Birding, September 27, 2025: Pretty boys

Where: Blackie Spit/Crescent Beach (Surrey), Piper Spit, Burnaby Lake (Burnaby)
Weather: Clouds and sun, 18°C

Blackie Spit/Crescent Beach

One of the creeks south of the spit itself.

We have had issues with parking at Blackie Spit before, but figured with the weather looking rather gray, that would not be a problem today. We were wrong! But it wasn’t just the regular crowd, there was a rowing event and the boats were hogging up a chunk of the main parking lot and the entire secondary lot, so we ended up parking near the Sunflower Café, just like the last time we had problems finding parking here.

This turned out to be a good thing, as it led us to discovering a lifer! Blackie Spit itself did not yield many birds, though we did see some juncos, chickadees and a house cat strolling the beach like it owned the place.

We also thought we saw the first massive flock of snow geese for the season. Nic gave a man and his kid a rundown on them. They were quite far off, but even across the bay we could hear them. When we looked at our photos later, we discovered they were actually Canada geese, just in super large numbers. Whoops!

The star, though, was as we were leaving, through a different-than-usual route. We heard some very loud chattering that Nic first thought was a squirrel, because they can sound weirdly bird-like when they want to. But no, this was an actual bird, blue and white, and with a jay vibe happening. Merlin confirmed it was a California scrub-jay. It was very pretty, as well as loud, and posed a fair bit before flying off. Technically it was north of its usual range, though we later found they have been seen before in the Lower Mainland and some parts north. Neat!

As an added bonus, the weather was much better than expected, with some sun and mild temperatures.

Piper Spit, Burnaby Lake

Cloudy and (feeling) cool at Burnaby Lake.

We did not see any new arrivals at Piper spit and by the time we got there, the sky had clouded over again and while the reported temperature was 18C, it did not feel like 18C.

Still, we did see multiple coots, a pair of wood ducks with the male doting on the female, a pile of snoozing dowitchers (a little too far off, boo), a twisty heron, and a bush packed full of blackbirds. The butterfly garden is pretty much done for the season, so no pollinators there. The male mallards are looking shiny again.

And only one family was feeding the birds this time, which is actually an improvement.

In all, not bad for the first birding of the fall. The lifer–and the excellent shots we got of it–made it totes worthwhile.

The Shots

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

A few shots:

The lifer: A handsome California scrub-jay.
Male wood duck being affectionate.
Song sparrow on the hunt for seed.

The Birds (and other critters)

Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:

  • Black-capped chickadee
  • California scrub-jay (lifer!)
  • Dark-eyed junco
  • Red-winged blackbird
  • Song sparrow
  • White-crowned sparrow

Waterfowl and shorebirds:

  • American coot (Three!)
  • Canada goose (one billion)
  • Great blue heron
  • Green-winged teal
  • Long-billed dowitcher
  • Mallard
  • Wood duck

Common:

  • American crow
  • Rock pigeon
  • Ring-billed gull

Raptors:

  • None

Non-birds:

  • A ton (probably several) of sea lions (!)
  • A hover fly
  • Several squirrels
  • A sassy house cat

Run 969: Bear-free by the river

Brunette River, pre-run: A growing mix of early fall colours.

I awoke to find my watch telling me it was a Rest Day. Apparently my body had agreed, because I accidentally slept in a little.

But I decided to defy my watch and ran, anyway. I chose to run on the river trail because:

  • It’s an easier route
  • Significantly less walking to get there and back (4 km vs up to 13 km)
  • No bear sighting there yet–and line of sight is excellent, unlike the lake and its frequent blind corners and bends

I mean, I wasn’t super paranoid that I’d literally run into a bear, but I had enough other reasons to run the river trail to warrant the switch.

I started out at a moderate pace and unlike recent runs, I did not get progressively faster. Well, I did, but only until the 4K mark. I actually slowed a bit on the final lap, because my body seemingly wanted to start treating the rest of the day as a Rest Day at that point.

Conditions were decent, with humidity a bit lower and sweating lower as well.

I saw a few people walking, a couple of them with dogs (all on leash, yay), but I don’t think I saw anyone else running. It was pretty quiet, which was not a surprise, given the weather (the sky did not look friendly, though it remained dry for the run).

In all, a decent wrap-up to the week. I now prepare for more fall weather, with attendant soggy conditions, cooler temperatures and leaves all over the place.

The river, post-run, looking to the west.

