Blakeburn Lagoons Park

Birding, July 4, 2026: Greedy Grebelings gobbling goodies

July 6, 2026

Where: Blakeburn Lagoons Park (Port Coquitlam), Blackie Spit (Surrey), Piper Spit, Burnaby Lake (Burnaby) 
Weather: Mostly sunny, 17–20°C

In which I wore sunblock and did not get roasted.

One of the lagoons, framed by wildflowers.

We returned to Blakeburn to take in the baby Grebes again and this time we arrived in the morning, which was apparently nap time, because all the waterfowl, Mallards, and Grebes alike, were mostly dozing. But after a short time they started stirring and soon enough the Grebelings began chasing a parent, desperate for food. We observed one getting a big ol’ fishy from the parent and watched as it horked it down in about three gulps.

We also saw a heron–but not a green one, just the great blue kind. It flew right past in front of us. I got a blurry action shot.

Elsewhere around the lagoon, we spied a Northern Flicker, a robin hanging out by a sewer grate and lots of pollinators. It was unofficial Pollinator Day.

At the second lagoon, we heard invisible frogs and once more saw a single American Coot, probably the same one we saw last week. It did a weird kind of coot bobbing thing a few times but mostly ate copious amounts of greenery, which at times looked more like something it was throwing up rather than nomming on.

In all, a nice beginning and I think I got better shots of the grebes this time, so woo for that.

Blackie Spit

We then spent 10 hours travelling south to Blackie Spit, thanks to Google Maps directing us to busy highway intersections without traffic lights and asking us to then turn left. Once there, we heard but didn’t see (or did we?) Savannah Sparrows, but we did get shots of a House Finch impersonating one. There were also a lot of sand wasps here, furiously digging burrows as they do.

We hoped for a repeat of seeing a California Scrub Jay after a guy on a scooter advised us of some in the area, but alas, we didn’t see any. We saw lots of pollinators again, though.

The tide was extremely low, which in itself made for some interesting scenery shots.

When we left, I marvelled at how my skin had not turned crimson.

Piper Spit, Burnaby Lake

We rounded out the day at Piper Spit, where the level of the lake was almost as high as the piles of seeds from all the criminal bird feeders. When not telling girls destined to be sociopaths not to kick at pigeons, we saw pigeons, blackbirds, and a Song Sparrow that kind of looked like it had exploded, but didn’t seem to mind. The ducks were mostly avoiding the pier and hanging out in Eagle Creek.

There were a lot of Canada Geese around and some of the babbies have become sullen teens with mostly adult colours and bad attitudes.

When we left, after silently cursing the people with seed, I was just grateful karma didn’t put us behind a 150-car train before we could head out.

But the weather was nice!

In all, a fine day with maybe a bit too much travelling (but no U-turns), but redeemed by all those grebes.

The Shots

All photos shot with a Canon EOS R7 with 18–150 mm kit lens and 100–400 mm telephoto unless otherwise noted.

Gallery coming soon™.

The Birds (and other critters)

Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:

American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
Common Yellowthroat (heard, not seen)
House Finch
Northern Flicker
Red-winged Blackbird
Savannah Sparrow (heard)
Song Sparrow
Spotted Towhee
Tree Swallow

Waterfowl and shorebirds:

American Coot (probably the same one)
Gadwall
Great Blue Heron
Mallard
Pied-billed Grebe
Wood Duck

Common:

American Crow
Another Glaucous-winged Gull

Raptors:

Bald Eagle

Non-birds:

Assorted pollinators
Other bugs
A few dragonflies
An errant squirrel
Frogs (heard frequently, seen never)

Birding, June 27, 2026: Barns, bees, benches, birds, boats, bogs, bugs, butterflies, and a lobster

July 3, 2026

Where: DeBoville Slough, Blakeburn Lagoons Park (Port Coquitlam), Alouette River/Trans Canada Trail (Pitt Meadows) 
Weather: Mostly sunny, 17-22°C

Spoiler: I forgot to wear sunscreen. I am the lobster.

DeBoville Slough

We previously visited the slough in extremes of heat and cold, but today it was in the Goldilocks zone of just right, if Goldilocks was into sloughs instead of stealing porridge from bears. By the way, we did not see any bears, but we did see frequent reminders of bears along the trail, one of which Nic shot because he loves poop. Just kidding, there was a butterfly on it. I opted to go meta and took a photo of him taking a photo of the poop (with a butterfly on it).

