Saturday Birding

Oct 24 2015 White Rock Pier 13c

I can't remember the last time I birded at White Rock pier but it was time to check out some of the wintering birds. There were several birders and photographer already there, some looking for the Clarks's Grebe, others like myself happy enough to photograph some of the Western and Horned Grebes feeding in and around the pier. I wasn't expecting to get close to a Red-necked Grebe. I had seen one in Saskatchewan's Grassland National Park in June but it was very wary so this was a good chance albeit out of breeding plumage to watch another fishing at close range. Technically the picture could be way better but for me the action makes up for those failings. 

Red-necked Grebe with what looks like a sandeel.

Who's looking at who? A Harbour Seal checks out the action on White Rock Pier.

Blackie Spit

After a few hours at the pier I made my way down to Blackie Spit where small shoal of bait fish were being chased by a Horned Grebe. There were also numerous Common Loon which seemed more interested in larger bottom fish and crabs.

Horned Grebe

There is a tremendous amount of luck when it comes finding the Blackie Spit Long-billed Curlew. Some days it can be found close-in, other times a scope is needed. This particular day it was feeding close to the dog beach. 

Despite there being two designated off-lease areas a number of dog guardians, some who live in Crescent Beach have been running their dogs on the spit despite a sign saying dogs prohibited. One even threatened me when I pointed out her blatant disregard for the bylaw. I digress. 

Anyway, I was birding with Raymond Ng so we both knew the bird would flush if we approached too quickly. We spent ten minutes approaching in small increments and having secured a few nice images were surprised when another photographer ran down the beach without any thought of stealth or field craft. The picture below is the bird being flushed as she charged down the beach. 

Long-billed Curlew.

Next up was a pair of Marbled Godwit which arrived just as birding buddy Raymond and I were about to go off to Boundary Bay. They fed in the exact same spot as the curlew.

Marbled Godwit

I never get very close to Black-bellied Plovers so it was nice to spend a few minutes with this bird.

Black-bellied Plover.

After the Blackie Spit outing it was off to Boundary Bay and 104 where were with the help of birder's scope I was able to watch a Bar-tailed Godwit, a Red Knot and perhaps ten thousand Black-bellied Plover, hundreds of Sanderling and Western Sandpiper. Alas the Golden Plover were nowhere to be found. Did I mention the thousands of Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Mallard and American Wigeon and a lone Merlin.

"It's never too late to start birding"

John Gordon

Langley/Cloverdale

BC Canada

Lower Mainland Birding

                         March 12-13 2015 Various Lower Mainland Locations Sunny 19c

Ann'a Hummingbird (Calypte anna) feeding one of two nestlings. 

A female Anna's Hummingbird feeds one of her two chicks. The nestlings are about two weeks old and still have short beaks. Anna's hummingbirds live year round in the Vancouver and Lower Mainland area. For the UK readers I would describe Vancouver's weather as something like Devon and Cornwall with occasional cold blasts just like the UK. The rest of Canada is as you imagine Canada to be....cold in winter and hot in summer.
Some Anna's will try for a second clutch if the soon to arrive and more aggressive Rufous Hummingbirds leave them alone. This particular nest was within feet of a very busy pathway so staying any length of time would attract attention from passersby.
When the female was away from the nest we would point our lenses in another direction so as not to draw attention to the nest.

Ethical birding practices includes not disclosing the location of nesting birds so therefore I have left their location out of this blog just to say that this series of pictures were taken in three different locations. 

                                                                           *****

Barred Owls hunt mainly at night or early in the morning. They choose a handy perch and sleep most of the day sometimes waking up for a shake of the head or perhaps when mobbed by crows. They can be easily disturbed by humans and dogs so care must be taken not to flush them. Many owls including Northern Saw-whet and Great Horned often perch very close to human activity when they might have acres of forest to choose from. Go figure! 

"Head Shake" Barred Owl (Strix varia)

This Barred Owl awoke when a squirrel ran within inches of its gaze. Once the squirrel realized its folly it froze, eventually moving away very slowly until out of danger. After opening its eyes for a few seconds the owl then rubbed its head on a branch and then shook its head in a circular motion, the slow shutter speed was used catch the motion.

Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax)

Usually the Night Herons at Reifel are hidden in a tangle of branches but this one was almost in the open so why not rattle off a few frames.
The Sandhill Cranes were in an frisky mood with more than one pair going through the courtship rituals.

Common Loon (Gavia immer)

Next stop was Blackie Spit. In the past I have found some interesting birds including a Solitary Sandpiper and Horned Lark, there is always something interesting. On Thursday afternoon Gareth Pugh and his group counted 42 species in a few hours, a Red-necked Grebe being the best sighting. Before they arrived I photographed this Common Loon diving for crabs. I waited for the bird to dive before approaching closer. Despite my low angle the bird knew I was there all the time, eventually it moved away and I moved on.

Varied Thrush (Ixoreus naevius)

 This is a heavily cropped shot of one of my favourite forest birds. the Varied Thrush. I actually heard it before eventually spotting it high up in a tree. I alway remember sound recorder and birder John Neville calling the bird the 'tone deaf thrush' very apt as its call is not that melodious making it easy to pick out from the rest of the Spring chorus.

Varied Thrush

Other birders keep telling me they have Varied Thrush come to their feeders but I've yet to find one that tame so for now I will have to be content with shooting them from a distance. There's no great rush, much of the fun is in the waiting and searching.

Pacific Wren formally Winter Wren (Troglodytes troglodytes)

Finally this Pacific Wren was heard long before I almost tripped over it. I must have been very close to its lair. These diminutive forest birds make any walk in the forest that more interesting with their noisy antics. I have a dozen good shots but I like that this shot has motion in the wings, exactly as I remember the scene.

"It's never too late to start birding"

John Gordon

Langley/Cloverdale

BC 

Canada

Four Days/One Blog

Jan 12-14 2014 

Day 1. 112th and  Hornby Drive Delta.  Foggy 6c.

It wasn't the best of weather but I had the next three days free. What's a person to do? Suddenly my bird brain hatched a cunning plan, why not go birding!
First stop was nearby 112th and Hornby Drive. I am not too sure what it is about this location but there always seems to be something interesting. Last year I photographed an escapee budgerigar flying with a flock of Red-winged Blackbirds. There is a very photogenic resident leucistic Eurasian Collared-Dove. It has been hanging around for months and much photographed. This is my second attempt to get a portrait, at least there is some contrast to play with this time, in my previous shot the bird was on a wire against a grey sky.

Leucistic Eurasian Collared-Dove (Streptopelia decaocto)

Another reason to visit the farm at the corner of 112th was the report by Melissa and Liron (two of the best young birders this side of the Rockies) of a hybrid White and Golden-crowned Sparrow. A real oddity. Although I saw the bird briefly I was unable to snag a pic. Next time perhaps, I did however get to see the Rusty Blackbird for my 70th species of the year.

Rusty Blackbird (Euphagus carolinus)
Rusty Blackbird (centre) feeds amongst a mix of Brewer's, Red-winged Blackbirds and European House Sparrows

I spent the rest of the day photographing Yellow-rumped Warblers and a flock of six American Tree Sparrows.

Day 2 Alaksan and Reifel: Foggy, Overcast and Sunny Breaks

Another foggy day, it was grey and the light was flat. I hadn't walked very far when a small flock of sparrows flashed by. One of them was whiter than the rest and a dead give-away, it was the Harris's Sparrow, a bird that has attracted many photographers, myself included. I hadn't yet managed a shot of the bird on a branch, all my shots were of the bird feeding on the ground. This time I managed a different pose.

Harris's Sparrow (Zonotrichia querula)

Finally the sun came out so I made my way to nearby Alaksen National Wildlife Area

At the parking lot I heard a bird calling from the bushes, it turned out to be a Bewick's Wren.

Bewick's Wren (Thryomaners bewickii)

 The sun had begun to peek through the fog bathing the bird in afternoon sun. Finally it came out of the thickets to continue feeding before a passing car scared it away.

Hermit Thrush (Catharus guttatus)
On the way out I photographed this Hermit Thrush from the car window.

I had two more species to add to my year list. The fog by this time had enveloped what little sun there had been. Time to head home.