Stats:

Run 969
Average pace: 5:47/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Brunette River Trail
Start: 11:05 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:04
Weather: Cloudy
Temp: 14-15°C
Humidity: 82-78%
Wind: light
BPM: 148
Weight: 162.9 pounds
Total distance to date: 6,675 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (270/605/875)

Music: Billy Joel (shuffle)

Only three months till Christmas!

It always feels weird to say this while I’m still going outside wearing shorts and t-shirts.

Still, you can sense the imminent collision of Halloween and Christmas items and related bric-a-brac coming to store shelves so very soon.

Run 968: Boardwalk bear

View from Cariboo Dam, pre-run. Slightly warmer, sunny and a little more humid.

Today’s run was almost an exact mirror of Monday’s, with an identical overall pace of 5:43/km and only one second difference in overall time. Kind of weird!

Also weird was how I did not see any regulars again, though almost every runner I passed waved, so it was an extra-friendly outing.

I’d been feeling the Baker’s cyst since Monday’s run, so was mulling various scenarios, ranging from not running, to running the river trail and so on. In the end I did a full loop as per usual and it was fine. I followed my pattern of late, where the first two km are slower, then the last three get significantly faster. The knee was feeling a bit stiff after, but is recovering nicely post-run, so I’m not overly concerned.

Conditions were similar to Monday, but it was a bit warmer and more humid. This might explain my higher BPM of 153 (also, the CCW route is a bit tougher than CW, due to overall elevation).

Oh, and the bear! I had finished the run and was approaching the second boardwalk. A little ways before the boardwalk, I spotted fresh droppings right in the middle of the trail (coyotes and bears always do this), so I was on Bear Alert™. Sure enough, I rounded a corner and there was a sizeable black bear right at the end of the boardwalk, snuffling around for berries or something. It didn’t notice me–I was probably about 30–40 feet away, so I quietly backed up, then lightly jogged back to where the trail splits and detoured along the Freeway Trail, which is precisely as scenic as it sounds. Observe:

Towers! Wires! Traffic! It’s the Freeway Trail.

EDIT: I have now added another bear map, to illustrate approximate distance between me and the bear. Per Google Maps, it was probably around 60 feet when I spotted it.

A little blurry because I zoomed in all the way. ENHANCE. Figures not to scale, otherwise I’d be like 20 feet tall here.

While I would prefer my runs to be bear-free, they have at least been courteous enough to not show up until after my run is complete. There’s probably a decent chance of more sightings for the next month or so yet.

Still, bear or not, this was a fine mid-week effort.

Rowing pavilion, post-run. Smooth and reflective! Also, no bears.

Stats:

Run 968
Average pace: 5:43/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 9:52 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:44
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 15-16°C
Humidity: 88-84%
Wind: light
BPM: 153
Weight: 164.3 pounds
Total distance to date: 6,670 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (265/601/866)

Music: Jonathan Coulton (shuffle)

Fall shmall

Taken this afternoon. It was sunny (as you can see) and got up to 24C, like it was still summer!

(If the forecast is accurate, this may change soon, but I’ll hang onto it for now.)

I would have shot the view to the east as well, but there was a guy sunbathing on a chaise on the river’s exposed gravel.

Run 967: A sunny start to fall

View from Cariboo Dam, pre-run: Clear skies, cooler temperatures.

Today is the first day of fall and fittingly, it was 14C for the run, my coolest start in quite a while. But not too cool. And definitely not Fonzie cool.

Going clockwise for a change, right from the 0K marker, I started out slower as has been the pattern of late, but not as slow as Friday. I also finished faster (5:23/km), so my overall pace improved to 5:43/km. Even better, the cooler temperature allowed me to lower my BPM to 147. Nice.

I didn’t experience any issues during the run. The back of the right knee felt a bit sore walking home, but it resolved fairly quickly. I will inspect for fluid later, as I’m in full lazy mode now.

Weirdly, I did not see any of the regular runners again. Maybe they all run clockwise, too. I did see one guy running with his shirt off. I would not do that, even if I had killer abs. Well, maybe if I had killer abs.

Anyway, a good start to the week and to Fall 2025.

For a change of pace, the lake as seen from the turtle nesting area, post-run.

