Ten Thousand Hours of Birding. (Vignettes)

Ten thousand hours of birding (Vignettes)

 Dec 31, 2024  

On Jan 12 2012 I decided to keep a dairy of my birding adventures. I am not too sure why. I had read somewhere that devoting ten thousand hours to something is akin to an apprenticeship. I only counted the amount of time I actually birded. I made numerous cryptic notes from which I am drawing on to make this account. See day below.

 Day 1 April 2 2012

I had been visiting Campbell Valley Park which is close to my home. I photographed Ring-necked Ducks, Mallards, Fox and Song Sparrows, a Brown Creeper, a Northern Flicker, Black-capped and  Chestnut-backed Chickadees and a Cooper's Hawk. I hadn't yet started using eBird but was birding everyday. I was transitioning into 'retirement' after thirty years of being a community newspaper photographer.

100 Hours. May 12 2012. Okanagan Valley, BC. Canada

I birded the Okanagan Valley for the first time. The terrain, the weather and the birds were so different from the Lower Mainland. The Okanagan was a revelation. I had seven lifers that day. Mountain Chickadee, Say's Phoebe, Calliope Hummingbird, Pygmy Nuthatch, California Quail, Yellow-breasted Chat and Lark Sparrow. I birded 12 hours a day for five days.

Calliope Hummingbird

1000 Hours. July 22 2013 Boundary Bay 112 st, Delta BC

I had read online that an American Kestrel was catching grasshoppers along the dyke. Sure enough the bird was there, flying down to the ditch every few minutes, reappearing with a grasshopper. A behaviour I hadn't seen before or since.  I'm glad I made the effort. My dairy does not mention any other details so I presume I went straight home and there not much else to see.

American Kestrel.

2500 Hours Feb 8 2016 Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary

I had a Northern Saw-whet Owl at Reifel then over to Brunswick Point for Western Meadowlarks and Brant. Finally a short drive to Boundary Bay to photograph Short-eared Owls. I appears that during this time I was on a mission to photograph as many of the Lower Mainland species as I could. I had recently upgraded my camera gear to a 500mm F 4 lens which was far better although much heavier than the 300mm F4. Those images are a good as anything I am doing now with newer technology. 

Northern Saw-whet Owl

5000 hours July 29 2019 RSPB Frampton, Lincolnshire UK.

I met up with a Birding Pal John Clarkson from Louth. His UK list is in the mid five-hundreds, a really a dedicated twitcher and brilliant birder. We have since birded together on several occasions. Less than ideal conditions and time of year but we did find a Turtle Dove in the scope, a lifer. I still want to see one close-up. Unfortunately the species may not have too much time left due to habitat destruction in Africa. I shot some excellent video of an Oystercatcher feeding a chick.

 Later in the day we stopped at Red Hill (Chalk Hills) and picked up a Yellowhammer, another bird that is barely hanging on due to intensive industrial farming. Other good birds that day were Ringed-Plover and Wood Sandpiper. We dipped on a Willow Tit for the third time.

7500 Hours Island 22/Bamford Rd Dec 31/ 2021  Chilliwack -5c 

There was a howling wind at Island 22. The Fraser River almost frozen over. My notes don't mention what particular species I was looking for at Island 22 but afterwards I drove to Banford Rd where I dipped on  Snow Buntings.  It was the last day of my 2021 Fraser Valley Big Year with no new birds to add to the two-hundred and six species that I had seen during the year. It was a tremendous amount of fun birding and discovering new birding spots like the Columbia Valley, Island 22 and Chilliwack Mountain. I also made many friends in the Fraser Valley birding community whose help and advice I am forever grateful.

A frozen Fraser River/Island 22.

10000 Hours Deception Island, Antarctic Peninsular. Nov 7 2024

Sailed overnight from Elephant Island South Georgia to Deception Island on the Antarctic Peninsula . There were several species of albatross as well as Snow Petrels and Southern Fulmars, Whales included Sei, Humpback and Right. We photographing their flukes for later identification and passed files onto the resident biologist. None of the whales breached but we did have Hourglass Porpoises following the ship.

Snow Petrel.

          I surpassed the ten-thousand hour mark during a Nov 2024 visit to Deception Island in Antarctica. Looking out from the expedition ship at the crashing waves and a statue of Ernest Shackleton made the moment just a little more memorable.

I have now stopped logging the hours. The memories stored away in thirteen diaries, a reminder of my birding adventures, the places, people and birds I encountered.

