Forest and Mountain Birds

Oct 8 2014 Cypress Mountain, Vancouver BC Foggy with occasional clearing.

Bird wise, the climb up to the Bowen Island lookout was uneventful, mostly because of the thick fog that blanketed the mountainside. The hope for blue skies never materialized and the Northern Pygmy Owl was a no show, at least for me. It did turn up just after I left. Murphy's Law, Eh!
However the day wasn't completely futile especially when fellow birder and 'eagle eye' Mike Tabak spotted a Sooty Grouse skulking around in the undergrowth. The bird finally came out in the open and at times was too close for some of us with long lens. A point and shoot would have worked just fine. That was a special bonus for all of us..Thanks Mike.

Blue Grouse (Dendragapus obscures)
Pacific (Sooty) Subspecies )

The grouse was an unexpected surprise and after birding Boundary Bay the rarified air of Cypress Mountain was a welcome change of scenery.
Next up was a pair of Sharp-shinned Hawks whose acrobatic displays were magical to watch. Several times they came flying by like two fighter planes commanding the sky, dive bombing each other.

Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipter striatus)

These two very long distance shots of the sharp-shinned hawk turned out way better than I had imagined.

On my way back to the car I walked through the forest near Yew Lake when I heard a rustle in the bushes. I 'phissed' a few times and a Swainson's Thrush popped out to give me a great view. Two shots and it was gone, thank goodness for autofocus.

Swainson's Thrush (Catharus ustulatus)

Before I could go home to catch up on some sleep I attended a book signing at the Walnut Grove Library with three other Langley authors. My second book, The Langleys is almost sold out with just seventy copies of the original three thousand remaining. The event celebrated the library's and the Walnut Grove Recreation Centre's 20th anniversary. It was a long day and now fourteen hours later it's time to go home. Thanks and good birding.

It's never too late to start birding"

John Gordon

Langley/Cloverdale

Mountain Birding

Oct 6 2014 Cypress Mountain Vancouver BC
The alarm went off at 5 a.m and again fifteen minute later. I'm a breakfast person so after a bowl of Weetabix, marmalade on toast and a piping hot cup of tea (the morning papers would have to wait) I was ready to battle the early morning Vancouver rush hour. The drive from Cloverdale to Vancouver can be brutal even at 6 a.m in the morning!
On our arrival, Cypress Mountain was cloud hidden. The climb was gentle if not a little heart pounding. A Merlin was the first highlight. On the very first switchback we spotted the bird we had hoped to see, the Northern Pygmy Owl #1. What a beautiful bird, so small, it weighs just 2.5 ounces and stands 6.75 inches high. The owl looked at us, its head bobbing around and moving from side to side and then, in a split second, it was gone. A diurnal owl or a daytime hunter, its prey, chickadees or juncos scattering into the thickets as it flew past us.

Northern Pygmy Owl #1. Some of us think this owl is a different bird than the we photographed later.

After catching our breath from the exertion and the excitement of seeing such a rare bird it was onward and upward to see if the forest would reveal more wonders for our party. The owl was a 'Lifer for me as well for quite a few of our group. We continued our climb up Cypress Mountain in anticipation.

Northern Pygmy Owl #2 (Glaucidium gnome)

Sharp-shinned Hawk  (Accipiter striatus)

At the first lookout we rested. It wasn't long before a Steller's and several Gray Jays put in an appearance.  Their antics kept us amused for quite a while, that is until what we believe to be another owl (slightly different markings) landed on a tree several hundred metres away. A Sharp-shinned Hawk also put in an appearance.

Steller's Jay (Cyanocitta stelli)

 Slowly the owl flew from branch to branch approaching closer all the time until finally it was within 30 metres. We all got our 'trophy shots' when suddenly the tiny owl flew between us, unsuccessfully we think chasing one of several Yellow-pine Chipmunks which had been fed seeds by hikers.

Yellow-pine Chipmunk (Tamias amoenus)

This is the same bird as the second picture.

More intent on hunting, the owl landed on a grey branch with grey clouds behind, not a pleasing composition. By moving a few feet I was able to juxtapose the bird with a weathered tree trunk giving the background a little more character. It was a treat to see the bird flying around, I just wish the photographers would have backed off and let it hunt, it has to eat too! I hope photographers will realize that wildlife viewing should never be taken for granted and that the animals ALWAYS come first.

Gray Jay(Perisoreus canadensis) with peanut.

"It's never too late to start birding"

John Gordon

Langley/Cloverdale

West Vancouver Birding

July 5, 2013 Grouse and Cypress Mountain. Sunny

Following my most excellent road trip mentioned in previous blogs I came home to much grass cutting, pond cleaning and planting. Birding took a backseat while I slowly caught up with things. The Lower Mainland weather has been so hot that birding and gardening has to be done early in the day. By 5 a.m Friday I was making my way to hopefully photograph a male Nashville Warbler on Grouse Mountain. Didn't really know if it would still be there, The bird had been first reported about ten days ago so who knows. I soon joined fellow photographer/birders Raymond and Tak, both had visited the location before and within twenty minutes and with the sun still behind the mountains the colourful songster arrived and gracefully posed for us. What a beautiful bird the Nashville Warbler is! Some distant firs created a pastel background so perfect for the  500mm F4 and a 1x4 converter combination. Just another day in 'birdie' paradise!

Nashville Warbler Vermivora ruficapilla)

The Nashville can be found along the power line east of the Grouse Mountain "D" parking lot.

None of these pictures would be possible without the generous sharing of information by other birders. One reason why Birding is North America's most popular pastime.

Next it was off to find a MacGillivray's Warbler. Without spotting any at Grouse it was off to Cypress Mountain where better luck might ensue. There are plenty of turn-offs and viewpoints on the mountain road to Cypress where openings in the forest attracts a wide variety of species. Here are the morning's results. We came across a small flock of Townsend's Warbler, heard Sooty Grouse booming away, watched a pair of Band-tailed Pigeons and were serenaded by a Spotted Towhee before finding our other warbler of the day.

Band-tailed pigeon (Columba fasciata)

Spotted Towhee (Pipilo maculatus)
The Pacific variation of the spotted towhee has spotted wing-bars.

MacGillivray's Warbler (Oporornis tolmiei) Grouse Mountain
Technically far from perfect but something to improve on subsequent visits.