Birding – creolened.com

In which I got a slight sunburn!

Where: Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Boundary Bay
Weather: Sunny, 15ºC

The Outing

The weather for today was unusually mild–it got up to 17C in New Westminster and was around 14-15C at peak at Reifel and Boundary Bay, with little of the wind we saw last time. This is actually record-breaking territory, and one of the few exposed part of my body (the back of my neck) actually got a little sunburned. It’s still technically winter!

The sun meant for lots of light, which was a nice change, but also presented issues with shadows we haven’t had to deal with lately. Still, it was a treat to both have bright light and mild temperatures.

There was some work in the waterway being done near the entrance, with heavy equipment and steel plates being inserted into the water, but I can’t find anything about the work on the official site. I am guessing they are reconfiguring the layout of some of these smaller water bodies for some reason. We were going to ask a staff member, but they were busy helping others. A semi-mystery for now!

Boundary Bay was a complete 180º from the last visit–calm and mild. People were on the golf course wearing t-shirts. In March!

Both Reifel and Boundary Bay yielded a few seasonal returns, notably tree swallows. We did not see a Rufous hummingbird at Reifel, despite the official site confirming their presence, much to Nic’s dismay. But we did spot both a marsh and Bewick’s wren (I got a few decent shots of the latter).

We also observed a weird Sandhill crane, who I figured was going through a rebellious teen phase. There were three cranes alongside the southwest trail and one of them was constantly vocalizing. It then split from the others to come up directly onto the trail ahead of us. The others eventually followed. After a few minutes, the surly teen took off and flew around, landing in the large pond west of the trail. It then made its way back and didn’t quite rejoin the others, staying slightly back because it was obviously too cool for its (possible) parents. It finally joined them and we made our way past the gang.

Also, the geese were back and everywhere, honking and blatting as is their way. A lot of them appeared to be paired up for some sweet spring lovin’. Baby poopmonsters inbound!

The Shots

Immature bald eagle acting totally mature

We rarely see birds near the bird blinds, but this time a great blue heron was on a log right on the other side of one blind

Sandhill crane. Not heard: its constant vocalizations. It had a lot to say.

A differently-coloured towhee, standing in a chicken pose

Plane landing at Boundary Bay Airport. Yes, that is heat shimmer, something I wouldn’t expect to see on the second-to-last day of winter.

The Birds (and other critters)

All birds seen at Reifel Bird Sanctuary unless otherwise noted.

Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:

American robin
Anna’s hummingbird
Bewick’s wren (rare)
Blackbird
Black-capped chickadee
Dark-eyed junco
Golden-crowned sparrow
Marsh wren (semi-rare)
Song sparrow
Spotted towhee

Raptors:

Bald eagle
Northern harrier

Waterfowl:

American coot
American wigeon
Bufflehead duck
Canada goose
Gadwall
Great blue heron
Green-winged teal
Hooded merganser
Lesser scaup
Mallard
Northern pintail
Northern shoveler
Sandhill crane
Wood duck

Common:

Crow
Pigeon
Seagull

Non-birds:

Black squirrel
Gray squirrel

Let’s try something new! And by “let’s” I mean me because ain’t no one else writing this.

Most Saturdays I go birding with Nic. Starting with this post, I’ll recount each birding outing: Where we went, the conditions, some photos (of course), and what we saw.

And now, the inaugural entry:

Where: Piper Spit (Burnaby Lake Regional Park), Colony Farm Regional Park
Weather: Cloudy, occasional drizzle, around 8ºC

The Outing

The forecast was not looking great–about a 50-60% chance of showers, but apart from a few drops here and there, the rain held off, and the sun even tried to come out a few times. It was breezy both at Piper spit and Colony Farm, so it felt a little cooler than the actual 8ºC.

We encountered a fairly significant number of birds heading from the dam to Piper spit, including a rare sighting of a varied thrush dining out on a tree stump normally occupied by squirrels. We also saw some kinglets, but alas, I was unable to get any shots beyond “this blurry butt is definitely on some kind of feathered creature.”

At the spit, we saw the usual crowd, but also what might have been a hermaphrodite mallard, showing both female and male characteristics. The giant flocks of seagulls were down to just a few this time, though I’m unsure why, and the number of dowitchers was also down, though they were in their usual (current spot) just west of the pier.

At Colony Farm we observed blackbirds possibly gathering nesting material, but the biggest surprise there came at the very end, in one of the small creeks: a muskrat. I can’t remember the last time I saw one.

The Shots