Early Morning Birding at Iona Jetty

April 20 2015 Iona Regional Park Richmond BC Sunny 17c

The alarm went off at 5 am and again thirty minutes later. The plan was to drive to Iona Regional Park to look for a Lapland Longspur that had been seen the day before. I had only ever photographed them in the Autumn so I was looking forward to seeing one in full breeding plumage.
Because I had slept in the sun was already up when I arrived. A cold wind was blowing for the north-west, I wished I had brought gloves. I made my way out to where the bird had last been seen the evening before at around the 150 marker. Numbered markers run the length of the 4km (2.5mile) jetty. It is very popular with walkers and cyclists, especially on the weekends.

A  male Lapland Longspur seems unperturbed by a passing walker.

There were only two of us on the jetty. Eventually I saw some bird movement but it turned out to be a false alarm, just a pair of Savannah Sparrows. I keep searching and finally I found my quarry, a splendid adult with rufus nape and black face.

Lapland Longspur (Calcarius lapponicus)

I continued to photograph until a few more people passed and flushed the bird. When I relocated the first bird, a female suddenly flew in and joined the male. They continued to feed on seeds before the foot traffic became distracting,  by mid-morning it was getting warm, the light harsh and time for brunch.

The female longspur holds a seed between its beak.

1. 

   Female (left) and male






                                                            

          The Iona Jetty 

1. On the walk back to the car the cries of Caspian Terns drew my attention. They were quite far out and high above but with the Tamron 150mm-600mm I was able to zoom in a catch a few shots. All images were taken hand held.

   
   Caspian Tern (Sterna caspia)

   
   

2. 

   American Wigeon (Anas americana)

   
   
   
   
   "It's never too late to start birding"
3. John Gordon
4. Langley /Cloverdale
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   

Dabbling with Ducks Plus Hawks and Finches

Monday  Nov 25 2013. Blackie Spit, Crescent Beach Surrey, B.C. British Columbia.

I have to admit that I have not had the opportunity to study the difference between American and Eurasian Widgeon until today. I had seen them through bins but now I had a mixed flock in right in front of me and within camera range. The flock not only had the two aforementioned species but also a number of hybrids.
I am posting these pictures to see if anyone is actually reading this blog as there is no better way to monitor blog readership than to misidentify a species. Your feedback is appreciated if I have mislabeled any of these beautiful dabbling ducks.

 Male American Wigeon (Anas americana)

American and Eurasian hybrid.
Note: I have been told this actually an Eurasian not hybrid. I'm learning too, thanks to Mike Tabak for the identification.

Eurasian wigeon (Anas penelope)

After photographing the ducks on the spit I took a walk into the wooded area east of the car park. There I saw the silhouette of a bird of prey. It turned out to be a Cooper's hawk.

Cooper's Hawk (Accipter cooperii)

The Cooper's swoops down into the undergrowth but was unsuccessful.

 It suddenly flew down from a tree, crashing into the undergrowth, the bird re-appeared sans prey and continued hunting.

The bird was originally perched in a tree and then went diving and hunting in dense bushes.

I managed to grab a few perched shots and then it flew off, even with a high shutter speed the wings are blurred. The most vital part of flight shots is using at least 1/1000 or faster shutter speed to capture a sharp eye, slower speeds can create a blur which spoils the final image.

The weather was cool but sunny so I decided to take a wander to the other end of the conservation area close to the railway line. There are a number of Pacific crab apple and hawthorn trees which are still laden with berries. There I found Downy Woodpeckers, Golden-crowned Sparrows, Northern Flicker, Raven, North-western Crows, Great blue Heron, Bald Eagle, Double crested Cormorants and Purple Finches.

Purple Finch (Carpo purpureus)

A male Purple Finch gorges on Pacific crab apples at Blackie Spit.

Good birding to you all
John Gordon