Nic shoots the poop:

Once more, we heard yellowthroats, but never got any photos. They are as elusive as the Sasquatch, albeit a lot noisier. In general, birds were a bit tricky to shoot due to distance or foliage, but sometimes they’d sit out nicely on the topmost branch of a tree or something.

Cedar Waxwings were in relative abundance, looking snazzy and elegant as always. We watched one snatching a spider atop a tree.

Waterfowl were either tucked away among lily pads or absent, but we did spy a few Mallards and Wood Ducks.

And when there were no birds, the scenery was always gorgeous.

Blakeburn Lagoons Park

Lagoon view, with housing in the distance.

Second spoiler: We did not see any Green Herons. Or any other herons, actually.

But we were treated to two different families of Pied-billed Grebes, the babbies looking weird and adorable with their striking stripe-covered heads. One in particular was almost constantly glued to the parent, begging to be fed. Eventually the parent swam off and returned with a fish that wasn’t so much transferred to the baby Grebe as it was snatched so quickly the best camera EVAR would have been challenged to capture the moment. The baby immediately started begging for more.

The other Pied-billed Grebe family was tightly clustered, as were five photographers shooting them with their mega-lenses. This is how we knew something might be up–always look for The Gathering of Mega-Lenses. One of the parents dove and came up with a rather large fish that could not be swallowed up by any of the babies, so it just sort of passed it around for nibbling. At one point it dropped the fish, but after a few attempts, managed a recovery, to the delight of the insatiable babbies.

We also saw a fair number of dragonflies here and most surprisingly, in one of the lagoons, swimming near a Mallard–a lone coot! Have they returned early? Did they never really go away but just cleverly hid? Is this a rogue coot who never left? I guess we’ll know if we start seeing others. I normally haven’t observed them returning until August.

Alouette River/Trans Canada Trail

The birds were leanest along the Alouette River, but we did watch an Osprey flying down the river, looking down for yummies, and got to see horses, rustic boats and plenty of pleasant scenery. We also saw a Cybertruck, as if to remind us the world can also be cruel. This was offset by a White-crowned Sparrow singing on a post.

In all, a pleasant and step-rich day of birding, marred only by me being silly and forgetting the sunblock. I VOW TO NEVER FORGET SUNBLOCK AGAIN.

The Shots

All photos shot with a Canon EOS R7 with 18–150 mm kit lens and 100-400 mm telephoto unless otherwise noted.

Gallery coming soon™.

The Birds (and other critters)

Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:

American Robin
Barn swallow (possibly)
Black-capped Chickadee
Black-headed Grosbeak
Cedar Waxwing
Cliff Swallow (maybe)
Common Yellowthroat (heard, not seen)
Northern Flicker
Purple Finch
Red-winged Blackbird
Savannah Sparrow (heard)
Song Sparrow
Spotted Towhee
Swainson’s Thrush (heard, according to Merlin)
White-crowned Sparrow
Willow Flycatcher

Waterfowl and shorebirds:

American Coot (!)
Double-crested Cormorant
Gadwall
Mallard
Pied-billed Grebe
Wood Duck

Common:

American Crow
A Glaucous-winged Gull

Raptors:

Bald Eagle
Osprey

Non-birds:

Assorted pollinators
Copious dragonflies
Frogs (heard frequently, seen never)

Birding, January 24, 2026: Also know as Brr-ding

January 25, 2026

Where: DeBoville Slough, Blakeburn Lagoons Park (Port Coquitlam), Tlahutum Regional Park (Coquitlam)
Weather: Sunny, -2-5°C

The temperature started out below freezing, but thanks to sun, little wind and warm pockets, it didn’t feel too cold as we headed north and east for today’s birding. We had planned on going to Reifel, but they remain closed after a boat struck the only bridge to Westham Island last week. It’s looking like we may have to explore other places for some time.

DeBoville Slough

The first spot was a return to DeBoville Slough, on the north trail. We were here last summer, so the scenery is a lot more austere now. The freezing temperatures did help make things pretty, with vegetation and trees in shaded areas covered in frost and some of the waterways iced over.

