Burnaby Lake

Birding, August 10, 2024: Steps this way

Where: Burnaby Lake (Burnaby), Mundy Park (Coquitlam)
Weather: Sunny, 19-27°C

The Outing

Burnaby Lake

Phillips Point at Burnaby Lake.

I suggested Burnaby Lake, not because I wanted to get a lot of steps, but because it has a lot of tree canopy and if we’re not going to see many birds because of the time of year, we may as well not see them while in the shade.

But we did see a few, including a brown creeper right near the bridge over Eagle Creek near Piper Spit. Unlike previous creepers, this one was hyperactive and was constantly flitting from tree to tree. This would prove to be the standard behaviour of nearly every bird we encountered, for reasons unknown to me.

Piper spit was again bereft of shorebirds, though the water level was a bit lower, so maybe they’ll be back again soon. We did spot a few yellowlegs near the dam, which is an odd place for them to hang out (they walked on the lily pads). Mostly it was geese (one of which clamped onto the tail of another in the water before they separated, because there must always be goose drama), mallards and wood ducks. We did see what must have been a late brood of baby wood ducks following mom around and chowing on one of the lily pad flowers.

The rest of the lake afforded a few nice views, but not much in the way of birds. There were barn swallows at the rowing club, but they were elusive as always, and a cormorant, but it was standing atop a distant pole.

Overall, though, it was a pleasant, if step-intensive outing.

Mundy Park

Lost Lake at Mundy Park.

Nic suggested the community garden at Tlahutum Regional Park after lunch, which would have meant minimal walking, but would be entirely out in the sun. I countered with Mundy Park, which we’d only been to once before.

It proved step-intensive as well, but there were a few birds, including some blue-winged teals (we think– some of the coloration didn’t seem to match up with what the Merlin app was offering). And there were turtles enjoying the sun and water at Lost Lake, which we totally found.

Mostly it was relatively cool and shady paths through wooded areas that were deep enough to actually get you away from traffic noise (unlike Burnaby Lake).

Despite the relative lack of birds (and the erratic behaviour of them), it was a fine day to be out, we didn’t get ankle-deep in black goo, and I set a new Garmin Forerunner record for steps, which stand at 36,199 as I type this.

The Shots

Soon™

The Birds (and other critters). Rare or rarely-seen birds highlighted in bold.

Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:

  • American robin (probably)
  • Barn swallow
  • Bewick’s wren (heard, not seen)
  • Black-capped chickadee
  • Brown creeper
  • Brown-headed cowbird
  • House finch (maybe?)
  • Red-winged blackbird
  • Song sparrow
  • Spotted towhee

Waterfowl and shorebirds:

  • Canada goose
  • Blue-winged teal (?)
  • Green-winged teal
  • Mallard
  • Wood duck

Common:

  • American crow
  • Rock pigeon

Raptors:

  • None!

Non-birds:

  • Western painted turtle
  • Assorted pollinators
  • Dragonflies all up in the hizzy
  • Various butterflies and such

Birding, August 5, 2024: Shadow over Iona Beach

Where: Iona Beach (Richmond), Piper Spit, Burnaby Lake (Burnaby)
Weather: Sunny, 18-25°C

The Outing

Iona Beach

The vast and non-slimy part of the mudflats off Iona Beach.

We got out to a slightly later than usual start, in keeping with the casual BC Day vibe or something, our first destination, Iona Beach.

Good news, we still haven’t needed the Deep Woods Off! yet. Perhaps that one biting bug nightmare was just a one-time abberation.

Speaking of nightmares, stay tuned!

As usual during peak summer, we did not see a wide variety of birds, but groups of starlings and barn swallows were out and aboot, as well as some killdeer along the river bobbing their heads, and roughly a million dragonflies. The outing concluded with a ring-billed gull pulling worms out of the mudflats.

In-between, we got many shots of the vast low tide, which seemed even lower than normal. Some of the sand actually felt firm and was drying. This created the illusion that I had changed into my “I don’t care if they get wet” shoes for no reason. We made it almost all the way back to shore, within sight of the parking lot and my shoes were still keeping my feet dry. All that was left was a pile of kelp to stomp over to reach the sandy shore, maybe 10 or 12 feet of it. Easy peasy!

