We hit four (!) places yesterday. It was still warm, but not quite Africa hot at 28C. Humidity is still weirdly high and gross. The birding went like so:
- Burnaby Lake. Much busier than usual, but expected on a statutory holiday. A family showed us a photo they had on a phone of some critter they’d seen and asked if we could identify it. In 10+ years of running, walking and taking photos at Burnaby Lake, I had never seen the creature in question. It looked a bit like a ferret or a marmot with a dog’s head. It was weird. We saw a white mallard at Piper Spit, too, so it was a day for odd sightings, apparently.
- Colony Farm. We did not see much here and the humidity was oppressive, even if the sun was screened a lot by high cloud. We did see an Eastern king bird, but the cedar waxwings that were in abundance last visit were completely gone.
- Como Lake. We were driving by, and I’d never been, so we stopped by. This is a small urban (though natural) lake with a one km path around it, so it didn’t take long to check out. Got some nice scenery shots, but only saw a few ducks. They had temporary fencing/netting on one side of the lake at entry points into the water to discourage geese from hanging around, due to their “excessive numbers.” It must be working, because we didn’t see a single goose there.
- Rocky Point in Port Moody. We tried to visit here, but could not find any parking in the available lots or nearby streets. The smart people walked in or took transit. We ended up leaving without even stopping. Sad trombone.
Here’s a shot of the white mallard and its entourage:
