Birds, Birds Everywhere!

March 12 2016  Nuevo Vallarta Jalisco Mexico.

Sea Gardens Hotel in Nuevo Vallarta was to be our base for the next seven days. The length of the beach was fronted by time shares and nearby a small harbour housed an odd mixture of small fishing boats and multi-million dollar yachts.
Soon after check-in we visited the beach for the first time. I didn't have my DSLR with me, just a small point and shoot for the waning sunset.
We were greeted by pounding waves crashing down on the beach and a conspicuous red flag warning swimmers to be cautious of the undertow. I hadn't been to Mexico for thirty-five years but it was sure good to be back. Neither sunbathing or lounging at the pool really interested me but the beach and harbour would surely be good birding spots.
The first thing that caught my attention was not a bather or beachcomber but a snowy egret, the white bird stood out against the crashing breakers as it ran up and down the wet sand, expertly snagging fish in the shallows. I think the fish were spawning but I'm not a hundred per cent sure about that but there were plenty right on the tideline. I hoped the next morning would bring some good birding.

Snowy egret with catch.

Eventually a dog flushed the egret.

It wasn't long before a laughing gull tried to steal the catch, the egret prevailed. I couldn't believe how little the birds were bothered by humans, fish was plentiful just along the edge of the waves so the pre-occupation and the need to feed over-ruled any caution, only an idiot with an off leash dog spoilt my shots.

Next Day Mar 13/16

The morning sun was beginning to peek over the top of the hotel now and the rising temperature was tempting more people onto the beach. I was still on the in front of our hotel when I noticed two shorebirds on a rock.

Both were familiar species, a willet which I have photographed in both the Prairies and BC and a surfbird which I have photographed at Blackie Spit. All this way and nothing more exotic, hmmm !
I didn't matter I was in bird heaven and it was only day one.

Willet and surbird.

It was time for breakfast and then a walk around the grounds where I could hide from the blazing sun. My pink Canadian skin stood out like a sore thumb, even a vendor joked to me about being a new arrival. He could tell I hadn't seen sun for months.

Outside our room barn swallows hunted insects and tropical kingbirds were in full chorus. With my other half happily ensconced by the pool with book, refreshments and crossword it was time to see what was lurking in the trees, shrubs and wasteland behind the hotel. At this point I will say it was not a birding tour but a little convalesce for the both of us as we had been in a minor car accident the week before. The missus received the brunt of the injuries, me just a little whiplash.

Anyway, the first thing I did was to almost break my ankle in a massive pothole as I hadn't paid enough attention to where I was walking so distracted I was by the new birds and the three foot long iguanas.

******

I walked a few hundred feet from the hotel past the taxi stand where an avenue of Guamuchi trees gave just enough shade from the sun to allow me to bird and avoid being sunburnt. As I peered upward a golden-cheeked woodpecker flew into one of the trees to feed on the seed pods. 

Golden-cheeked woodpecker.

I just like this pose. Later the woodpecker sat on an ants nest and allowed the ants to crawl over its breast and neck area. I believe it is a cleansing action.

House finch and Guamuchil seed pod.

Bow-tailed grackle

The raucous call of the bow-tailed grackle and great kiskadee could be heard above all the other birdsong. There were also a fair number of bronze-headed cowbirds and European house sparrows to keep them company.

Great kiscadee

Further along the road and from over a bridge I spotted a dozen black-crowned night heron, a tricoloured heron and numerous brown pelicans. In another bay a little blue heron and snowy egret stalked the shallows for fish.

It was getting too warm to photograph and besides I was time for breakfast and a swim, believe me someone has to do it! After a while I became restless and with my other half ensconced by the pool I decided to walk alone the beach. By now a few clouds had drifted in making the light a little more diffused and not quite as hot. As I left the pool area I spotted a movement in the bushes, a blue-gray gnatcatcher, a bird I had seen only once before at Point Pelee, it was oblivious to the fact it was being photographed.

Blue-gray gnatcatcher

Along the beach at Nuevo Vallarta is a small spit which flooded at high tide. When the tide ebbed it was soon populated by hundreds of birds.