Day 3 Jan 14 2015 Elk View Rd Chilliwack. Sunny 8c.

It was my second attempt to find the Northern Pygmy Owl but with the help of Mel, Peter and Floyd we were successful. Not only did we find the owl we found two. One male and one female. We weren't alone, there was a mini twitch going on as the news spread and the bird's location spread across the interweb. The birds for their part seemed completely unperturbed by the whole circus going on around them.

I composed this shot in the camera. With a little cropping I bisected the frames to aid the composition.
Careful consideration went into the background. Even with lots of forethought I still wasn't able to frame a shot with owls and forest that made any sense. Either the owl was way too small so I went for this composition as my favourite of this series.

This quick snap shot (1 of 3 frames) picture taken with a $300 Canon SX50HS.
All others taken with slightly more expensive Nikon 500mm F4!
The blown out details I think has a lot to do with the file processing.

Northern Pygmy-Owl (Glaucidium gnome)
The Pacific race of the Northern Pygmy Owl are more reddish than
their interior cousins. I used backlighting and exposed for the bird.

Disclaimer: All owl pictures taken from the road. No birds were pushed, coralled or harassed. While it might be important to get a good photo, please let these birds feed in peace. Trampling over their hunting territory not only disrupts their feeding regime but scares away prey. The owls rely on unsuspecting voles and other creatures so when a dozen or so photographers are clambering through brush up to their waists just get a little nearer it makes the owls life that much more difficult.

Remember it was a birder who first let us know about these beautiful birds, he was there this week and wishing he had kept the location secret. Most probably there are many other birds out there that the finder(s) won't want to share and for good reasons.

Day 4 Jan 16/14 Blackie Spit Sunny (it was forecast to rain ) and 12c

I hadn't meant to go birding today but I was conducting a one on one photography class at Blackie Spit. During the session this Ruby-crowned Kinglet popped into a tree beside me. It was hawking insects. I used my Tamron 150mm-600mm with the lightweight Nikon D7100.

Ruby-crowned Kinglet (Regulus calendula)

All the other pictures were taken with the Nikon 500mm F4 with the D7100 or D3s.

It was a full week and a welcome break from the hectic pace of the 'real world' I'm sure after a few days rest it will be time to head out again, until then..it's never too late to start birding!

John Gordon

Langley/Cloverdale

Blackie Spit Bird Count Dec 18th 2014

Dec 18 2014 Blackie Spit, Crescent Beach Surrey BC

On Thursday I joined small group of birders at Blackie Spit. Despite the wind and rain there were plenty of birds. Gareth Pugh leads a trip to the South Surrey spit every Thursday at 1p.m.
The ad hoc group meets at the small pier near the parking lot. Newcomers are always welcome, just bring a cheerful disposition.
I add Gareth's bird list here out of interest for readers who may or may not have visited Blackie Spit Park Nature Trails or who are just interested in which winter species occur there. Spring and Fall birding can be realy good with numerous species of warblers passing through. Occasionally a Solitary Sandpiper can be found or a Horned Lark in the short grasses of the spit. In November I photographed three Snow Buntings and recently a single Bohemian Waxwing was spotted. One bird I had hoped to see on this visit was the Surfbird after one had been spotted on last weeks walk. I was in luck.

Full frame handheld shot with Nikon D7100 and Tamron 150mm-600mm zoom.
I cropped in to see more detail (Below) to confirm indentification. Photographed in the Farm slough at high tide.

The walk for me was a special one as I added a surfbird to my life list. Surfbirds are usually found near rocks so it surprised quite a few of us that it could after a few weeks still be found in the marsh habitat. Thumbs up to White Rock birder Leona Breckenridge who first spotted the bird few weeks ago. She and her crew hope it will still be around for the White Rock CBC Dec 28th.

Surfbird (Aphriza virgata)
This is good enough for ID purposes but I wouldn't want to print it. However when blogging you can get away with anything! 

Anyway I am glad I braved the wind and rain and joined the group at the spit. As for photography logistics the Tamron stayed in a sling bag for all but ten minutes of the two hour walk, only coming out to grab this shot from about 60 metres away. The Canon SX50HS or 60 would have had a greater reach but the image quality would have been much, much less.