And birds. We saw more birds than I expected, with towhees especially well-represented. The main item on the menu for them and others were berries that survive and grow in the winter. There is nothing quite like a towhee sitting on a naked branch, its red eye staring out, while it clutches a full, round berry in its bill. And I got that shot!

Other than the birds, a lot of people were out, too. Again, sunny weather in January is probably enough for most, regardless of temperature.

Some of the birds we spotted were deeper in the trees and proved elusive, like a Steller’s Jay and a Marsh Wren that Nic managed to get one shot of, but we still had lots of scenery to shoot as backup.

We did not see any bears because they are sleeping, and the osprey nest on the Pitt River is understandably empty, but it was nice to return and see the slough in a different mood.

Blakeburn Lagoons Park

We next went back to Blakeburn Lagoons, which remains a nicely compact pair of water bodies you can walk around fairly quickly if you need to just bird ‘n go. A lot of the water here was frozen, but in a few spots we did see some mallards and a surprise Northern Shoveller. While a Green Heron remained elusive, we were treated to a Varied Thrush a couple of times, allowing us to get some good shots, along with an Anna’s Hummingbird that was claiming half the place, and a single but very vocal chickadee.

Tlahutum Regional Park

By the time we got to Tlahutum, the light was turning golden and it was very golden when we left, shortly before sunset. Again, the waterways here were a mix of open and frozen, though most of the main pond was frozen. The open part was at the far end, alas, so the waterfowl were all gathered there because they aren’t going to walk all over the icy surface for our amusement and pleasure.

We saw a lot of the usual birds here and a couple of odder sights, such as an appropriately-named murder of crows harassing a bald eagle, a flock of Canad geese flying in a classic V-formation, then shifting into more of a Silly String formation, without any particular goose leading them. But mostly, voles.

Tlahutum is the kind of spot where voles–small rodents related to hamsters–are likely to hang out, as it has a number of large, grassy expanses. It’s also why we often see eagles or raptors here, as voles are bite-sized snacks for them. But I had never seen an actual vole until today. Then I saw all of them.

Along the first trail into the park, there is a tall wild grass on both sides. Right now it is yellow and flattened down for the winter, but on the trail edges, shorter green grass and vegetation is still growing. And it seems that a whole pile of Meadow Voles know this. We spotted one, then another, then an entire platoon, or whatever you call a bunch of voles. Each would have its own little burrow in the tall grass and would dash out to the trail edge to eat the green grass, then dash back under cover. They did not seem especially perturbed by people, waiting mere moments for someone to pass before returning to nibble. And they may have felt safer with the crows deciding the best use of their time was to pester and chase the one eagle in the area.

They are also very cute, if you find hamsters or hamster-like animals cute.

I wonder if we will see them as the weather warms and the wild grass grows tall again.

We stayed close until sunset and ended with some final shots of the sun going down.

In all, a fine day and an enjoyable alternative to Reifel.

The Shots

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

Gadwall quack (I actually couldn’t hear anything).

A Spotted Towhee haz berry, as the kids say.

Gallery soon™.

The Birds (and other critters)

Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:

American Robin
Anna’s Hummingbird
Black-capped Chickadee
Dark-eyed Junco
Fox Sparrow (maybe)
Golden-crowned Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Spotted Towhee
Steller’s Jay
Varied Thrush

Waterfowl and shorebirds:

American Wigeon
Belted Kingfisher (probably)
Bufflehead
Canada Goose
Gadwall
Great Blue Heron
Hooded Merganser
Mallard
Marsh Wren
Northern Shoveller
Wood Duck

Common:

American Crow
Assorted gulls

Raptors:

Bald Eagle

Non-birds:

A million Meadow Voles

Birding, August 30, 2025: Merry Cootmas!

September 1, 2025

Where: Maplewood Flats (North Vancouver), Blakeburn Lagoons Park (Port Coquitlam), Tlahutum Regional Park (Coquitlam), Piper Spit, Burnaby Lake (Burnaby)
Weather: Sunny, 21-24°C

Maplewood Flats

It was birding all over the place today. The only thing missing was the birbs. We heard a few and eventually saw a few, but it was mostly waterfowl and the like as songbirds seemed to prefer hiding away on what was a very humid day.

We began at Maplewood Flats and saw and heard a few chickadees, spotted some cormorants offshore, and a few gulls, but a promised sandpiper remained elusive. The scenery is always nice here, though.