(l-r) common tern, willet, royal tern and heeman's gull

When I filled out my ebird submission the database flagged 500 plus black terns as rare. Just to make sure I spoke to local birder Greg Homel who explained the number was due to this years El Nino effect. This might explain why there were so few hummingbirds too!

At low tide the spit was the resting place for about 500 black terns. Look closely and you might pick out an odd common tern and elegant tern

                                                                              ******

Over the next few days I repeated the process of walking around the hotel grounds, the manicured park and the harbour. There was always something to photograph like this black vulture on top of a condo roof.

Black vulture. Another lifer 

Vultures, frigate birds and brown pelicans use the condo and hotel's thermals to fly over the beaches. I even took few shots of black and turkey vultures while lounging beside the pool.

Inca Dove

Another lifer the White-collared Seedeater. 

I was beginning to lose track of lifers and having so much fun that when I asked one of the locals about any close-by birding spot when he immediately offered to drive me to a nearby mangrove swamp. In the space of thirty minutes I photographed blue-winged-teal, northern shoveler, spotted sandpiper, wood stork, great egret, snowy egret, white ibis, American anhinga, black-necked stilt, tricoloured, green, great blue and  yellow-crowned herons,

Little blue Heron.

It was a bit out of the way down a dusty road and after we had returned an hour later he refused any offer of gas money and left me with a big smile and a few more birds to add to my growing list. Soon it would be lunch time and a quick siesta.

It's good idea to keep an eye out for crocs!

American Anhinga.

I will never, ever go birding in a foreign country again......without a guide book. I was lent one but decided that it was too bulky and heavy to carry around. Eventually when the internet failed to answer my many questions I corresponded with Puerto Vallarta birder Greg Homel who helped me back track and ID all the birds. Thanks Greg.
Also a big thanks you Botanical Gardens director Neil Gerlowski who I met later in the trip. He put me in contact with a local guide who took me to see the Military Macaws. More of that in a later blog.

Masked Tityra  

The first week provided me with a fantastic selection of birds, many of which were lifers.

"It's never too later to start birding"

Langley/Cloverdale

BC Canada.

Ten Days of Winter Birding

Feb 16-26 The Lower Mainland/Various locations.

It was Valentine's Day and a Great Gray Owl had been reported on Burnaby Mountain. Why couldn't it be a Monday or a Tuesday or one of my other week days off! I would just have to wait, besides I had planned to spend the day with my lovely wife. From what I had heard there were far too many photographers and birders already on the scene. Hoping it hadn't been flushed by all the attention I planned to go the following day. This time there were only three of us looking for the owl. After trudging around for an hour we eventually found it sitting on a deadhead. As you can see in the photo it was wet around the ears following a rain shower. We spent about ten minutes admiring its regal presence, we all took a few frames and left. As we were leaving a birder type person who must have been watching from a distance commented to us on how well we had interacted with the owl and how he wished all photographers behaved in a such an ethical manner. I was a very kind comment that made my day.

Great Gray Owl

A False Alarm

A report of a possible black-chinned hummingbird at Blackie Spit was just the excuse I needed to go birding. Despite the inclement weather it didn't take long for a hummingbird to arrive, alas not the  black-chinned but a beautiful Anna's. With the puzzle solved a quick walk around the park provided enough exercise to get in my first five thousand of my ten thousand step quota, a lot I know but weekends can be quite sedentary due to all the footy on the box.

Anna's Hummingbird

                                        The black-chinned turned out to be an Anna's Hummingbird. 

Brookside B&B Abbotsford 

Lesser Goldfinch

The Langley Field Naturalist's had a day out at Sumas Prairie and on the way back some of us decided to stop off at Chris and Sandy's Brookside B&B in Abbotsford. For some of our party the lesser goldfinch was a lifer.

 South Delta Owls.

The life of a short-eared owl revolves around the hunting of voles. Once they have found a steady supply they will be faithful to a stretch of foreshore or field throughout the winter and return year after year. When the vole population declines so do the number of owls and will often fail to breed. When food is plentiful short-eared owl can lays many as ten eggs, the record being fourteen, only a few fledge. 

