Where: Reifel Bird Sanctuary (Delta), Iona Beach (Richmond) Weather: Sunny, 12-21C
The Outing
The day started bright and early at Reifel, and it was indeed bright–a clear and ultimately warm (possibly record-setting) sunny day.
We immediately got shots of hummingbirds as several duelled or took turns going to the feeders, then moved on to find a lot of the usual birds not in the usual spots, or just absent altogether. We only saw a single pair of wood ducks, which is kind of weird, and the Canada geese were keeping themselves confined to several specific areas instead of going wherever they wanted, as they usually do.
And Chickadee Country was now Chickadee Empire. I have never before and may never again take so many shots of chickadees. To say it was a target-rich environment would be an understatement–they were everywhere, and in large numbers, so large that they seemed unconcerned by our stinky human presence, making it possible to get some very close-up shots.
The blackbirds were also ever-present, and eating seeds in their usual “wear all the food on your face” manner, which makes for great pics.
The four avocets were still in the big main pond, but were a little too far from shore to get good shots, alas. We did have better luck with the mostly-snoozing yellowlegs near the entrance, plus one that had again gone rogue and was looking for food along the shore of an inner pond, mingling with the ducks and geese.
We also saw a turtle, and for a time were confused about which end was its butt. This happens when you can pull your body parts into a shell.
Some new arrivals included fox sparrows and a ring-necked duck, plus the snow geese are back, though we only saw them far off in the distance.
After wrapping up at Reifel, we headed to Iona Beach, where the tide was…in! This was very unusual for us, and it meant the odds of seeing shorebirds were low and the odds of walking out on the tidal flats were zero, unless you wanted to wade in up to your hips (spoiler: I did a variation on this later in our visit).
The pond area did not yield much, save for some b;blackbirds, but we saw a nice selection of sparrows along the trail that leads toward the north jetty. Feeling saucy due to the summer-like weather, we pressed on farther than usual, to the first cut in the jetty that was put in to allow salmon and other fish to pass through.
After getting shots of gulls and scenery and things, we turned around for our long journey back to the car. Because the tide was in, we only had a narrow strip of shore to walk along. I walked a little close to the tide washing up a few times, getting my feet a little damp, then grossly miscalculated one stretch and got my feet just plain soaked.
In a way, it was a relief, because it meant I no longer had to be careful and could just stomp through the tide like a little kid. Which I did. We reached one area where we had to ascend up and over bramble and logs to continue through, and this is where Nic’s leg met a sharp thorn for the second bird outing in a row. The blood sacrifice made, we ventured on without further injury.
In the end, we both got some very nice shots, equally struggled with focus issues (with the cameras, not with what we were doing), but enjoyed being out on what was really a glorious early fall day.
The Shots
The Birds (and other critters)
Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:
- American blackbird
- American robin
- Anna’s hummingbird
- Black-capped chickadee
- Fox sparrow
- Golden-crowned sparrow
- House finch
- House sparrow
- Northern flicker (probably)
- Savannah sparrow
- Song sparrow
- Spotted towhee
- White-throated sparrow
- Yellow-rumped warbler
Waterfowl:
- American avocet
- American coot
- American wigeon
- Canada goose
- Cormorants (a pair flying overhead)
- Great blue heron
- Greater yellowlegs
- Green-winged teal
- Mallard
- Northern pintail
- Northern shoveler
- Ring-necked duck
Wood duck
Common:
- American crow
- Glaucous-winged gull
- Ring-billed gull
- Rock pigeon
Raptors:
- Bald eagle
- Northern harrier
Non-birds:
- Black squirrels
- Various aircraft
- Wasps