Blakeburn Lagoons Park

One of the two lagoons. They were replete with ducks, some herons (none green) and a single goose.

We went to Blakeburn Lagoons to search for the elusive green heron. It remained elusive. We did see several great blue herons as compensation.

Otherwise, it was ducks and plenty of them, along with a solitary Canada goose, the only one we saw today (I think).

Tlahutum Regional Park

Coquitlam River, looking rather full on this day.

There were ducks in the main pond at Tlahutum and a couple of bald eagles flapping high overhead, but very few other birds were making themselves visible, so we made do with shooting flowers and the many pollinators tending to them.

Piper Spit

Oddly, I forgot to take any scenery shots at Piper Spot, so enjoy this wood duck stretching instead.

The land mass at Piper Spit is not only back, but fairly massive. A few small shorebirds were darting about on it, but most birds preferred the water. In the water, we saw the usual mix of mallards and wood ducks, along with a pair of hooded mergansers, but no geese. And lo, there was the first coot of the season, swimming about by itself and looking glorious and weird. It’s as much a sign of fall coming as the proliferation of pumpkin spice in everything from muffins to school supplies (probably).

Several people were stupidly feeding the birds again. Having recently seen bears up close and personal here, I feel comfortable in calling their actions stupid.

But we also saw a song sparrow. Just one, but it stopped hopping just long enough to let us get some decent shots. A few wood duck males were also back to near-full, resplendent mullets.

In all, a fine day of birding, even with the scarcity of birbs.

The Shots

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

A few shots:

The first coot of the season. Coming soon: more coots and coot drama.

The Birds (and other critters)

Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:

Bewick’s wren (heard, not seen)
Black-capped chickadee
Purple martin
Song sparrow
Spotted towhee (heard, not seen)
White-crowned sparrow (heard, not seen)

Waterfowl and shorebirds:

American coot (one!)
Canada goose
Common merganser
Double-crested cormorant
Great blue heron
Hooded merganser
Long-billed dowitcher
Mallard
Northern pintail
Pied-billed grebe
Western sandpiper
Wood duck

Common:

American crow
Rock pigeon
Various gulls

Raptors:

Red-tailed hawk

Non-birds:

Copious pollinators
Raccoons (actually after birding, and in my neighbourhood. I think they were having a meeting over lunch)

Birding, August 9, 2025: Bear-y trees and catchers of the fly

June 19, 2026August 9, 2025

Where: Tlahutum Regional Park (Coquitlam), Blakeburn Lagoons Park (Port Coquitlam), Traboulay PoCo Trail/DeBoville Slough (Port Coquitlam)
Weather: Sunny, 25°C

Tlahutum Regional Park

For a change of pace, we started at Tlahutum and Nic managed to get a shot of what might be a Calliope hummingbird. Merlin was not sure and neither are we.

Despite being morning, it was already fairly warm, but also kind of muggy. This would be the unofficial theme of the day. Also the official theme of the day.

The other official theme of the day was yet to come–more on that below.

We actually did not see a lot of birds at Tlahutum, but we shot many pollinators, giant, scary sunflowers and the scenery.

The highlights were a pair of raptors, an osprey that generously flew right overhead, and a turkey vulture, which is a bird I rarely see. It did not fly directly overhead, but if you zoom in, you can clearly see its turkey-like head.

Blakeburn Lagoons Park

One of the Blakeburn Lagoons, possibly with a green heron hiding somewhere in it.

We went to Blakeburn because a green heron has been seen there, and we wanted to get award-winning photos of it. We did see it, briefly, flying across a lagoon, never to be seen again. The animal signs at each viewpoint tease a number of species we’ve never seen, though to be fair, most of them are not birds. We consoled ourselves with scenery, some ducks and then headed out again.

Traboulay PoCo Trail/DeBoville Slough

Mountains and fields to the north and west of the Pitt River.

Today we ventured all the way up the trail and hooked a right to the viewing platform at the end overlooking the Pitt River, before heading back.

It was here that we encountered the other official theme of the day: flycatchers, and plenty of them! They were in abundant numbers and often surprisingly close, so we had no issue getting good shots. There were also multiple kingbirds showing themselves, too.

At one point, a goldfinch appeared and briefly landed on tall grass right in front of us–so close that I didn’t have time to focus on it before it thought better of where it was and took off. Alas.