Short-eared Owl

Normally anything that attracts my attention usually ends up being photographed. The large discs around the eyes allow the bird to hear noises in the grass and their forward looking eyes act like a spotting scope.

Encroaching development, for now the owls hang on!

Every year acres of Lower Mainland farmland are being turned over to blueberry farms, large greenhouse complexes or other monoculture ventures. A new road to the Delta Coal Port has cut a swath through farmland resulting in the death of countless deer, birds and other smaller mammals and the loss of considerable amount of good bird habitat.

A familiar perch for those who bird at 72nd St.

This image of a short-eared owl hunting in one of a very few untilled fields left around Boundary Bay. The field is rich in yarrow and various grasses which in turn supports a healthy population of Townsend's voles, the main diet of both owls and harriers. An adjacent field has been ploughed and any betting person would put money on more berries, more spraying with toxic chemicals and less habitat resulting in less birds.

Does this close-up (above) tell us anymore more about the owl and its habitat? Look at any Robert Bateman and you'll see acres of habitat and sometimes the subject matter taking up very little space. The picture above gives the viewer very little information about habitat etc but does give a closer view that many may never experience except in a photograph.

                                                                                ****

Male Northern Harrier preening.

During a lull in the action I noticed a spotted towhee eating buds. The towhee is one of those species that has had a name change. When I first came to Canada I knew it as a  rufous-sided towhee. It is also a bird that not many people photograph which is a shame.

Spotted Towhee.

My rule of thumb which has worked for me over the years is to photograph everything and anything that attracts my attention regardless of subject matter. I've often stopped the car or even turned around and driven back to catch a special moment. Some of those pictures led to ongoing assignments and in one case a full time job at a newspaper

(Below) A flock of 5-6 meadowlark have been foraging the fields and foreshore for most of the winter. They never come vey close and these two images have been cropped about 300% but represent what the human eye might see.

A pair of Western Meadowlark at 72nd St 

When a flock flew onto the foreshore two landed on a snag, the other three melted into the long grass.

Riefel Migratory Bird Sanctuary

Female Northern Pintail.

I spent the morning at Reifel enjoying the ducks which are now in full breeding plumage. The sandhill cranes were looking for a nest site and the raucous red-winged blackbirds were staking out nesting areas.

Male Northern Pintail

Walking around the ponds at Reifel I noticed quite a commotion in one of the larger ponds. A number of american wigeon, northern pintail and mallards were flying overhead.

On further investigation I found a photographer feeding the ducks first at one end of the pond and then walking to the other with a bag of seed. With birds flying back and forth the opportunity was too good to miss, besides I wasn't paying for the copious amount bird seed being used! 

Reifel management are not sure they'll let said photographer continue the practice as they feel it can cause disruption just prior to the breeding season. I have to agree, besides how many flying shot does a person need and more importantly how much food can a duck eat!

Brunswick Point

Red-tailed Hawk.

Last year I photographed this same red-tail, easily recognizable with its distinctive beak, it's good to see it surviving and thriving in and around Brunswick Point area.

Tynehead Park

Hawkus Metalicus

Below is a rather unusual hawk I spotted on my walk around Tynehead Regional Park. From a distance its unusual colour had me wondering what type of raptor it might it be. A I approached I expected it to take off but it remained steadfast, rooted to its perch.

Hawkus metallicus

                                            As you can see 'the hawk' wasn't going anywhere!

Rooted to its perch Hawkus Metallicus gives me a steely look.

This is the time of year when birds find a mate as these two American wigeon, bufflehead and cinnamon teal seem to have done.

American wigeon

Ambleside Park

A bufflehead checks out a flock of seagulls flying overhead.

Such a difficult bird to photograph. The eye hidden in a dark thatch of colour while the white breast and flanks are blown out even when shot in diffused light.

Two male buffleheads and females.

Colebrook Rd/New Section

There were two female and one male the day I saw the birds. The area is also a good spot for belted kingfisher, American kestrel and northern shrike.