 Below is the list Gareth submitted to ebird.

Marbled Murrelet	0
Pigeon Guillemot	0
Canada Goose	0
Brant	0
Mute Swan	0
Wood Duck	0
Gadwall	0
Eurasian Wigeon	14
American Wigeon	400
Mallard	54
Northern Shoveler	0
Northern Pintail	250
Green-winged Teal	92
Canvasback	0
Greater Scaup	0
Lesser Scaup	0
Ruddy Duck	1
Surf Scoter	1
White-winged Scoter	0
Black Scoter	0
Long-tailed Duck	3
Bufflehead	3
Common Goldeneye	4
Barrow's Goldeneye	0
Hooded Merganser	0
Red-breasted Merganser	7
Common Merganser	0
Pacific Loon	4
Red-throated Loon	1
Common Loon	9
Horned Grebe	4
Red-necked Grebe	2
Western Grebe	0
Double-crested Cormorant	14
Great Blue Heron	2
Northern Harrier	0
Sharp-shinned Hawk	0
Cooper's Hawk	0
Bald Eagle	4
Red-tailed Hawk	0
Osprey	0
Black-bellied Plover	0
Killdeer	0
Greater Yellowlegs	17
Lesser Yellowlegs	0
Whimbrel	0
Long-billed Curlew	1
Marbled Godwit	5
Red Knot	0
Dunlin	0
Sanderling	0
Western Sandpiper	0
Least Sandpiper	0
Pectoral Sandpiper	0
Sharp-tailed Sandpiper	0
Spotted Sandpiper	0
Short-billed Dowitcher	0
Long-billed Dowitcher	0
Wilson's Snipe	0
Surfbird	1
Red-necked Phalarope	0
Mew Gull	1
Franklin's Gull	0
Ring-billed Gull	75
Glaucous-winged Gull	8
Western Gull	0
Bonaparte's Gull	0
Parasitic Jaeger	0
Arctic Tern	0
Caspian Tern	0
Rock Pigeon	20
Band-tailed Pigeon	0
Eurasian Collared Dove	2
Mourning Dove	0
Anna's Hummingbird	0
Rufous Hummingbird	0
Belted Kingfisher	2
Downy Woodpecker	0
Northern Flicker	2
Pileated Woodpecker	0
Merlin	0
Peregrine falcon	0
Northern Shrike	1
Steller's Jay	2
Western Scrub Jay	0
Northwestern Crow	10
Horned Lark	0
Western Wood Pewee	0
Pacific Slope Flycatcher	0
Willow Flycatcher	0
Tree Swallow	0
Violet-green Swallow	0
Barn Swallow	0
Northern Rough-winged Swallow	0
Cliff Swallow	0
Purple Martin	0
Black-capped Chickadee	2
Chestnut-backed Chickadee	0
Bushtit	0
Bewick's Wren	0
Pacific Wren	1
Golden-crowned Kinglet	4
Ruby-crowned Kinglet	0
Hermit Thrush	0
Swainson's Thrush	0
American Robin	3
Varied Thrush	0
European Starling	30
Cedar Waxwing	0
Bohemian Waxwing	0
Lapland Longspur	0
American Pipit	0
Snow bunting	0
Common Yellowthroat	0
Yellow-rumped Warbler	0
Wilson's Warbler	0
Yellow Warbler	0
Orange-crowned Warbler	0
Spotted Towhee	1
Savannah Sparrow	0
Fox Sparrow	1
Song Sparrow	4
Swamp Sparrow	0
Lincoln's Sparrow	0
White-crowned Sparrow	0
Golden-crowned Sparrow	1
American Tree Sparrow	0
Chipping Sparrow	0
Dark-eyed Junco	6
Red-winged Blackbird	20
Western Meadowlark	0
Brown-headed Cowbird	0
Western Tanager	0
Purple Finch	0
House Finch	17
Pine Siskin	0
American Goldfinch	0
House Sparrow	1
Black-headed Grosbeak	0
Total species	46	0	0

It's never too late to start birding

John Gordon

Langley/Cloverdale