  Just for the record 10,000 hours is 417 days or 1.1408 years. 

"It's never too late to start a journal"

 John Gordon (JOGO)

Langley/Cloverdale

The Narwal: Extreme Heat and Habitat Loss

 July 28 2020 

Extreme heat a strain for birds already burdened by habitat loss

Habitat conservation and action on climate change are needed to lessen threat to at-risks species.

See story in the The Narwal which used my Red-breasted Sapsucker and Merlin images.

This Merlin had two hungry offspring to keep happy.

Click on the link below

Birds and Heatwaves 

 The image below was not used as the Narwal magazine format is for landscape rather than vertical. The vertical shot below would make a perfect cover shot. Don't forget to leave room the magazine's name and inside contents. 

"It's never too late for deadlines"

John Gordon Photography

Langley/Cloverdale

BC. Canada

Bird Watching During a Pandemic

 

A few weeks ago Black Press contacted me about an article they were putting together about birding for seniors. Birding has seen a huge spike in popularity in recent years among all age groups but particularly seniors. Despite the current situation with Covid-19 many groups and clubs are still offering opportunities for seniors and others to get out in a responsible manner. One example is the Langley Field Naturalists, other groups are also offering walks that follow strict social distancing and health protocols. We have had numerous walks around the Lower Mainland and we even have some new faces attending. I've met many who are despondent and are having a tough time with the isolation. To those I  I urge you to get out on your own, with your family unit or in a safe group and take walk in the forest, listen to the birds, take a very deep breath, relax and try to put everything into perspective. Nature is perfect and it will see us all  through these uncertain times.

*Note: Since the article was published just a few weeks ago cases of Covid-19 have begun to rise and the health authorities are asking everything to take even more precautions. Please keep this in mind when you read the article.

Follow the link below to read the whole story. 

John with Canada Jay/Photo Carlo Giovanella

Link to Birdwatching during a Pandemic

                                                              Birding for Seniors/Covid19

 

   Langley Field Naturalists

"Its never too late to get out birding"

John Gordon

Langley/Cloverdale

BC Canada

 

Nikon Coolpix P1000 Review

Nikon Coolpix P1000 Road Test
October Birding 2018
Various Locations/Lower Mainland

BC

What better place to try out the Nikon Coolpix P1000 24mm-3000mm super zoom than Piper Spit. There is nowhere else in Metro Vancouver except perhaps Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary where birds can be approached so closely. 

The day of my visit the weather was perfect, there were birds galore and the afternoon sun provided plenty of shutter speed to really test out the capabilities of the P1000. At this point I hadn't read the online guide so I was using the Birding Mode. Normally I use my iPhone for scenics but this time I used the wide angle end of the zoom of the camera. Unlike the P900 the P1000 comes with a lens hood which shields the sun. I strongly suggest adding a UV filter so the precious front element is protected at all times.

I began shooting an overall scene at 24mm.

 All shots are handheld although when I shoot video I plan to use a hefty tripod 

 In the foreground were a small flock of Long-billed Dowitchers, they are often found at Piper Spit. Other species can include grebes, ducks, herons and hawks. Depending on the time of year the trails around the lake can turn up almost anything including an elusive Bobcat or two. During the summer I photographed a Cassin's Vireo and recently American Dippers have returned to feast on salmon eggs in the Brunette River. A few years ago during the Christmas bird count a flock of White-winged Crossbills drew birders and photographers from far and wide. 

Long-billed Dowitchers
P1000

 I quite like the painterly feel of this image.
It works for me aesthetically and that's all I can really ask.

Long-billed Dowitcher
P1000

Recently a pair of Rusty Blackbirds put on a show at the spit, a 

 treat for everyone who went down to see them. Someone had the bright idea of putting out bird seed and bread crumbs, the birds loved it.

Rusty Blackbird
P1000

More on the plight of the Rusty Blackbird at the bottom of the page.

Back to the P1000. I really bought it to shoot 4k video but I am having so much fun shooting stills I have decided to post a few more images. Strangely on both the P900 and P1000 the video files are much better and cleaner at all focal lengths, all the more reason I am stoked about getting the P1000 on a big solid tripod and seeing what it can produce at the 2000mm-3000mm range.

Next up were some of the ducks (some would say sitting ducks) many of which are now coming into their winter splendour. These images show how well the P1000 reproduces when little or no cropping is applied. Even with the stated 128x zoom it's still best to approach as close as possible.