CinnamonTeal

Maplewood Flats

Ruby-crowned Kinglets.

Often heard before being seen the diminutive ruby-crowned kinglet is sometimes seen with flocks of black-capped chickadee and ruby-crowned kinglets.

Common Redpoll

As I walked around Maplewood flats a flock of six redpolls landed in an alder tree where they were busy feeding on the protein rich catkins. They then flew to a small pond where they bathed for several minutes at a time. The picture below is the only clear view I managed in the twenty minutes I enjoyed being in their presence. A stunning experience all-round.

A common redpoll drying off after bathing

When the redpoll few off it joined about twenty others. Behind those birds another twenty-five redpolls fed in the alders trees. Forty-five redpolls in one session was quite the treat.

                                                                 

      Downtown Birding

I wanted to add a few new birds to my year list so Lonsdale Quay was a perfect place to add both Pigeon Guillemot and Pelagic Cormorant.

Pelagic Cormorant

In the above photograph I wanted to include as much of downtown Vancouver as possible. The juxtaposition of bird and habitat being important in the storytelling process.

Pigeon Guilimots

 Who would have thought that Pigeon Guillemots would be at home in a busy city harbour or just at home on a gulf island outcrop.

                                                                                 ******

 Due to the mild climate there is no shortage of wintering birds in the Lower Mainland. Fifty species in one day is quite common and with a little more effort a hundred or more species can be seen.

"It's never too late to start birding"

John Gordon

Langley/Cloverdale

BC Canada

Surrey Lake with Langley Field Naturalists

Feb 11/2016 Surrey Lake Overcast 7c

Over the years I have been on numerous outings with the Langley Field Naturalists (LFN) 

Some trips have been for up to five days long but most are morning or afternoon walks. I have trekked in the Chilcotins and Caribou where we conducted bird counts for Bird Studies Canada. On other occasions I joined them for day long trips to the Skajit Valley and other Lower Mainland locations. This weeks trip was closer to home at Surrey Lake.

Below is a shot of the signage which outlines the Surrey Lake trail system. Entry is off 152 St just north of 72nd Ave.

 Langley Field Naturalists are lucky enough to have a number of top notch naturalists to guide the neophyte's among us. 

One advantage about joining a group like LFN is the chance to learn from more experienced naturalists. Some group leaders like noted naturalist Al Grass will help putting a name to most any tree, fungi, plant or critter.

******

As we walked around the lake we noted a number of diving and dabbling ducks, mallard, green-winged teal, buffleheads, canvasbacks, northern pintail, lesser scaup. mallard, common and hooded merganser and in the Surrey Golf Course pond a gadwall and a single redhead. The redhead is not that common in the Lower Mainland so that was an extra special sighting.

ID shot of the redhead in the golf course pond (north of the bridge) with two mallards and gadwall. The above shot is taken from 152nd St as there is no legal access to the pond. I asked at the golf club and there is a liability issue. Please don't trespass and besides golf balls can really hurt! 

Tour leader Gareth Pugh (left in picture) and the group. I'm on the right with camera gear. A passerby was kind enough to photograph us. For walks like this I take the Nikon P900 instead of a scope for ID purposes and a Nikon 200mm-500mm in case there are any good photo opportunities. Also the lightweight set-up allows me to keep with the group.

As we walked around the lake and after the dogs walkers had departed the ducks soon dropped their defences and gave us excellent views. If only the owners would clean up and leash their pets everyone would be a lot happier, especially the birds. I hope these images  show some of the potential for birding at Surrey Lake. On previous visits I have also seen virginia rail and later in the year warblers and nesting woodpeckers.

Canvasback.

Normally trumpeter swans are found in flocks so it was a surprise find a lone specimen at the lake. Several things come to mind. Was it injured, had it ingested lead shot, perhaps it was just an old bird which no longer had the energy to migrate or perhaps none of those things. On close inspection the bird seemed to be in good health and was actively feeding so it remains a mystery, hopefully it will join a passing flock soon.

