher								0
Wilson's Snipe								0
Shorebird Species								0
Gulls
Bonaparte's Gull								0
Mew Gull	1	34						34
Ring-billed Gull								0
Western Gull								0
California Gull								0
Herring Gull								0
Thayer's Gull								0
Glaucous-winged Gull	1	89		3				92
Glaucous Gull								0
Gull Species								0
Alcids
Common Murre								0
Pigeon Guillemot								0
Marbled Murrelet								0
Alcid Species								0
Pigeons and Doves
Rock Pigeon	1	23	1					24
Band-tailed Pigeon								0
Eurasian Collared-dove	1	1						1
Mourning Dove								0
Owls
Common Barn Owl								0
Western Screech-owl								0
Great Horned Owl								0
Snowy Owl								0
Barred Owl								0
Long-eared Owl								0
Short-eared Owl								0
Northern Saw-whet Owl								0
Hummingbird/Kingfisher
Anna's Hummingbird	1		1					1
Belted Kingfisher								0
Woodpeckers
Red-breasted Sapsucker	1	2	1	1		1		5
Downy Woodpecker	1	4		5		6		15
Hairy Woodpecker	1			1		1		2
Northern Flicker	1	5		8		2		15
Pileated Woodpecker	1			1				1
Falcons
American Kestrel	1	1						1
Merlin	1		1					1
Gyrfalcon								0
Peregrine Falcon								0
Falcon Species								0
Shrikes and Vireos
Northern Shrike								0
Hutton's Vireo								0
Jays and Crows
Steller's Jay	1		2	1				3
Northwestern Crow	1	42	13	5		6		66
Common Raven	1	6		1		2		9
Chickadees and Allies
Black-capped Chickadee	1	27	15	23		12		77
Mountain Chickadee								0
Chestnut-backed Chickadee	1		5	5				10
Bushtit								0
Nuthatch/Creeper/Wrens
Red-breasted Nuthatch								0
Brown Creeper	1	2		3		3		8
Pacific Wren	1	2		9		4		15
Marsh Wren								0
Bewick's Wren	1	2		2		1		5
Kinglets and Thrushes
Golden-crowned Kinglet	1	4		15		10		29
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	1			1				1
Townsend's Solitaire								0
Hermit Thrush								0
American Robin	1		31	35		7		73
Varied Thrush	1	1		12		14		27
Starling, Pipit, Waxwings
European Starling	1	62	8	2		6		78
American Pipit								0
Bohemian Waxwing								0
Cedar Waxwing								0
Buntings
Snow Bunting								0
Warblers
Orange Crowned Warbler	1		1					1
Yellow-rumped Warbler								0
Sparrows
Spotted Towhee	1	58	7	17		5		87
American Tree Sparrow								0
Savannah Sparrow								0
Fox Sparrow	1	12	3	9		1		25
Song Sparrow	1	75	15	22		8		120
Lincoln's Sparrow								0
Swamp Sparrow								0
White-crowned Sparrow	1	10						10
Golden-crowned Sparrow	1	52		11				63
Dark eyed Junco	1	70	85	25		5		185
Blackbirds
Red-winged Blackbird								0
Western Meadowlark								0
Brewer's Blackbird	1	22						22
Brown Headed Cowbird								0
Finches and Passerines
Purple Finch	1			12		5		17
House Finch	1	7		5				12
Red Crossbill								0
White-winged Crossbill								0
Common Redpoll								0
Pine Siskin	1			1				1
American Goldfinch								0
Evening Grosbeak								0
House Sparrow	1	10						10
Rare Birds
White-throated Sparrow	1	1						1
								0
								0
SPECIES COUNT	56	39	21	31	0	26	0	56
BIRD COUNT		1461	212	246	0	121	0	2040
TEAM MEMBERS
Gareth Pugh
Leona Breckenridge
Tom Wildeboer
Michael Klotz
John Gordon
Wim Vesseur
Jesse Garbe
Tia Deyette
Carlo Giovanella
Al Schulze