Where: Piper Spit, Burnaby Lake (Burnaby)
Weather: Sunny, 18-19°C
The Outing
It was sunny and warm, so I took the camera out for a bit of solo birding at Piper Spit.
Piper Spit has a very different vibe on weekday afternoons. A group of schoolkids were being shepherded off the pier as I arrived, and after that there was never more than half a dozen people there–half of them with a gigantic telephoto lens.
Likewise, without lots of people feeding the birds, the number of birds is also much lower. This was further compounded by more of the winter migrants heading off to other parts. A few scaups and coots were still hanging around, but their numbers are greatly reduced. Even the blackbirds (which don’t migrate) were far fewer in number.
It both made it easier to frame shots (fewer birds to photobomb the one handsome duck you’re shooting), while giving you less to shoot at. But it made for a very relaxing afternoon.
One Sandhill crane was also present, and it obligingly did a nice big stretch while I was getting shots of it. There were also several squirrels on the trail, mugging delightfully for me. One even came running right up to me, taking a moment to sniff my sneakers for possible seed/nuts, before hopping away.
I also got a few “But is it art?” shots. I’ll know soon if they’re also “But are they any good?” shots. EDIT: They were not good.
In all, a perfectly pleasant outing.
The Shots
The Birds (and other critters). Rare or rarely-seen birds highlighted in bold.
Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:
- American robin
- Brown-headed cowbird
- Red-winged blackbird
- Rufous hummingbird
- Song sparrow
- Spotted towhee
Waterfowl:
- American coot
- Canada goose
- Green-winged teal
- Mallard
- Northern pintail
- Sandhill crane
- Scaup
- Wood duck
Common:
- American crow
- European starling
- Rock pigeon (possibly)
- Seagull
Raptors:
- None!
Non-birds:
- Several squirrels