Trumpeter Swan

We left the lake behind us and walked the trail past a floodplain. A single second growth tree hosted a pair of bald eagles. A red-tailed hawk's nest was in another smaller tree. As we headed through the woodland section of the park the lack of birdlife made one wonder what would the world be without  birds. As we stopped and listened the forest began to give up its secrets. The sounds of ruby-crowned kinglets and chickadees filled the air, a Bewick's wren skulked in the undergrowth.
Out of the woods and under hydro towers a flock of male house finches fed in a tangle of himilayan blackberries. An anna's hummingbird came to check us out and three fox sparrows scratched back and forth in an effort to unearth insects from the undergrowth.

The walk had ended and as I packed away my camera and was saying my goodbyes a belted kingfisher landed in a tree close-by. When bird plunged into the watery ditch I took the opportunity to grab my camera to move a little closer. She went back and forth five or six times but only once was she on an unobstructed perch. I moved to include as much of the tree trunk into the background as possible. It's one of my better kingfisher shots and perfect way to end the day.

 Female Belted Kingfisher

I'm glad I made the effort to get out on what was a miserable day, by the end of the walk I felt the morning was well spent. Now all I had to do was remember where on earth I had put the shopping list my other half had given me!

Come join us on sometime, we even have a kid's club for the youngsters and check out the LFN Facebook page and website for more details. New members always welcome. Being a member also includes a membership to BC Nature and a quarterly magazine and wealth of information not available elsewhere.

Langley Field Naturalists

https://www.facebook.com/LangleyFieldNaturalists/

"It's never too late to start birding"

John Gordon

Langley/Cloverdale

BC Canada

Introducing Stephen Bolwell

Feb 16 2016.

I first met Stephen about two years ago. We were both photographing snow geese on Boundary Bay. We chatted a while and have been corresponding ever since. Stephen has a very interesting background including his work as a cameraman with the BBC, as well as an environmentalist and artist. I think you will enjoy his blog which I have included in the link below as well as in the sidebar of my blog.

http://www.stephenbolwell.com

John Gordon 

Sunny Day Birding

Feb 9 2016 Various Locations. Sunny 12c

I decided to begin birding at the George C Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary then later in the day make my way home via Brunswick Point and Boundary Bay.
Driving along Ladner Trunk Road I passed about thirty Trumpeter Swans feeding in the furrows of the rain drenched fields. Root crops left over from the harvest sustain the swans throughout winter.  On a bush a juvenile Northern Shrike, head bent downwards scanned the hedgerow.
On Ladner Trunk Road between 112 St and 72 St I counted eight Red tailed Hawks while above me at one hundred or more Bald Eagles circled above in a mass kettle. During the recent Ladner Christmas Bird count an incredible 1360 Bald Eagles were recorded. Passing 72nd Ave a further 30 eagles perched in a row of trees. Beneath a busy BC Hydro crew were pruning branches, the eagles didn't give a hoot. So many birds and Reifel was still 5 miles or 8kms away!
Eventually I pulled into Reifel where a pair of Pied-billed Grebes were mirrored on the calm water of the slough.

Reifel 10.30 A.M

Northern Saw-Whet Owl.
I took five shots and was in and out within 30 seconds. If the owl is asleep please don't disturb it
Handheld no flash.

Unfortunately there have been some questionable practices taking places both at Reifel and at other locations. Monday was BC Family Day, a record number of people visited Reifel. It seems not everyone was happy just to see the owls in their natural habitat. Staff told me some (idiot) thought it necessary to "trim" a few twigs so as to get a better shot of the above Saw-whet. The day I visited someone with a point and shoot (neither a birder or photographer) tried to get a better shot by making loud noises crunching a water bottle, hoping the owl might open its eyes. I had to ask him to move on. At another well known location where Barn Owls roost someone had also been doing some "creative pruning" so as to get a better view. No wonder ethical birders and photographers are reluctant to post their owl sightings. It's a shame really. Anyway, human nature being what it is sometimes our egos get the better of us and we forget that the birds live by instinct and instinct alone and that we humans can easily destroy what we love in the mad rush for acceptance via blogs, Flickr etc.
Recently I have thought about selling my camera gear and just watch birds but I have photographed most of my adult life and would like to think I can police myself.

