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

Friends of Semiahmoo Bay Society Volunteer Reception

I am an honoured to provide this picture to help publicize the below event. It should be a lot of fun rain or shine. See you there.

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

Ash-throated Flycatcher

Oct 2 2014 Boundary Bay 104th St Delta B.C.

I really hadn't meant to photograph the vagrant Ash-throated Flycatcher again but on my way to find some shorebirds a small gaggle of birders and photographers were actively looking for the bird so I stopped to chat. Since my first shots, the moulting process had been in full swing and the best words to describe the bird was 'ragged and worn"
Suddenly the Ash-throated suddenly popped out of the brush so I decided to see whether I could improve on the composition from my previous series of shots. My first few shots from mid-Sept the flycatcher was perched on a dead branch and the dark background. My second attempt I had it catching a darner. This time I was after better composition. The advantage of the zoom lens became apparent when the flycatcher first flew in very close to us. With the 150mm-600mm zoom I was able to compose an image in camera at around 500mm on my D7100 and come up with a completely different looking image from previous efforts.

Ash-throated Flycatcher

I am happy with results as it gives me a different perspective. The bird is completely separated from any background distractions. I use Lightroom© for editing but try not to shoot too many "same same" images once I know I have a good record shot. I suppose it goes back to the days of film when you could see a 'keeper' image through the viewfinder as the mirror flipped. I see quite a few people rattling off hundreds of shots of the same thing and wonder wouldn't their time be better spent birding  than editing. 

"It's never too late to start birding"

John Gordon

Langley/Cloverdale

Summer Birding/The Final Days

Sept 21 2014 Iona South Jetty Richmond BC Sunny 24c

Summer still had a few glorious days left so the four kms walk (8 km round-trip) out to the Iona south jetty seemed the perfect way to get some fresh air, exercise and hopefully see some birds.
When I arrived at Iona for the flood tide, the jetty was already very crowded. I wondered whether any birds would tolerate all the foot and bicycle traffic. I decided to keep to my plan and hope for the best.
I was partially right, due to the large numbers of people only a few birds showed themselves for the first two kms. At the three kms marker things began to change, a flock of Western Sandpipers circled around me looking for a place to roost.

Western Sandpipers (Calidris mauri)

Once the flock of about 75 birds found somewhere safe to land they went about preening. The sandpipers were quite approachable and with a little stealth and the Tamron 150mm-600mm I was able to crawl over the rocks, zoom in and make my crops in the camera.

The birds suddenly flew away when a River Otter came up out of the water and spooked the flock.

This River Otter came out to check the sandpiper flock.
 There were plenty of salmon in the area and the otters were having a feast.

Close to the end of the jetty a pair of American Pipits were feeding on insects and Savannah Sparrows flew from rock to rock, their bright yellow lors standing out again the blue of the water. The light was getting better all the time and I really appreciated not having to lug a big lens and tripod with me all the way to the end of the jetty.

Savannah Sparrow (Passerculus sandwichchenis)

It was at the very end of the jetty that my efforts paid off when I spotted four Sanderlings resting on the rocks. Slowly I crept closer and closer being careful not to be cut off by the rising tide and keeping my profile below the horizon. My only concern was a rogue wave. Fortunatly there was only one which forced the birds within even closer shooting range. 

Sanderling (Calidris alba)

Heres comes a second rogue wave and the birds were gone..just like that!

After the rogue wave the birds flew closer before flying away.

It was time to make my way back when another birder spotted a Wandering Tattler. The sandpiper was hunting for food. It would wait for a large wave to hit the rocks then pounce on any small crabs as they scuttled around in the backwash, a very ingenious and productive method.

Wandering Tattler (Heteroscelus incanus)

As I made my way back a flock of Surf Scoters, perhaps fifty in total were feeding on shellfish at about the half way mark, had it not been for the large amount of foot traffic I may have had the opportunity to get some closer shots.

Surf Scoter (Melanitta perpicillata)

As the sun began to wane I composed this shot of the Double-crested Cormorants on the pilings all the time waiting for a decisive moment when one of the birds would fly into roost. Put your thumb over the bird landing and see how it changes the 'feel' of the image.

Double-crested Cormorants (Phalacrocorax auritus)

Overall I enjoyed a great walk, saw plenty of birds, a River Otter and a Harbour Seal basking on the rocks. I count myself lucky to call The Lower Mainland, BC and Canada home.

"It's never too late to start birding"

John Gordon

Langley/Cloverdale

What's Wrong With This Picture ?

Sept 20 2104 112th and Hornby Drive, Delta BC Sunny 20c

I was returning from 104th and Boundary Bay after a fruitless search for the Dusky flycatcher when at the corner of 112th and Hornby Drive a flock of Brewer's Blackbirds flew overhead. Nothing unusual about that except amongst the flock was a Blue Budgerigar. The budgie landed on a wire away from the rest of the flock, it then dropped to the ground and began to feed on the flowering fronds of corn.

Budgerigar (Melopsittacus undulates) Brewer's Blackbird and Eurasian Collared Dove.

Below is a record shot taken from one hundred metres away. All images Tamron 150mm-600mm handheld.

Although this budgie may have been caged at one point it is very wary.

"It's never too late to start birding"

John Gordon

Langley/Cloverdale

Rare BC Flycatcher

Sep 14 2014 104 St Boundary Bay Delta B.C.

When the news of an Ash-throated Flycatcher at 104 St in Delta surfaced I decided to go down and have a look. Myself, the novice and two really experienced birders scanned every bush without much success. Finally after an hour or so the bird flew from a small fir tree onto a dead branch. It spent several minutes dispatching a darner, eventually maneuvering it head first down its gullet.

Ash-throated Flycatcher (Myiarchus cinerascens)

The Ash-throated is a larger flycatcher is rarely seen in BC, very few records exist over the last ten years so this was a special treat to all who have managed to seen it. The bird was again seen Sept  17/14. Coincidentally a few years back another flycatcher, a Tropical Kingbird also spent a few weeks at the same general location.

I like this image because of the clean background. The head looking back into the frame tells us that the bird is on the lookout for food or perhaps wary of a predator.

What a way to spend a Sunday morning!  Our never ending summer has brought all kinds of birding surprises to our doorstep and for me and many other another "Lifer" to enjoy.

"It's never too late to start birding"

John Gordon

Langley/Cloverdale