Dickcissel, Palm Warbler and Orange-crowned Warbler

Monday Ap 22, 2013 Ladner, British Columbia. Sunny
The Dickcissel has only been reported in British Columbia twice and never in the Vancouver area. When the news that one had been spotted at a feeder in Ladner the "twitch' was on. I was lucky enough to see the bird in the first five minutes, I didn't have time to set my camera up and had to wait until later in the day to get the shot below.

Dickcissel (Spiza americana)

After spending the morning with only a few distant shots to show for my efforts it was off to Richmond Nature Park East in search of the Palm Warbler. I had only been in the parking lot for five minutes when the elusive brightly coloured warbler began flitting from branch to branch. I was lucky. More about 'Luck' later.

Adult breeding Palm warbler (Dendroica palmarum)

After loosing the Palm Warbler in the treetops a quick check of the park trail produced eight OCW and then it was time to get back to Ladner for another try for Dicksissel (shot at the top of this page) A big thanks to George Clulow for making me aware of the the Palm warbler and yet another new location to explore.

Orange-crowned warbler (Vermivora celata)

LUCK: The shot of the Dickcissel that leads off this blog is a 'Lucky' shot, I almost missed it! Between Ladner and then Richmond and back to Ladner it had been a long day. After six hours I still didn't have a decent shot so I joked to the birders around me that the Dickcissel will arrive as soon as I take my camera off the tripod, sure enough, within seconds the bird perched on a branch about 20 metres away, the closest it had been it all day.  I shot it with my 500mm handheld and a 1x4 converter, quite a handful. 

Black Turnstone "Another Lifer" and others

Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary was very quiet, a few Wilson's phalarope, two Long-billed dowitchers, Green-winged teal but not much else in the ponds. The firs and alders however were crawling with red-breasted nuthatches, yellow and orange crowned warblers (see below) black-capped and chestnut-backed chickadees searching for insects. The spotted-towhees were and are still looking a bit ragged as were a few of the other small song birds.

This Orange-crowned warbler visited the backyard to drink at the pond.

I then left for the ferry terminal at Tsawwassen to explore the area close to the pilings at the very end of the breakwater. Despite the sun being too strong for effective photography I decided to go ahead anyway, nothing ventured nothing gained... Eh!
Within minutes I spotted a flock of about twenty five Black turnstones feeding along the edge of the shoreline. The flock appeared to have a number of juveniles and were quite approachable. It took about forty-five minutes for them to make their way alone the rocky headland toward me. Eventually they came within twenty feet but with  the sun casting so many shadows and causing the seaweed covered rock to throw back specular highlights decent shots were a challenge. Anyway, here are a few shots which are OK, needless to say i'll be going back when the light is softer.

Black Turnstone

Chestnut-collared longspur/Iona Jetty

Just as I was about to leave for home a friendly birder told about this Chestnut-collared longspur that was about two thirds out along the jetty at Iona Monday afternoon. This incredibly beautiful bird was feeding on seeds and drew quite a crowd. On the way back to the car, a horned lark flew right into my path, which with the orange-crowned warbler made for a perfect day of bird photography except perhaps for the sunburn. Caspian terns were also present as well as a large flock of Dunlin.

Chestnut-collared longspur

Horned lark

Orange-crowned warbler