Stats:

Run 967
Average pace: 5:43/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CW)
Start: 9:06 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 28:45
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 14°C
Humidity: 84-81%
Wind: light
BPM: 147
Weight: 164.3 pounds
Total distance to date: 6,665 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (260/588/848)

Music: Pop Stuff (playlist)

Dark patterns and Windows 11 (and Samsung and OneDrive)

This is a story that is:

  • A breathtaking example of dark patterns and how not asking for consent from a user can lead to a tech-related catastrophe filled with bogus warnings and alerts.
  • A neat tale of dogged perseverance beyond what most people would do, with connecting-the-dots and searching saving the day.
  • A sad testament to what a big ol’ pile of poop Windows has become in its latest incarnation. For every good feature, it feels like there are two user-hostile ones added.

My own experience with Windows 11 has increasingly soured since its debut, which is a neat trick, considering an OS normally starts out kind of janky and unstable when it launches and smooths out over time. Instead, Windows 11 has become both increasingly fragile and obnoxious, with ads, dark patterns and AI shoved into every corner of it, even basic apps like Paint and Notepad.

Anyway, here’s the story of how OneDrive going rogue almost nuked someone’s Windows 11 installation. Enjoy!

Run 966: Birthday bunnies and snakes

View from Cariboo Dam, pre-run. Pretty much like Monday, just Friday.

Today’s run was on a birthday, which is no big deal, but I was also dealing with some other baggage unrelated to my age, which was a bigger deal. At one point my Pop Stuff playlist played “Janie’s Got a Gun” by Aerosmith and the chorus of, “Run away, run away from the pain” was a bit on the nose.

I ended the first km at exactly 6:00/km and resigned myself to a slower run, but instead I managed to do a repeat of Monday and got faster as I went along, ending with 5:47/km overall, only one second off from Monday. Speaking of Monday, the conditions, start time, pace and pretty much everything else was nearly identical. A little weird.

But as a bonus, I saw three (!) guys running topless, something I did not expect to see at the tail end of summer. I also saw a cute brown bunny before it hopped back into the brush, plus a cute baby garter snake slithering across the trail while I was running. Shortly after I saw a full-grown snake near the side of the trail. It didn’t react to my presence, so I’m hoping it was just dozing and not, like, entering snake heaven.

I also saw fresh droppings, but no bears, coyotes or bobcats.

In terms of how I felt, I experienced no issues, everything held together. I skipped the run on Wednesday because my watch said Rest Day and I decided to obey, but it seems I’ve at least maintained after skipping it.

And now the weekend.

Still Creek, post-run. The early signs of fall are now starting to show.

Stats:

Run 966
Average pace: 5:47/km
Training status: Maintaining
Location: Burnaby Lake (CCW)
Start: 9:56 a.m.
Distance: 5.03 km
Time: 29:06
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 17-18°C
Humidity: 80-75%
Wind: light
BPM: 153
Weight: 163.8 pounds
Total distance to date: 6,660 km
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255 Music, iPhone 12, AirPods (3rd generation)
Shoes: ASICS Trabuco Terra 2 (255/575/830)

Music: Pop Stuff (playlist)

My birthday: It’s like 16 Candles but reversed

Also, I never saw the movie 18 Candles, and apparently it has not aged well at all.

I, on the other hand, have aged reasonably well.

A curious side effect of abandoning all major social media platforms is none of my internet pals remembered my birthday, because normally Facebook just slaps a reminder in front of them. A small price to pay to be free of FB and its ilk.

Today will be like most Fridays–a run and then tacos for dinner. Which is better than tacos and the runs after. :drum:

Also, a final note: I have not been posting much lately because the site has suddenly gotten super-slow and crashy. Dreamhost support gave me some tips but basically said it’s on me to fix, though they did note that a lot more bots are scraping my site. Thanks, AI!

Also, I lied, here’s the real final note. I did a search on a cake with too many candles on it. There were many results, but I kind of like this one for the heroic attempt and the obvious compression artifacts, like it was made in 1997.

A few photos from Sapperton Landing, September 16, 2025

Also, it was weirdly hot for the middle of September, getting up to 28 or 29C today and feeling like 30C or higher. There was a pleasant breeze down at Sapperton Landing, so it actually didn’t feel too bad there.

I was going to take some scenery shots with my camera, but I brilliantly left both of my SD cards on my computer desk, so a couple of phone photos will suffice now1.

Fish mosaic, heavily post-processed in Luminar to surface all the mad detailz.
Was this plaque stolen? Removed for cleaning? I do not know, but hey, log boom, tugboat and river behind it!
A kooky 16:9 crop of a tugboat and log boom, with the Port Mann birdge in the background.
  1. Speaking of my phone, with the recent introduction of the iPhone 17 series, I am now officially five generations behind. Take that, Tim Apple, you would-be-dictator appeaser! ↩︎