Note: Some pictures have been cropped for better composition with either levels or curves applied. Also some sharpening has been applied in ©Lightroom. Colour rendition is very clean.

All files are shot in jpeg mode as I can't open Raw files with my outdated software. 

Wood Duck
P1000

Northern Pintail
P1000

****

Blackie Spit, Crescent Beach 

Surrey

Greater Yellowlegs
P1000

This is a perfect example of a decent enough photograph of a Greater Yellowlegs. I was on a bird count with no intention of photographing when from perhaps one hundred plus feet away I zoomed in on the unsuspecting sandpiper. Note the reflection, the bird's eye is repeated four times. This is the exact situation where a bridge camera is so useful, catching those unexpected moments. 

Cecil Green and Museum of Anthropology

American Tree Sparrow
P1000

The above image was taken at close range at about 20 feet with minimal cropping. The image is quite acceptable for blogging (120 DPI at 4x6) or even a larger print. Peter Candido found the bird in a pathway outside the museum and a few of us went down and re-found it.

My original introduction to a 'Bridge Camera' was the excellent Canon SX50. The first time I used it I was hooked. The light weight and long zoom options allowed me when appropriate to shed the tripod, heavy lens and DSLR. My daily walks tripled in distance and I never felt I might miss a shot. My second bridge camera was the Nikon P900 which I have blogged about extensively. See links on main page,

Also see video link for some P900 footage.

Brydon Lagoon Nature Park Langley City

White Rock Pier

Next up were a couple of trips to White Rock to scope the bay for grebes, loons and ducks. At the marina a Belted Kingfisher was perched on a sailboat mast and a small flock Black Turnstones flew in. Further out here a raft Western Grebes, I stop counting at 150 birds.

Black Turnstone
 P1000

Harlequin Duck

This shot was taken from the White Rock promenade over the railway tracks, beach and about a further fifty feet out.

Red-necked Grebe
P1000

Below are a few images I shot under early morning filtered sunlight. Shooting downwards at an angle can often make for an unnatural view, however with the lens set at 2500mm-3000mm at F8 there is plenty of depth of field as can be seen by the water droplets on both these grebes above and below.

Horned Grebe
P1000 (300DPI)

 I originally thought this was a Western Grebe. Later I persuaded myself it was a Clark's Grebe. After posting on eBird the experts were quick to point out that is was neither, rather a Western x Clark's hybrid. It would have been a very good year bird for my Metro Vancouver list.

Western x Clark's Grebe
P1000 300 DPI

All I can say about these amorous pigeons is they have beautiful plumage.

Rock Pigeon
P1000

A Belted Kingfisher perches on a sailboat rigging
P1000

Belted Kingfisher
 P1000.

Common Loon reflection
P1000

Harbour Seal
P1000

Some miscellaneous images from my ramblings around Brydon Lagoon/Latimer Lake

A few days later I decided to walk Latimer Lake. This Townsend's Chipmunk sat still enough just long enough to capture it backlit. I wasn't able to move in case I spooked it, I opened up to get the correct exposure for the critters face. 

 Townsend's Chipmunk
P1000

A Mallard at Brydon Lagoon
P1000

Often when rambling/walking /hiking/biking I always take the point and shoot like the P1000 with the idea of taking scenics. I now have an extensive collection throughout the seasons from most of my favourite haunts. If I see a good bird even better. Recently I was at the woodlot on 112th and the cloud patterns was simply awesome, too good to pass up. Because bridge cameras are so light I find I can easily cycle with a small Hummingbird scope, tripod (mostly for scope use) bins around my neck and the P1000 on my shoulder. The wide angle of the P1000 is excellent while the panorama mode is also easy to use for more those expansive scenes.

Stratocumulus clouds I think. Let me know if I am wrong .
Boundary Bay at the Woodlot
P1000

A typical P1000 grab shot

Northern Flicker approx. 2000mm
P1000

Black-bellied Plovers at Boundary Bay at 104
P1000

There is no doubt that the advent of digital photography had changed the face of birding. More birds are being photographed, more birders are photographing and more rarities are being unearthed, often long after the photos were taken. Recently several rarities were discovered only when the photo was posted on a digital platform. 

A good example was the Vermillion flycatcher in White Rock, who would have believed it had it not been for a digital photograph. It also helped greatly that the finder was an excellent birder and was alert to his find.  