Except underneath the thin crust of bright green kelp was a black ichor that was deep enough to come up to our ankles. It also smelled like the fermented remains of The Old Ones. We were committed by the time we realized what we stepped in, so we trudged through the black oil-like goo, then made liberal use of the hose outside the washrooms to wash our shoes, our feet and maybe a little bit of our souls.

We then went to lunch, pretending we couldn’t smell anything.

Piper Spit

Some waterfowl, water and other water-related things at Piper Spit.

We made only one more stop, at Piper Spit. Good: We didn’t get stuck behind any trains. Bad: The water level of the lake was considerably higher, completely submerging the landmass and forcing the shorebirds to dine and snooze elsewhere.

We made do with the usual collection of mallards, wood ducks, poop monsters and blackbirds. The cowbirds seem to have left already, but the young green-winged teals were enthusiastically chasing each other around, testing out their not-quite-ready-for-flight wings.

Songbirds were generally scarce, though a few pigeons were cooing around, as they do. I tried to get a prize-winning shot, but alas.

Speaking of alas, my camera was giving me issues again and I am fairly certain it is the telephoto lens or the adapter. At one point I went to take a photo and could hear a sound coming from the camera. The connection between lens and adapter was a tiny bit loose, so I tightened it and the camera seemed to behave better after. We’ll see how it goes. Replacing the adapter would be relatively cheap, the telephoto lens, not so much (or at all).

In all, a low-key kind of outing as befits this time of year.

Some winter migrants should start showing up soonish. Perhaps the first coots will come calling. One can dream.

The Shots

Soon™

The Birds (and other critters). Rare or rarely-seen birds highlighted in bold.

Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:

  • American robin
  • Barn swallow
  • Black-capped chickadee
  • House sparrow
  • Red-winged blackbird
  • Song sparrow
  • Spotted towhee

Waterfowl and shorebirds:

  • Canada goose
  • Great blue heron
  • Mallard
  • Wood duck

Common:

  • American crow
  • European starling
  • Rock pigeon
  • Ring-billed seagull

Raptors:

  • Bald eagle (immature)

Non-birds:

  • Assorted pollinators
  • Dragonflies all up in the hizzy
  • Grasshoppers (it’s that time of year)

July 27, 2024 gallery is up!

I feel like it’s a miracle every time I complete a gallery these days. But I have incentive, because my OneDrive storage is starting to max out. Gotta clear out all those RAW images.

Also, I should note a weird and whacky workflow for this batch of shots in terms of post-processing:

  • I started with Affinity Photo 2, editing RAW images, then exporting them as WebP files. Yes, WebP!
  • I then switched to Luminar AI (it had the name before AI became associated with everything terrible in the world) and used that the rest of the way. This program lets you aggressively alter specific aspects of a photo using very simple sliders. I used the sliders a lot. I was actually impressed at how it “saved” a few iffy photos.

Anyway, I may use Luminar more in the future, especially if I want to add random giraffes, which it totally lets you do.

Walk 118 and 119: Search for the vengeful tree root

Brunette River with copious vegetation.

I am determined to exercise in some way every day, so late this morning I went out for walkies.

The summer weather has returned after a few days of intermittent showers and clouds, so it was already 26C when I headed out, and a bit humid. I kept up a brisk pace for the 4K walk to Burnaby Lake. When I got there, I decided to walk the approximate 2 km up the trail to find the nefarious tree root that I tripped on in a recent run. I set off, knowing the approximate location.

As I approached the area, I slowed and started scrutinizing the ground. At one point I even caught my toe on something. A-ha! I looked intently at the ground and could not find what I had snagged my toe on. I guess it was just a bump or something. It felt like it was too early for the tree root, so I pressed on. I observed that this area is perfect for nefarious tree roots, as there is a lot of canopy–ergo, shade–but the sun also pokes through in lots of areas, creating a dappled pattern that makes the ground hard to read.

I could not find the root.

I did find a large, smooth stone protruding a bit out of the trail, so it’s possible my foot happened to snag on it at just the right angle, but it feels like it’s a little too close to the middle of the trail, and I always run on the right. But maybe.

I walked to the bridge with the 8K marker and headed back, completing a second walk of 6 km and a very brisk pace of 9:01/km. I sweated a bit! It was nice to be out and touch trees, but not trip on them.

Foot bridge at the 8K marker.