Wood Duck

  Who can resist photographing the exotic Wood Duck?  This one was plying a quiet backwater.

__._,_.___

Brunswick Point 
1p.m.

Lincoln's Sparrow

At Brunswick Point there are signs that something is about to change and not for the better. This sparrow was photographed on a small patch of blackberries, most of which have been bulldozed. Many who visit the area wonder how long before some form of development takes place and yet another birding spot is lost forever.

Close to the car park a flock of American Pipits bathed in a distant puddle and overhead five nervous Western Meadowlark fly toward the dyke.

Western Meadowlark

This meadowlark was about 30 metres away, a small speck in the frame but nevertheless captured in flight

European Starling

When this European Starling landed in a nearby tree I was taken by its iridescent plumage.

                                                                        ****
It was warm enough to eat my packed lunch outdoors. Later I made my way past the coal port through what used to be good arable farmland. Often rough-legged and Red-tailed Hawks were seen hunting. Now only tonnes and tonnes of gravel, heavy duty machinery and a gas station have taken its place. A barn and two snags gone and the birds too, in their place plastic bags, disgarded coffee cups and who knows what else! Development has robbed the birds of what was a bountiful feeding area. Now there are plans to build a second terminal the size of Stanley Park in the middle of Roberts Bank.


I am including a letter written by noted naturalist Anne Murray. It contains information and contact details on how to made your views know to your MLA and MP. Please take moment to read it.

Here is where letters on how birdwatchers value the Fraser Delta environment could go in the short term:
Any federal politician can be contacted by email using the standard format: e.g. justin.trudeau@parl.gc.ca
With the new government in place it is an opportune time to let your local MP, Mr Trudeau, opposition leaders and Marc Garneau, Federal Minister of Transportation, hear your views on the importance of the Fraser River estuary and delta (Roberts Bank, Boundary Bay, Sturgeon Banks, the Fraser River and the surrounding farmland) to migratory, wintering and resident birds. It is the top-rated Important Bird Area in Canada and a critical stopover on the Pacific Flyway.
You can also let Premier Christy Clark premier@ gov.bc.ca, Todd Stone Minister of Transportation, Todd.Sone.MLA@leg.bc.ca and your local MLA (same basic format) know your opinions. Send photos, help them understand how special this area is!

If you want to give input on PMV's Terminal 2 to the Canadian Environmental Assessment (ceaa-acee.gc.ca - search by project) currently in process, there will be opportunities for public comment in due course. Sign up at porttalk.ca to receive email updates of all Port Metro Vancouver comment opportunities, open houses etc.
Hope this information helps. Feel free to contact me off this site.

Anne Murray
Delta

Tsawwassen Ferry Jetty
 1.45 p.m.

Black Oyster Catcher.

Brant
Note the band which has the #2 on it. I can't read any other information.

Note the different neck markings.

Brant feed on eelgrass that grows in and around the present coal port. The birds wait until low tide when the grass beds are exposed. Low tide provides herons with fish and crabs caught in tide pools while diving ducks find easy pickings among the shellfish beds.


Before heading toward 72nd I dropped in at the dog park. Dodging muddy dogs and their crap I came across a flock predominately male house finches. They were busily eating buds from an apple tree. I was drawn to the bird's plumage set against the sky.

72nd Dog Park 3.pm

Before leaving the park I spent a few minutes photographing Bald Eagles. The opportunities to get a flight shot are ever present as the birds squabble over perches or try to find a mate. The park is home to some larger trees and is close to the dump, a waste re-cycling depot and the ocean. The perfect habitat for the burgeoning population of bald eagles.

Bald Eagle.

I hope you got this far with my ramblings, bearing in mind I bird for my own enjoyment and blogging just helps to keep my brain ticking over between football games and grandchildren. Until the next time, good birding and don't forget to be kind to owls.

"It's never too late to start birding"

John Gordon

Langley/Cloverdale

BC Canada