Where: Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Centennial Beach (Delta), Piper Spit, Burnaby Lake (Burnaby)
Weather: Sunny, 9-14°C
Reifel Bird Sanctuary
We got our first chance to visit Reifel in a while, on a rare Monday opening (due to the Thanksgiving holiday). It was a HBD (Hardcore Birder Day), with a plethora of dangerously large telephoto lenses being carried about. I saw monopods!
The weather was cool and there was some wind, but the sky was perfectly clear, affording is good light.
In addition to seeing a gaggleplex of Snow Geese flying overhead1Yes, I have finally relented and am full capitalization for all birbs and birbs., we saw several newly-arrived migrants, like ring-necked ducks and coots (which had already appeared at Piper Spit). We even saw a rare(ish) Ruddy Duck, which is a lifer for me. The Sandhill Cranes didn’t show themselves, however. I wonder where they were?
Dowitchers and Greater Yellowlegs were also in abundance, in the main slough and pond, among other places. One group were inadvertently harassed by some hero drama as a Great Blue Heron chased another directly over the shorebirds. The shorebirds would fly–a little–then return to as they were, so the harassment was pretty low-key. One of the herons landed in the pond and the other flew off, thus preserving the unspoken “one heron per pond, no matter how huge the pond” rule.
We saw hummingbirds at the feeders, keeping alert for a very interested wasp (or hornet?), as they are quite large when you’re a hummingbird. Imagine getting stung by a flying dog. Or something.
Centennial Beach
I suggested Centennial Beach next, and we parked near the pump house, basically working in reverse to our usual path. This afforded us early shorebirds and waterfowl and plenty of them. After spotting a Belted Kingfisher shortly after arriving, we saw something on the bay, where the tide was in. What we saw were wigeons. Wigeons everywhere. Wigeons flying, wigeons floating, wigeons that numbered in the hundreds or maybe even more. I am not good at counting massive numbers of birds. But there were oodles of them, along with some gulls, Canada Geese and other duck variants.
The beach was also buffeted by gusts of wind up to 25 km/hour. At one point, I had my cap pulled down so tight to keep it from blowing off that I could barely get the camera up to my eyes. I didn’t observe any birds trying to work against the wind–not even the seagulls, which are usually kind of into that.
This is where we saw a few Yellow-rumped Warblers, an unexpected treat. They were eating from one of the wind-whipped bushes in the sand.
Both here and at Reifel we saw Northern Harriers and while I was pretty successful in tracking them, I was not able to get any great shots. A boy2I’m a boy at heart, or something can dream, though!
By the time we left, I was glad I’d opted for my heavier hoodie. I also noted the light was already taking on a more golden hue. Come November 2 we switch back to Pacific Standard Time (grr) and we’ll have about 23 minutes of quality birding during the day.
Piper Spit, Burnaby Lake
We ended at Piper Spit, which was initially chock-full of people, due to the holiday. The dowitchers were fairly close in, allowing for some good shots, but we didn’t spot any new migrants here, such as scaups or Buffleheads. Maybe next time. Or at least soon™.
We made due with bathing blackbirds, battling coots and Wood Ducks just being stunning.
In all, a fruitful day as we head into the second season of Fall.
The Shots
Shot with a Canon EOS R7 with 18-150 mm kit lens and 100-400 mm telephoto.
A few shots:
The Birds (and other critters)
Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:
- Anna’s Hummingbird
- Black-capped Chickadee
- Dark-eyed Junco
- Fox Sparrow
- Golden-crowned Kinglet
- Golden-crowned Sparrow
- Purple Finch
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Song Sparrow
- Spotted Towhee
- White-crowned Sparrow
- Yellow-rumped Warbler
Waterfowl and shorebirds:
- American Coot
- American Wigeon
- Belted Kingfisher
- Canada Goose
- Gadwall
- Great Blue Heron
- Greater Yellowlegs
- Green-winged Teal
- Hooded Merganser
- Long-billed Dowitcher
- Mallard
- Marsh Wren
- Northern Pintail
- Northern Shoveller
- Ring-necked Duck
- Ruddy Duck (lifer for me)
- Snow Goose
- Wood Duck
Common:
- American Crow
- Assorted gulls
- Rock Pigeon
Raptors:
- Bald Eagle
- Northern Harrier
Non-birds:
- A few pollinators
- Copious caterpillars
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