Stats:

Walk 118 and 119
Average pace: 9:09 and 9:01/km
Location: Brunette River trail/Burnaby Lake
Distance: 4.02 and 6.02 km
Time: 36:43 and 54:15
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 26-28°C
Humidity: 59-55%
Wind: light
BPM: 118 and 119
Weight: 166.6 pounds
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255
Total distance to date: 865.86 km

Birding, July 27, 2024: Shore enough

Where: Reifel Bird Sanctuary (Delta), Terra Nova (Richmond), Piper Spit, Burnaby Lake (Burnaby)
Weather: Sunny and humid, 19-25°C

The Outing

Reifel Bird Sanctuary

High cloud scuds across the sky over the marshland.

We started at Reifel, where it was already fairly warm at 19C, but didn’t actually get much warmer during our time there. An Anna’s hummingbird greeted us to start, which seemed like a good sign, but given that it’s mid-summer, we still didn’t see many songbirds or waterfowl beyond the usual gang of ducks and geese. Also, whatever kept the geese quiet the last few visits has ended, as they were honking up all over the place.

The tree swallows seem to have left, but barn swallows were still plentiful, including a bunch that were diving around outside one of the bird blinds. Several seemed to come right at us before swooping away. We later saw a mom feeding babies in a nest by the warming hut, but also (I did not know this), collecting the babies’ poop and disposing of it outside the nest. The babies do this by presenting their butts to mom, pooping, and then mom grabs the poop with her beak and flies off. Gross! But better than having a poop-filled nest, I suppose. Nic caught a wonderfully detailed1horrifying series of shots documenting the process. This is almost as bad as how dragonflies mate. Almost.

One blackbird was indulging in some seed on a fence railing and we stopped to take some photos. It seemed we may have gotten within the “banquet perimeter” because it stopped eating, hopped along the railing toward us and stood there, peeping as if to say, “This is my pile of seed, get your own!” As we moved on, it hopped back over and continued to smear seed all over his face.

Speaking of dragonflies, they must be mating like the proverbial dickens, because they were everywhere.

The Auger Trail was no longer cordoned off because of the Sandhill crane babies. Yay! But we never saw the Sandhill cranes or their babies. Boo.

But we did some fairly rare red-necked pharalopes in one of the big ponds along the western dyke trail. They were quite far away and mostly hidden in the reeds, though. Less hidden were a couple of hundred dowitchers hanging out in the same area.

Overall, the barn swallow babbies and the copious shorebirds made for a better-than-expected mid-summer outing.

Terra Nova

The pond is re-acquiring its red “carpet” again.

Nic suggested Terra Nova next. I took my usual plane shots, then we headed off to the “natural area” of the park, which had a list of things you aren’t allowed that included flying drones, golfing (?!) and archery (?!!). The natural area was basically similar to the rest of the trails, but with no convenient playground for children. One of the trails abuts a row of homes, which kind of dampens the “natural” aspect. Still, it was new and different and we heard a Bewick’s wren. Nic also shot a goldfinch. The pond had a grebe, but it proved even more elusive than usual, and neither of us got very good shots of it.

Piper Spit

A little bit of everything at Piper Spit.

The land mass at Piper Spit draws ever closer to the pier as the dry weather continues, and the extension on the pier remains closed because it is rickety and dangerous. No one wants to have it collapse, end up in the same water as a Canada goose.

We were pleasantly surprised to see more dowitchers here, and on the same side of the pier as most of the waterfowl. A few yellowlegs were mixed in, and they obligingly got quite close, so we got lots of good shots on these guys as they bobbed, preened and flapped.

As at Reifel, blackbird teens were begging pitifully to be fed by mom, pop or probably anyone that would shove seed into their gaping maws.

The wood duck numbers seemed low, but I think most were just tucked away in the shade. The area before the pier was almost completely bird-free, so they may not have been the only ones hiding.

Still, the shorebirds once again added a little zest to an otherwise quiet afternoon at the spit.

The Shots

The Birds (and other critters). Rare or rarely-seen birds highlighted in bold.

Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:

  • American goldfinch
  • American robin
  • Anna’s hummingbird
  • Barn swallow
  • Bewick’s Wren (heard, not seen)
  • Black-capped chickadee
  • Brown-headed cowbird
  • House sparrow
  • Eurasian collared dove
  • Marsh wren
  • Purple martin (maybe?)
  • Red-winged blackbird
  • Song sparrow
  • Spotted towhee

Waterfowl and shorebirds:

  • Canada goose
  • Cormorant
  • Great blue heron
  • Greater yellowlegs
  • Long-billed dowitcher
  • Mallard
  • Red-necked pharalope
  • Wood duck

Common:

  • American crow
  • European starling
  • Rock pigeon
  • Seagull

Raptors:

  • Cooper’s hawk (possibly)

Non-birds:

  • Assorted pollinators
  • Cows
  • Dragonflies all up in the hizzy
  • Grasshoppers (it’s that time of year)
  • Horses
  • Several squirrels

Birding, July 20, 2024: Hidden driveways

Where: Piper Spit, Burnaby Lake (Burnaby), Tlahutum Regional Park (Coquitlam), Maplewood Flats (North Vancouver)
Weather: Sunny, 23-27°C

The Outing

Piper Spit

Still no turtles.

We broke tradition two ways: Going birding on a Sunday and hitting Piper Spit first. The outing got off to a near-calamitous start when Nic found he could not adjust the f-stop on his camera. He fixed it by doing a variation of the classic turn it off/on by removing his telephoto lens, then putting it back on. Electronics are weird!

Near the dam, we saw some baby wood ducks, but not exactly close-up. We continued on and at the stump with the freaky fungus we saw a pair of Douglas squirrels being simultaneously adorable. One sat on top of the stump, eating a large nut like a cob of corn. I like squirrels because they like to eat and when they eat, they don’t move, which means I can usually get good shots. This seems increasingly important now, as my camera, or parts of it, seem to be experiencing an increasing array of issues. More on this later.

Once at the spit itself, the land mass to the east has returned, after multiple weeks of very hot and dry weather. It was pretty much Goose Island.

As expected, there wasn’t much variety in the waterfowl–mostly mallards and wood ducks with their prim new mullets. However, even the songbird population seemed to be largely elsewhere, save for an errant song sparrow and a mass of blackbirds hopping and flying about, seed smeared on their beaks. We witnessed a surly kid blackbird demanding to be fed by a parent, then proving himself completely capable of feeding himself when the parent took too long. Kids!

We got intel on where to find a lazuli bunting at Tlahutum, which was conveniently our next stop.

Tlahutum Regional Park

Rusting fences, but no buntings.

By now it was still rather humid and clouds began gathering. Some of them looked moisture-laden, but I hadn’t seen any showers in the forecast. You can probably see where this is going.

The directions for the bunting took us outside the park proper, to a nearby grass labyrinth and the titular hidden driveway (also the name of the album by my country punk fusion band). We listened, we looked, we trod around, but we heard no buntings and we saw no buntings. We left, buntless.

At the community gardens, we noted an absence of swallows, which may have already started heading off on their fall migration. In their place, a few robins, towhees and one elusive American goldfinch (I got one shot before it flew off).

By now, my camera–which I had cleaned the night before–was starting to show issues, the most prevalent being an inability for the shutter to engage, also sometimes accompanied by an inability to change focus. I did some experimenting with my kit lens and have made a provisional diagnosis that the problem lies with the telephoto lens or the adapter it uses. Look, if I win the $30 million 6/49 jackpot, I promise I will donate oodles of money to good causes and be a level-headed millionaire. But I will also totes buy a new camera, because even repairing this one is probably not worth it.

We elected to skip the rest of Tlahutum this time and headed off for lunch.

The shower–intermittent and half-hearted, began with lunch, but ended before we got to Maplewood Flats. Traffic on the highway was so slow (it was Sunday, too, remember, not rush hour on Wednesday or something) that we lost the GPS signal on Google Maps while going through the Cassiar Connector.

Maplewood Flats

The very low tide at Burrard Inlet.

Maplewood Flats had better light than we expected, but birds were scarce, despite a whiteboard near the entrance showing off all kinds of semi-exotic species that had been sighted here in the last few weeks. We saw some seagulls and cormorants, as well as a mallard mom and her snoozing brood by an inner pond. There are now even more signs warning people to keep off the mudflats, and the tide was indeed very low, exposing much of the shoreline. We were good and did not venture out.

In the end, I only shot a little over 250 photos, or about 1.25 batteries’ worth. With the paucity of birds, the high humidity and my camera being weird, it was a fine day to be out and enjoy the views, but maybe not so great for actual birding.

And now I’m off to write tracks for Hidden Driveways.

