2014 A Good Year for Lifers

Jan 3 2015 

1. My first lifer of 2014 actually came from a May 2013 visit to Okanagan where I photographed a Cassin's Vireo. It sat undiscovered until January 2014 in a desktop"mystery bird" folder. I finally sent the picture to Mile Tabak who confirmed the ID.

2. Jan 14/14 Prairie Falcon at Brunswick Point, Delta BC. Originally found by Nick Balachanoff aka 'NickintheGarden'

Prairie Falcon

3. Feb 6/14 Gyrfalcon New Brighton Park Vancouver.

Gyrfalcon

4. Feb 10/14 Great Gray Owl Tynehead Regional Park, Surrey BC

Great Gray Owl

5. Feb 11/14   Townsend's Solitaire Richmond BC.

6. Feb 15/14 Tufted Duck Iona Regional Park/Sewage Lagoon.

Tufted Duck (foreground)

7. Mar 14/14 Sharp-shinned Hawk in my garden.

8. April15/14-May 6/14 73 UK Lifers from the Forest of Dean, Newport Wetlands and Gibralter Point, Lincolnshire.

Skylark Gibralter Point Lincs

Goldfinch Slimbridge UK

9. May 15/14 Williamson's Sapsucker and Cassin's Finch Princeton BC.

Williamson's Sapsucker

10. May21 Brewer's Sparrow, Chukar Keremos BC.

11. May18-22  Black Swift, Common Nighthawk, Gray Flycatcher, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Ruffed Grouse. Caribou BC.

12. Aug 30/14 Ruff Reifel.

13. Ash-throated Flycatcher. Another Nick Balachanoff  aka 'NickintheGarden' find.

14. Oct 6/14 Northern Pygmy Owl Cypress Mountain north Vancouver. Nick Balachanoff aka 'NickintheGardener' yet again.

Northern Pygmy Owl

15. Nov 5/14 White-tailed Wagtail Brunswick Point Delta BC.

16/14 Nov 15/14 Acorn Woodpecker Victoria BC.

Acorn Woodpecker

17. Dec 18 Surfbird Blackie Spit/Farmer's Slough.

So there it is 21 BC and Canada lifers and 73 lifers from the UK visit.

Wishing you all great birding in 2015.

"It's never too late to start birding"

John Gordon

Langley/Cloverdale

After the Storm/Long Eared Owls

Feb 25 2014 Boundary Bay, Delta British Columbia.  Sunny skies.

I had been looking for some new shots for a AV show I am co-presenting in March. The subject matter is 'Birding in the Lower Mainland"
I like to present photographs from all seasons and this winter has been another brilliant year for birding opportunities in the Lower Mainland. Gyrfalcons, Golden Eagles, Long and Short-eared Owls and many other species have provided new material and hours and hours of enjoyment. This was the case Tuesday evening when this Long-eared Owl put on a show for a number of us photographers and birders.
All these photographs were taken at a respectful distance from the dyke, the 'outed owl baiter' wasn't there and there were no trespassers in the field, had there been, then none of these images would have been possible. All these pictures were taken in the exact spot* where he was seen baiting owls a few weeks ago. Thankfully he hasn't been seen around too much to and ruin what is an amazing display of nature.

*What I meant was the birds were in the same spot as the "owl baiter'

Long-eared Owl (Asio otus)

A Northern Harrier tries to steal a vole from a Long-eared Owl. Note how the owl makes itself large with the spreading of wings and extension of tail making the bird three times the size than when seen perching.

Eventually the owl was able to shake off the Harriers and waited until dark before hunting again.

My first ever Long-eared owl in flight. They take on quite a different appearance when seen flying.

Good Birding

John Gordon

Free as a Bird/That Can't be Bad!

Feb 6-11 Blackie Spit-Richmond and Tynehead Regional Park.  Sunny and Showers.

My day planner for the week was blank, I was free as a bird. No dentist, no anything, nothing! So with a packed lunch and a full tank of gas it was time to the take advantage of the good weather.
Prior and in-between the Great Gray Owl twitch I headed down to Blackie Spit to photograph the Snow Bunting that had been recently sighted. As I searched I happened upon a flock of Dunlin busily feeding on the exposed mudbanks at the end of the spit. At first the birds were far way, amongst them were few Black-bellied Plovers.
I lay on the gravel and sand hoping the Dunlins would come closer and sure enough they did. The Dunlin seemed fearless while the Plovers scuttled off at the slightest movement. Five minutes later my patience paid off when one of the birds quite oblivious of my presence came so close I couldn't close focus. I just enjoyed the moment which was a pleasant distraction from the howling wind around my ears.

Dunlin (Calidris alpina)

The Plover (below) kept its distance so I decided to use selective focus and use the foreground to frame the picture. The bright earth tones I think brightens up a somewhat drab image.

Black-bellied Plover (Pluvialis squatarola)

I eventually found the Snow Bunting with the help of one Canada's best birders Roger Foxall, who had, after a trip to Mexico just celebrated his 5000th species worldwide. Congratulations on an amazing achievement.

Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis)

Varied Thrush (Ixoreus naevius)

 As this is a round-up for the week the next bird up is a Varied Thrush which I photographed while looking for the Great Gray Owl at Tynehead Regional Park earlier in the week. Some think the Varied Thrush should have been B.C.'s official bird rather than the Stella's Jay, either way they are both beautiful in their own right.

************

Finally the week rounded out with a few shots of a Townsend's Solitaire that had been reported in Richmond. I changed my position to create different backgrounds.

Pic #1 Townsend's Solitaire (Myadestes townsendi)

  (Above) Pic #1 The green backdrop is foliage  about twenty feet behind the bird. Just by moving the tripod, the mood of a picture can be changed especially with a greyish coloured bird like the Townsend's Solitaire.

The Townsend Solitaire which normally migrates to warmer climes has survived the B.C. winter by staying close a ready source of ornamental berries. A few warm days have also produced insect hatches giving the bird a high protein diet and good chance of survival. The Townsend's Solitaire normally winters in Oregon, California and Mexico.

Pic #3 the blue background is a restaurant window.

and pic #4 the background is a yellow ornamental bush which creates a warmer look than pic #3.

                                                    More on the Townsend's Solitaire

Good Bird

John Gordon