Birding, August 16, 2025: Bees, not birds

Where: Piper Spit, Burnaby Lake (Burnaby), Tlahutum Regional Park (Coquitlam)
Weather: Sun and clouds, 19-22°C

Piper Spit

View from the turtle nesting area. Not seen: turtles, as always.

Although several naughty humans were feeding seed to the birds, which has been banned all summer (and reinforced my many signs all over the place), there were still relatively few around. We did not see geese, blackbirds or any fall migrants. It is also true it is not fall yet. Perhaps the migrants know this, too.

But we did see a scruffy little young song sparrow and an even more adorable baby cedar waxwing, which still had a lot of down, but already sported a proto face mask. It was kind of hiding in the bushes, which is probably a wise thing for its age.

The waterfowl largely consisted of mallards and wood ducks, and they mostly stayed well away from the pier. If it hadn’t been for one very splashy duck, I might have taken more shots of butterflies and bees.

But the trip was worth it for the babby waxwing.

Tlahutum Regional Park

Coquitlam River, fuller than last week thanks to heavy rain the day before.

There were even fewer birds at Tlahutum, though we did see some kind of raptor flying way overhead, and a lone female northern shoveller in the main pond. I shot a lot of flowers here, which have the bonus of not flitting around, unless it’s really windy.

And that was about it! Our outing was shortened by foul (not fowl) weather in the morning and by an event Nic was attending in the early evening, yet I somehow still managed over 25,000 steps as I type this.

I think there is a decent chance we’ll see at least one fall migrant the next time we are out. Coots are imminent.

The Shots

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

A few shots:

Northern shoveller in the main pond at Tlahutum Regional Park.
One of many pollinators seen in the community garden.

The Birds (and other critters)

Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:

  • Black-capped chickadee
  • Cedar waxwing (babby)
  • Eastern kingbird
  • Song sparrow (babby)
  • Spotted towhee
  • White-crowned sparrow (heard)

Waterfowl and shorebirds:

  • American coot (not yet!)
  • Long-billed dowitcher
  • Mallard
  • Northern shoveller
  • Wood duck

Common:

  • American crow
  • Rock pigeon

Raptors:

  • Some kind of raptor, yes

Non-birds:

  • Copious pollinators
 

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