Where: Reifel Bird Sanctuary (Delta), Piper Spit (Burnaby), Tlahutum Regional Park (Coquitlam) Weather: Sunny, 18-28C
The Outing
It was actually kind of hot, which was somewhat unexpected, even though it is technically summer for a few more weeks. It was warm at Reifel even mid-morning, but it never got uncomfortably hot. The heat may have affected how many birds we saw, though, as some were no doubt seeking to keep cool in the shade.
At Reifel, we got some early shots of yellowlegs as they were parked up front right in the main pond. There were also swallows still buzzing about, but we declined to try shooting them this time. We next moved on to the London Slough, which had some herons on the periphery and the logs replete with geese and gulls–and two western painted turtles hanging out at one end. There were also several wood ducks who were in their full breeding colours, and were strutting their stuff on the runway fence railing.
We saw a plenitude of chickadees, the usual ducks (wood and mallard), along with a few less seen but technically not migrant waterfowl: mergansers and a pair of Northern pintails.
We saw more numbered geese (wearing collars around their necks bearing numbers like C29) and, of course, goose drama, though perhaps the heat kept any of them from going truly berserk.
The highlight may have been right at the end, when we saw the young eagle that sometimes hangs out at the main pond, trying to catch prey. Apparently it’s not very good at flying or hunting yet, and the staff have dubbed him Doofus. Ouch. He looks appropriately menacing in that raptor way, sitting on the rooftop of the viewing area, though.
Next up was Piper Spit, where most of the landmass is now again submerged following the recent showers. The water is still quite shallow, so that meant more yellowlegs, yay.
There were also a lot of pigeons, who alternated between flying in a group around in circles and landing in a long line near the end of the pier. More importantly, we saw a winter migrant! Two, in fact, and it was our buddy the original weird bird, the American coot. Now we know for sure the season is changing.
We rounded out with an abbreviated trip to Tlahutum Regional Park, where we saw a heron hunting (we don’t see them often here) and, thanks to a couple on the lookout, a rare sighting of a Lewis’s woodpecker. They appear in BC, but very seldomly make it this far west. Unfortunately, it was atop a telephone pole quite far away. I got some shots, but they’re of the “Yes, there is a bird” variety.
Still, a nice lifer. And we also saw some of Nic’s favourites in the community garden, white-crowned sparrows, so we left on a chirpy note.
Also, did I mention it was hot?
The Shots
Full gallery soon (for real, I swear), but here’s a shot to get started.
The Birds (and other critters)
Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:
- American blackbird
- Black-capped chickadee
- Cedar waxwing
- House sparrow
- Lewis’s woodpecker (lifer–seen at Tlahutum)
- Northern flicker
- Purple martin
- Song sparrow
- Spotted Towhee
- White-crowned sparrow
Waterfowl:
- American coot (first sighting of the season)
- Canada goose
- Gadwall (?)
- Great blue heron
- Greater yellowlegs
- Hooded merganser
- Northern pintail
- Mallard
- Short-billed dowitcher
- Wood duck
Common:
- Crow
- Rock pigeon
- Seagull
Raptors:
- Bald eagle
Non-birds:
- Douglas squirrel
- Western painted turtle
- Bees ‘n dragonflies
