Where: Piper Spit, Burnaby Lake (Burnaby)
Weather: Cloudy, some sun, 9°C
Piper spit
Today’s trek was a bit shorter than usual due to a late start and me not feeling entirely skookum in the morning. I walked to Burnaby Lake, and we then walked from Cariboo Dam to Piper spit and to our delight, there were birbs on the way, specifically black-capped chickadees and plenty of ’em. We also saw some towhees, as well as various sparrows, which was a lot more than the last trip here.
We also saw the titular bunny, but it didn’t stay around long, due to a couple of people walking close by it. I got several lousy shots, though! (I did better with the chickadees.)
In another sign of spring, skunk cabbage is starting to pop up in the marshy spots alongside the trails. It isn’t quite to the point where it earns its name, but that will happen soon™.
At the spit, the better-than-forecast weather meant there were a fair number of people, but it was fine. The people were much better behaved than the waterfowl, who were rather nippy with each other. Several geese went full-on berserk. Spring fever, perhaps.
And I almost got a decent shot of a gull in flight. Almost. Maybe I’ll just focus on them for a bit one time and adjust settings to better capture them in the air.
I did get more good shots of some crows. Yeah, they’re just crows, but in the right light (which I got today) you can see a ton of detail in their feathers, rather than it all just being a spooky black blur. And I enjoy taking shots of “ordinary” birds, always hoping to catch them doing something weird.
In all, it was a fine outing, even if it was a bit more compact than usual. The only thing I really missed was getting a shot of a squirrel being adorable. Maybe next time, when I show up completely covered in nuts.
Side note: Efforts to revive my old one have failed, so I am tottes looking for a replacement now. I did discover the camera still shoots and records video, though, so I could still use it to become a world-famous vlogger.
The Shots
Theoretically possible
The Birds (and other critters)
Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:
- American robin
- Black-capped chickadee
- Bufflehead
- Dark-eyed Junco
- Fox sparrow
- Golden-crowned sparrow
- Red-winged blackbird
- Song sparrow
- Spotted towhee
Waterfowl and shorebirds:
- American coot
- Bufflehead
- Canada goose
- Green-winged teal
- Mallard
- Northern pintail
- Sandhill crane
- Scaup
- Wood duck
Common:
- American crow
- Assorted gulls
- Rock pigeon
Raptors:
- None!
Non-birds:
- A bunny (that didn’t stick around long)!
