Birding, June 22, 2025: Daring duck and cautious coyote

Where: Burnaby Lake (Burnaby), Tlahutum Regional Park (Coquitlam)
Weather: Cloudy, 16-19°C

We switched things up by starting at Piper Spit and the signs warning people not to feed the birds are all over the place, and it seems people are actually following the request for the most part (we did see some seed on a picnic table near the dam being nommed on by a song sparrow). This, along with the recent showers leading to the water level of the lake rising again, meant that most of the waterfowl were not hanging near the pier and shorebirds were completely absent.

I arrived early, shot some song sparrows, a robin, and a mom with a lone baby duck near the dam. After Nic arrived, we saw another female mallard, sans family, hanging around the dam. She jumped onto the edge of the fish ladder, then…jumped into the fish ladder itself, which is basically a series of rapids descending into the river. She seemed to enjoy letting the foaming water swirl around her and occasionally jammed her head in, sometimes coming up with strands of yummy (?) vegetation.

At the lake, a group of cinnamon teals and a blue-winged teal made an appearance, which was spiffy. Also, seemingly moments after I noted the absence of the sandhill crane, it flew in and landed in its usual area. Next, I will use my powers to win $10 million in the lottery.

Among the birds that hang out at Piper Spit, the “friendliest” are probably the blackbirds, as they will happily eat seed from your hand. The absence of seed seems to have made them all a little deranged, as we had them attempting to, and in some cases, succeeding in landing on us, even though we were seed-free. Maybe they thought that if they stuck to the routine, the seed would just manifest.

And while I did not get a shot, because it was hopping madly deep inside the branches of a tree, we spotted a warbling vireo, which for mew is a lifer. Neat.

There are a couple of stumps on the way to the pier that someone always covers in seed for the Douglas squirrels. These were cleaned up and a cute little sign placed on one. This will make getting shots of squirrels eating in that adorable pose more challenging.

A sign saying “No wildlife feeding.” Squirrels are sad.

The weather began to warm up a bit at Tlahutum, though it remained cloudy and dim. It’s been like this since summer officially began, so the people who complain about the heat should be pleased.

We saw a mix of swallows and sparrows in the community garden, along with an ever-elusive American goldfinch, which helpfully sat atop a pole. But the pole was set against a bright cloudy sky, making the goldfinch a very darkfinch. It no doubt chuckled to itself, then flew off.

The surprises here were the four-legged kind. As we crossed the bridge over the Coquitlam River, we spotted an otter out for an afternoon snack. It appeared to catch some kind of fish or something. My shots were not great, but you can see its whiskers and adorable little ears.

And as we were returning from The Big Pond a coyote came up behind us and then scooted rapidly past, ambling at a decent gait until it was a safe distance away. It then stood and looked across the river, giving us some fine profile shots. We wondered if it would cross the bridge (which we would be doing) but as it neared, a cyclist approached, so it jogged past. The cyclist, by coincidence, was heading the same way and the coyote booked it at that point.

In all, it was a comfortable day, weather-wise (no sun beating down on us) but with iffy lighting (no sun beating down on us).

The Shots

Shot with a Canon EOS R7 with 18-150 mm kit lens and 100-400 mm telephoto.

Shots coming soon, but here are two as a preview. The first is the American goldfinch, which was post-processed up the wazoo–I cranked exposure way up, cranked highlights way down and then added a bit of sharpening to get something resembling a goldfinch.

Max exposure, min highlights, one American goldfinch against a very bright sky.
A coyote on the ground, where the light is much more cooperative.

The Birds (and other critters)

Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:

  • American robin
  • Black-capped chickadee (heard?)
  • Brown-headed cowbird
  • Red-winged blackbird
  • Rufous hummingbird
  • Spotted towhee
  • Song sparrow
  • Tree swallow
  • Violet-green swallow
  • Warbling vireo (lifer!)
  • White-crowned sparrow

Waterfowl and shorebirds:

  • Blue-winged teal
  • Canada goose
  • Cinnamon teal
  • Gadwall
  • Great blue heron
  • Mallard
  • Sandhill crane
  • Wood duck

Common:

  • Rock pigeon

Raptors:

  • Some kind of hawk

Non-birds:

  • Coyote
  • Otter
  • A turtle in the Nature House
 

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