birds

Reifel Bird Sanctuary, September 11, 2022

The smoke haze of yesterday was still present, but eased up a bit, affording us decent light for our bird outing. Here are a few shots.

Greater yellowlegs and friends
Pretty boy.
Chickadee resting for a few moments

Others were out grabbing shots. You can see the smoke haze in this photo.

Big boat, little boat, from Deas Island. Again, the smoke haze has made the sky white instead of blue.

Birdtopia: Rocky Point Park, Colony Farm and Burnaby Lake

We did a triple-header today and saw a bunch of birds. Here are a few, from the super common to one I’ve never seen before.

As the crow flies.
Goose, goose, goose, goose.
The best shot of a killdeer I’ve gotten yet. They do not actually kill deer.
This gull went into full “Look at me!” mode and stayed that way for quite a while.
Shine on, you crazy wood duck.
And the new bird, a green heron! It acted very heron-like but is much smaller than the blue herons we normally see here.
Bonus shot of the green heron.

Ducking out

I strolled along Sapperton Landing this afternoon and took photos of birds, boats and bodies of water, among other things. It was peaceful and relaxing.

Here are a pair of ducks on a very brightly-lit log.

BC Day 2022 recap: Birds, birds and no parking

We hit four (!) places yesterday. It was still warm, but not quite Africa hot at 28C. Humidity is still weirdly high and gross. The birding went like so:

  • Burnaby Lake. Much busier than usual, but expected on a statutory holiday. A family showed us a photo they had on a phone of some critter they’d seen and asked if we could identify it. In 10+ years of running, walking and taking photos at Burnaby Lake, I had never seen the creature in question. It looked a bit like a ferret or a marmot with a dog’s head. It was weird. We saw a white mallard at Piper Spit, too, so it was a day for odd sightings, apparently.
  • Colony Farm. We did not see much here and the humidity was oppressive, even if the sun was screened a lot by high cloud. We did see an Eastern king bird, but the cedar waxwings that were in abundance last visit were completely gone.
  • Como Lake. We were driving by, and I’d never been, so we stopped by. This is a small urban (though natural) lake with a one km path around it, so it didn’t take long to check out. Got some nice scenery shots, but only saw a few ducks. They had temporary fencing/netting on one side of the lake at entry points into the water to discourage geese from hanging around, due to their “excessive numbers.” It must be working, because we didn’t see a single goose there.
  • Rocky Point in Port Moody. We tried to visit here, but could not find any parking in the available lots or nearby streets. The smart people walked in or took transit. We ended up leaving without even stopping. Sad trombone.

Here’s a shot of the white mallard and its entourage:

A shot in the park

Specifically, Burnaby Lake Regional Park.

I decided to get some exercise on a non-run day by walking to Piper Spit at Burnaby Lake (about a 12 km round-trip from my place). I took my camera in order to shoot many and assorted bird shots.

When I got there and opened my camera bag, the spot normally occupied by my camera was not occupied at all. Because I had left the camera back on my desk.

Whoops.

I took a few shots with the iPhone while I was there, then made my way back home (it was 32C by the time I got back, definitely an Africa Hot kind of day). I will now remember to actually check my camera bag before leaving, so lesson learned.

I took mostly scenery shots, and a seagull photobombed one of them. Here it is:

Brunette-Fraser Regional Greenway, June 30, 2022

It was a perfect summer afternoon (rather than 32C) so I spent an hour or so strolling the path around Sapperton Landing and environs. Here are a few shots.

View looking across the Fraser River toward Surrey.
High gloss waxed leaves.
Great blue heron stalking in the marshy shallows.
Song sparrow doing what song sparrows do.
Seaspan Tempest plying the waters, with the Port Mann bridge in the background.
Song sparrow alert in the grass.
Tree swallow taking a break.
Female cowbird atop a rusty pole.

Reifel Bird Sanctuary, June 4, 2022

In which the weather, which called for light showers, turned out to remain dry and the sun even came out for a bit. Nice!

Here are a few pics from the day.

This sandhill crane was maybe getting territorial when some geese got too close, and started freaking out a bit and doing a funky dance.

Baby duck being adorably cute.

A rare turtle sighting. It then had the clever idea to climb over the log and promptly flipped itself upside down. Nic turned it right side up, and it made it safely into the water.

My first shot of an American goldfinch.

My first shot of the elusive marsh wren.