The Shots

Soon™

The Birds (and other critters). Rare or rarely-seen birds highlighted in bold.

Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:

  • American goldfinch
  • American robin
  • Black-capped chickadee
  • Brown-headed cowbird
  • Purple martin (maybe?)
  • Red-winged blackbird
  • Song sparrow
  • Spotted towhee

Waterfowl and shorebirds:

  • Canada goose
  • Cormorant
  • Great blue heron
  • Mallard
  • Wood duck

Common:

  • American crow
  • Rock pigeon
  • Seagull

Raptors:

  • None

Non-birds:

  • Assorted pollinators
  • Douglas squirrels

Walk 116 and 117: Some like it hot (not especially me)

View of Burnaby Lake just west of Cariboo Dam, between walks.

A little slower today, but also a fair bit warmer and drier. I surprised myself by doing as much running as I did on the second walk.

Mr right ankle felt a bit stiff/janky at times when running, probably from lack of use. 😛 I did remember to stretch before heading out, though!

Being a Saturday, there were oodles of people at Hume Park, enjoying the pool, the shade and possibly alcohol, which can now be consumed in specific areas. Kids on swing sets on one side, drunk adults belching creatively on the other.

The river trail was relatively quiet, though, probably due to the heat (I did not pick an optimal time to go out), with no other joggers and no dogs at all. It was kind of nice.

Anyway, my steps are complete for another day.

Stats:

Walk 116 and 117
Average pace: 9:32 and 8:30/km
Location: Brunette River trail/Burnaby Lake
Distance: 4.02 and 4.04 km
Time: 38:17 and 34:19
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 29-30°C
Humidity: 45-42%
Wind: light
BPM: 113 and 121
Weight: 167.0 pounds
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255
Total distance to date: 855.82 km

Walk 114 and 115

View of Brunette River, during the first walk.

After missing yesterday’s run due to a toothache, I decided I needed some kind of exercise today, even though the tooth is still kind of hurting (I go to the dentists tomorrow).

I left late morning to avoid Xtreme Heat, and it was fine, with a nice breeze blowing. There were some off-leash dogs on the river trail, but fortunately well-behaved. There were no other incidents of note, and the walks were much like the previous–strictly walking on the way to the lake, with a good mix of walking and running on the way back. I felt fine and my mouth cooperated enough that it didn’t distract me.

And that’s about it!

The ever turtle-free Turtle Nesting Area, before starting back from Burnaby Lake.

Stats:

Walk 114 and 115
Average pace: 9:13 and 8:19/km
Location: Brunette River trail/Burnaby Lake
Distance: 4.02 and 4.03 km
Time: 37:01 and 33:32
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 23-25°C
Humidity: 60-62%
Wind: light
BPM: 121 and 129
Weight: 167.4 pounds
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255
Total distance to date: 847.76 km

Walk 112 and 113: Squirrelly

I’m counting this as two walks, as I clocked them separately, due to the gap in between them.

I have been getting my daily steps in, but haven’t been doing a lot of capital “e” Exercise lately. It’s Sunday, so I didn’t want to run, but I do have my new orange and purple Speedgoat 6 trail runners, so I put them on and walked to the lake and walked/ran on the way back.

It was fairly warm at 28C, but most of the trek is in the shade or out of direct sunlight, so it wasn’t that bad. I didn’t experience any issues, and I got to watch two Douglas squirrels chase each other around a tree at Burnaby Lake. In all, a good excursion and test of my shoes.

The two Douglas squirrels referenced above.

Stats:

Walk 112 and 113
Average pace: 9:01 and 8:41/km
Location: Brunette River trail/Burnaby Lake
Distance: 3.02 and 4.02 km
Time: 27:14 and 34:56
Weather: Sunny
Temp: 28°C
Humidity: 56%
Wind: light
BPM: 120 and 121
Weight: 167.2 pounds
Devices: Garmin Forerunner 255
Total distance to date: 847.76 km

Burnaby Lake, July 8, 2024

Some shots taken around the lake post-run and before it got silly hot, shot on my iPhone 12.

In order:

  • Actual view of lake
  • View from bridge over Deer Lake Brook
  • Still Creek
  • Still Creek from bridge, looking east
  • Still Creek from bridge, looking west
  • View from Phillips Point
  • View from Phillips Point
  • View from Piper Spit