 In the past decade a large range of bridge cameras have hit the market, Sony, Canon and Lumix offer similar options, the Nikon P1000 is just the latest iteration. 

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper/Long-billed Dowitcher in foreground.
Reifel Oct 31st

Endangered-Species/Rusty-Blackbird

"It's never too late to start birding"

John Gordon

Langley/ Cloverdale 

BC Canada

Odds and Sods/April Birding

April has been a bit of a whirlwind so getting down to some birding and blogging has been difficult. Needless to say I have been around and about visiting Boundary Bay, Iona, Burnaby Mountain, Brydon Lagoon, Maplewood Flats and Squamish Estuary. The last two produced no photographs but not every outing produces, besides I was doing babysitting duty close to the latter, a good excuse to bird further afield.

First up is a shot from a week or two ago. I had hoped to photograph owls at dusk but it became too dark. On the way back to the car I saw this Great Blue Heron hunting in a ditch. It was quite dark but the soft light sky reflecting onto the water made for the perfect silhouette. At least I had something to show for my efforts.

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

                                                                        *******

A few days later I visited Iona Sewage Treatment plant. Only birders would willingly spent hours scouring the stinky ponds for a rare sandpiper or duck. The odours are soon forgotten when a Wilson's Snipe is spotted then a Least Sandpiper.

Tree Swallow (Tachycineta bicolour)

                                                     A Tree Swallow takes a break from hunting insects. 

                                                                         ******


One of the most difficult sandpipers to differentiate are the Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs. Seen together there are obvious differences but separately confusion can arise.

Lesser Yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)

A pair of Lesser Yellowlegs.

The Lesser Yellowlegs (foreground) is easily differentiated from the larger Greater Yellowlegs when seen together.

"It's never too late to start birding"

John Gordon

Langley/Cloverdale 

BC Canada

Various Places/Various Birds

April 10/15 Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary/Richmond Nature Park/Boundary Bay.

Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary

On arriving at Reifel we were saddened to hear the Sandhill Crane had lost both eggs. Whether they had been predated or otherwise we couldn't confirm, only that the birds had abandoned their nest. Sanctuary manager Katherine mentioned they might have another attempt to lay depending how amorous they feel.

The goal was to find a pair of Swamp Sparrows which may to may not be breeding in the Reifel's reed beds. Normally the species heads into the interior to breed so it will be interesting to see what unfolds. I almost got a clear shot but there's always another day. 

Swamp Sparrow (Melospiza georgiana)

On the way out of the sanctuary the Harris Sparrow was hanging around with the Golden-crowned Sparrows.

It's looking a bit rough as it changes into adult plumage.

Harris Sparrow (Zenotrichia querula)

Richmond Nature Park

I just felt like going to photograph some hummingbirds. The nature park has both Rufous and Anna's Hummingbirds and numerous feeders.

Anna's Hummingbird (Calypte anna)
Juvenile I think?

 Male Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus)

Next up was the surprise arrival of a flock of Red Crossbill. They came in so quickly for a drink at a small pond that I ended up underexposing the few shots I did manage to fire off. The result grainy pix.

Male Red Crossbill (Loxia curvirosta)

Juvenile males?

Juvenile female Red Crossbill.

After all the excitement that lasted just a few minutes, it was back to the other birds where a number of species were sharing a feeder with a Douglas Squirrel.

Douglas Squirrel (Tamiasciurus douglasii)

 Male Purple Finch ( Carpodacus purpureus)

Male House Finch (Carpodacus mexicanus)

Female Downy Woodpecker (Picoides pubescens)

Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)

I photographed this Great Blue Heron while waiting for the Golden Eagle. If I remember right I shot it handheld with the 500mm F4 because I had just arrived and hadn't put up my tripod.

Below is a Bald Eagle shot from the same spot but this time on a tripod. I have dozens of Bald Eagle shots but this one has a little more expression in the bird's face than most.

Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)

About a month ago Boundary Bay was inundated with Bald Eagles. From one spot alone a group of us counted 180 birds wheeling around in the thermals. As the weather warms the eagles slowly disperse and us birders turn our attentions to warblers, terns and shorebirds. Some of us will head to the Interior for desert and alpine species and others for the prairies to bird for grassland species.  Wherever your birding takes you I wish you the best of luck and good birding.

"It's never too late to start birding"

John Gordon

Langley/Cloverdale

BC Canada