Where: Boundary Bay Dyke Trail (Delta), Piper Spit (Burnaby) and Tlahutum Regional Park1Formerly known as Colony Farm (Coquitlam) Weather: Sunny, 18-22C
The Outing
My energy level was greatly improved over last week, which was fortunate because as I type this late Saturday evening, I have over 28,685 steps on the day. Also fortunate, it never got hot, though Nic kept insisting the reported temperatures were wrong and it must have been at least 32 degrees or something.
I missed a few spots and got some light sunburn on a couple of small areas around my neck and also above my chin, which I totally forgot to put sunblock on. It looks kind of weird, like the area below my lower lip is angry.
As for the trek, we hit three places again:
- Boundary Bay Dyke Trail: We walked about 100 km up and down the trail and were rewarded for our efforts with Savannah sparrows, common yellowthroats and a grasshopper with the best camo ever. Also, planes. Lots of planes. And curiously, lots of herons–all of them flying. And bald eagles. Really, there was a lot more than expected, and other than being out in the sun on a dusty trail the entire time, it was pretty good.
- Piper Spit: This was better than expected. The land mass has returned with the dry weather, and though geese dominated, they entertained with their shenanigans, particularly the young ones testing out their wings on the safety of the water. A male blackbird was again feeding a youngster, though also dropping food for it, so it could learn to stop mooching off of dad. Some pigeons unexpectedly posed for us at the end of the pier, and I got my requisite cute squirrel shot.
- Tlahutum Regional Park (formerly known as Colony Farm): We did not get the bounty of shots at the community garden that we were hoping for, but we did get a few shots of finches, flickers and the always=gorgeous cedar waxwings. The Coquitlam River was unusually shallow, allowing us to venture well out beyond where we normally could, though the river bed was covered with thick and extremely heavy mud. It came off on the dusty trail and grass later without much effort, though. By the end, we were both starting to get a little tired. At the end of the day, Garmin credited me with burning an impressive 599 calories and my watch mildly scolded me for overdoing it.
Overall, a good batch of birds, along with weather that was warm, but not hot.
The Shots
Common yellowthroat
Don't trespass or electrocute yourself, OK?
Savannah sparrow in a tree
One of many airplanes taking off from Boundary Bay Airport
Anise swallowtail butterfly
View looking from the dyke trail toward Boundary Bay
Colours and textures of nearby golf course and fields, with Boundary Bay Airport tower in the distance
Grasshopper with world's best camouflage
Collared dove on a wire
Cowbird in a tree
A pair of bald eagles hanging out on a telephone pole. The one on the right has that classic "I am annoyed" look.
Closer shot of the bald eagles
What happens when you go sailing and forget about the extremely low tide
Robin pondering a log, as one does
White-crowned sparrow on a branch, surveying its domain
Northern flicker in a tree
Anna's hummingbird in a tree
Rufous hummingbird in flight
Daisies en masse
Song sparrow singing
Whirlybird flying over the Coquitlam River
Coquitlam River, running very low, with bonus tire
Cedar waxwing sitting in a tree
Cowbirds and lily pads: An action scene
Disco in the community garden
Ponder, the goose
Canada goose stare down
Black-capped chickadee on a bench
Cowbird sampling the finest pier offerings
Douglas squirrel assuming the cute eating pose, but without food
A female hooded merganser, a rare sight around here in the summer
Cowbird looking up, looking WAY up
A mallard informing the wood duck that the log is not really big enough for both of them, see?
Pigeon posing
Pigeon close-up
That feeling when you realize the albino pigeon is staring at you
Young blackbird suggesting FEED ME
Adult blackbird dropping food for juvenile
Summer is not complete without baby ducks
The shiniest cowbird west of Texas
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The Birds (and other critters)
Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:
- Anna’s hummingbird
- Blackbird
- Brown-headed cowbird
- Common yellowthroat
- Northern flicker
- Savannah sparrow
- Song sparrow
- Spotted towhee
- White-crowned sparrow
Waterfowl:
- Canada goose
- Great blue heron
- Mallard
- Wood duck
Common:
- Crow
- Seagull
Raptors:
- Bald eagle
Non-birds:
- Grasshopper
- Ladybug
- Moth (I am unsure of the variety)
- Butterfly (yellow and black)
The colours:
- Yellowthroat
- Red sunburn
- Blue sky
- Gray grasshopper
