Where: Blakeburn Lagoons Park (Port Coquitlam), Blackie Spit (Surrey), Piper Spit, Burnaby Lake (Burnaby)
Weather: Mostly sunny, 17–20°C
In which I wore sunblock and did not get roasted.
Blakeburn Lagoons Park
We returned to Blakeburn to take in the baby Grebes again and this time we arrived in the morning, which was apparently nap time, because all the waterfowl, Mallards, and Grebes alike, were mostly dozing. But after a short time they started stirring and soon enough the Grebelings began chasing a parent, desperate for food. We observed one getting a big ol’ fishy from the parent and watched as it horked it down in about three gulps.
We also saw a heron–but not a green one, just the great blue kind. It flew right past in front of us. I got a blurry action shot.
Elsewhere around the lagoon, we spied a Northern Flicker, a robin hanging out by a sewer grate and lots of pollinators. It was unofficial Pollinator Day.
At the second lagoon, we heard invisible frogs and once more saw a single American Coot, probably the same one we saw last week. It did a weird kind of coot bobbing thing a few times but mostly ate copious amounts of greenery, which at times looked more like something it was throwing up rather than nomming on.
In all, a nice beginning and I think I got better shots of the grebes this time, so woo for that.
Blackie Spit
We then spent 10 hours travelling south to Blackie Spit, thanks to Google Maps directing us to busy highway intersections without traffic lights and asking us to then turn left. Once there, we heard but didn’t see (or did we?) Savannah Sparrows, but we did get shots of a House Finch impersonating one. There were also a lot of sand wasps here, furiously digging burrows as they do.
We hoped for a repeat of seeing a California Scrub Jay after a guy on a scooter advised us of some in the area, but alas, we didn’t see any. We saw lots of pollinators again, though.
The tide was extremely low, which in itself made for some interesting scenery shots.
When we left, I marvelled at how my skin had not turned crimson.
Piper Spit, Burnaby Lake
We rounded out the day at Piper Spit, where the level of the lake was almost as high as the piles of seeds from all the criminal bird feeders. When not telling girls destined to be sociopaths not to kick at pigeons, we saw pigeons, blackbirds, and a Song Sparrow that kind of looked like it had exploded, but didn’t seem to mind. The ducks were mostly avoiding the pier and hanging out in Eagle Creek.
There were a lot of Canada Geese around and some of the babbies have become sullen teens with mostly adult colours and bad attitudes.
When we left, after silently cursing the people with seed, I was just grateful karma didn’t put us behind a 150-car train before we could head out.
But the weather was nice!
In all, a fine day with maybe a bit too much travelling (but no U-turns), but redeemed by all those grebes.
The Shots
All photos shot with a Canon EOS R7 with 18–150 mm kit lens and 100–400 mm telephoto unless otherwise noted.
Gallery coming soon™.
The Birds (and other critters)
Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:
- American Robin
- Cedar Waxwing
- Common Yellowthroat (heard, not seen)
- House Finch
- Northern Flicker
- Red-winged Blackbird
- Savannah Sparrow (heard)
- Song Sparrow
- Spotted Towhee
- Tree Swallow
Waterfowl and shorebirds:
- American Coot (probably the same one)
- Gadwall
- Great Blue Heron
- Mallard
- Pied-billed Grebe
- Wood Duck
Common:
- American Crow
- Another Glaucous-winged Gull
Raptors:
- Bald Eagle
Non-birds:
- Assorted pollinators
- Other bugs
- A few dragonflies
- An errant squirrel
- Frogs (heard frequently, seen never)