At one point we saw several people, including someone with a VLL¹, all looking off to the side of the trail toward some trees. We approached, wondering what exotic birds had captured their attention. But surprise twist, it was actually a young black bear, well up a tree and looking somewhat unsure of itself, or maybe very sure of itself. I can’t read bear faces well. It was gone by the time we returned, so I assume it was just exploring and having some fun. We also saw a significantly larger back bear, but it was trundling along in a field and was not interested or really close enough to eat tasty humans. Note to future bears: I am not tasty.

We saw more ospreys here, along with a good number of purple martins, so it proved to be a fruitful, if long and sweaty trek. Plus, the scenery is always nice, especially when the jet skis get out of hearing range.

The Shots

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

A sand wasp, to prove I took more than just scenery shots!

The Birds (and other critters)

Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:

American Goldfinch
American robin
Black-capped chickadee
Black-headed grosbeak
Anna’s hummingbird
Calliope hummingbird (?)
Cedar waxwing
Eastern kingbird
House finch
Purple martin
Song sparrow
Spotted towhee
Willow flycatcher

Waterfowl and shorebirds:

~~American coot~~ (not yet!)
Great blue heron
Green heron
Mallard
Wood duck

Common:

American crow
European starling

Raptors:

Osprey
Turkey vulture

Non-birds:

A small black bear and a very large black bear
A fuzzy caterpillar
Woodland skippers and cabbage butterflies
Copious other pollinators
Humans on noisy jet skis

Birding, June 7, 2025: Shoot the bear, shoot the poop

June 7, 2025

Where: Rocky Point Park (Port Moody), Blakeburn Lagoons Park (Port Coquitlam), Traboulay PoCo Trail (Port Coquitlam)
Weather: Sunny, 20-27°C

Rocky Point

An unusual request at one of the viewing platforms.

Today was expected to get quite warm–and it did. We were very smart and most of our birding today took place on trails with no canopy, because we love the sun.

We started at Rocky Point, where the heron babies are growing up oh-so-fast. They seemed a bit more visible this time, due to being larger and more willing to hang out on the edges of the nests, yearning to escape from the yoke of their parents’ tyranny.

We ventured a bit down the trail, but didn’t see much else, other than a lot of people, because the place was packed. Who knew a warm, sunny Saturday in June would draw people out?

Blakeburn Lagoons Park

One of the two lagoons, with mallards and gadwalls paddling about.

We next moved onto Blakeburn Lagoons Park, which is a fairly compact pair of lagoons reclaimed from an old wastewater site. We got some good views, a bit of goose drama, and Nic felt compelled to shoot some bird poop. One must not question the muse. The muse poops for thee, not me. Or something.

The highlight, strangely, was a butterfly that stopped long enough to allow us to get some very nice shots of it. After a quick trip around the lagoons, we needed more sun, so off we went!

Traboulay PoCo Trail/DeBoville Slough

The DeBoville Slough, wending its way through the wilds of Port Coquitlam.

We’ve been in this area before, but along the southern trail. This time we took the northern, which parallels the slough and eventually leads to the Pitt river, which is where we saw a nesting osprey (neat) and then turned around and headed back. We saw a few birds along the way, too–a robin, a waxwing and a Northern flicker–but most of the views were of the slough, the verdant fields and mountains. And one shirtless jogger.

Although by this point it was getting quite warm, the breeze kept it from getting sticky and awful.

And we also saw a bear, trundling casually through the crops on a field. There was a slough between us and the bear and even though bears can swim, it was not close and seemed pretty mellow. I got a few iffy shots, but it’s definitely bear.

After that, we wrapped up early, as Nic has to help out a theatre full of gay men. As one does.

Although the birds were not out in copious numbers today, the change of scenery was pleasant, as was the weather.

The Shots

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

The Birds (and other critters)

Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:

American robin
Cedar waxwing
Common yellowthroat (heard)
Northern flicker
Spotted towhee
Song sparrow
Violet-green swallow

Waterfowl and shorebirds:

Canada goose
Gadwall
Great blue heron
Mallard

Common:

American crow
Assorted gulls

Raptors:

American osprey
Bald eagle
A hawk?

Non-birds:

Butterflies
Dragonflies
Other flies
A black bear