Centennial Beach

Birding, May 2, 2024: A wren in the works

Where: Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Centennial Beach (Delta), Blackie Spit (Surrey), Piper Spit, Burnaby Lake (Burnaby)
Weather: Sunny, 8-17°C

The Outing

It was forecast to be sunny and mild, so we wore shorts! It was a bit brisk at Reifel in the morning, with a strong breeze blowing off the strait. An older man intoned to us, “It isn’t summer yet” but did not actually call the fashion police on us. I didn’t wear sunblock, so got some more mid-spring burning around my ears and neck. Next time I’ll wear sunblock, I swear.

Apart from being brisk in the morning, it was more like Reifel Bird Scarcity, ho ho. The overall bird population was down due to migrants heading off and the locals being busy in the bushes making babies (or so I assume). We didn’t see any American wigeons, though, oddly, there was a single Eurasian wigeon present. There were no coots at all, though we did see a single coot at Piper Spit. Likewise, there were no scaups, buffleheads or ring-necked ducks to be seen. We saw what appeared to be one snoozing merganser sleeping on a small island next to some geese, though they apparently don’t migrate, they just hide or something.

And speaking of geese, we finally saw goslings and plenty of them. More on them in a bit.

While many bird species were absent at Reifel, the ever-elusive marsh wren was actually seemingly ever-present. We saw and shot at least four of them, with varying degrees of success. A volunteer teased us with an alleged sighting of a pair of cedar waxwings in the area, but we did not see any. Boo. We did, however, see a few shorebirds on the inner ponds, the tiny and adorable least sandpiper, so that was neat.

The geese were taking notes from the blackbirds with regard to their table manners, proudly wearing their food all over their faces.

The wood ducks near the entrance were displaying their iridescent mullets along the railing. I swear they actually pose for people because they know how pretty they are. We did not see any ducklings, though.

After Reifel, we went to Centennial Beach. Here, I doffed my hoodie, opting for sunburn. The pond was largely empty, but we did spot a few Savannah sparrows on logs, and raptors above, the latter both in the sky and in trees. We then forged on to Blackie Spit because of reports of shorebirds. The tide here, as elsewhere, was extremely low. There were no shorebirds, unless you stretch to count seagulls. Which we do not. We did see some green-winged teals and various birbs, including more Savannah sparrows, a distant goldfinch and a train, which is not a bird at all. We also saw a bunny, also not a bird. It was hungry, so we watched it eat various wildflowers and things. Rabbits have an automatic “so damn cute” mode when eating.

We ended at Piper Spit, which, perhaps due to it being after 6 p.m., was quite busy. The number of waterfowl here is also down, through all the regulars were accounted for. The geese were out with their babbies, some of which are already showing their first growth spurt. There were many goslings, most of them huddled together in one mega-group. Amazingly, none of the small children present were unwise enough to try to go after them, so goose drama/murder did not occur. Or at least I didn’t directly witness any.

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
  • Black-capped chickadee
  • Brown-headed cowbird
  • Golden-crowned sparrow
  • Marsh wren
  • Red-winged blackbird
  • Rufous hummingbird
  • Song sparrow
  • Spotted towhee
  • Tree swallow
  • White-crowned sparrow
  • Yellow-rumped warbler

Waterfowl and shorebirds:

  • American coot (one!)
  • Canada goose
  • Cormorant
  • Eurasian wigeon
  • Green-winged teal
  • Great blue heron
  • Least sandpiper
  • Mallard
  • Northern pintail
  • Northern shoveller
  • Sandhill crane
  • Wood duck

Common:

  • American crow
  • European starling
  • Rock pigeon
  • Seagull

Raptors:

  • Bald eagle
  • Northern harrier

Non-birds:

  • Bunnies!
  • Several squirrels
  • A sweat bee

Birding, April 13, 2024: The goose definitely pecked my bag

Where: Reifel Bird Sanctuary (Delta), Centennial Beach (Delta), Piper Spit, Burnaby Lake (Burnaby)
Weather: Sunny, 9-17°C

The Outing

This time the weather forecast panned out. It was sunny all day, though it was also rather windy, especially close to the shore, and this made mid-morning at Reifel a bit chilly (10C felt like 7C). But we had birbs to shoot.

With spring migration underway, we’ve observed a few changes at Reifel, the main being that the migratory waterfowl are way down in terms of numbers, with fewer wigeons, scaups and ring-necked ducks. Coots, on the other freaky foot, still seem to be in relative abundance. Northern shovellers, which allegedly do not migrate, have also seen a reduction in numbers. Birds are mysterious!

Equally mysterious is why we suddenly came across not a ruby-crowned kinglet, but multiple kinglets that capered about in nearby trees long enough for us to get pretty decent shots (I have never before gotten a decent shot of a kinglet). That was spiffy. But the spiffiness continued, when we also got good shots of a marsh wren, which chose to stop specifically hiding from Nic long enough for him to get a few good photos before disappearing back into the reeds, to mock us with its song for the rest of the season.

The snow geese were gone, which would normally have made it quieter, but the Canada geese were still around, so there was always honking somewhere. And hissing and chasing. One goose apparently convinced itself my camera bag was full of seed and started pecking at it. When I turned to face it, it gave me the closest a goose can come to a look that says, “What? I didn’t do anything.”

Sated by our kinglet and wren shots, we headed to Centennial Beach, where the tide was out about a hundred km. If it hadn’t been so windy and if we could have guaranteed seeing something, it might have been fun to see just how far we could have wandered out. Maybe in the summer.

In the meantime…more kinglets! Yes, there was a kinglet hopping around in a tree near the pond. Because of the extreme low tide, shorebirds were pretty much absent, apart from a few gulls and a couple of ducks in the pond.

What we did see were raptors: bald eagles young and old, and multiple harriers that were fighting/courting or both.

We saw plenty of swallows at both locations and our final stop, Piper Spit. Nic made it his BirdQuest to shoot swallows in flight. I did this with exactly one swallow at Piper Spit and of four shots, three were bad. Nic also got lots of “look for the blob that is the swallow” shots, but also some very good pics, too.

I missed the Sandhill crane at Piper getting all flappy and stretchy, though, because I was focused on a goose going berserk. The good news is I actually got some good (terrifying) shots of said goose, with some serious tongue and neck action.

My camera started glitching a bit at Piper, which was odd, since I’d cleaned it the night before. I gave it a bit of an on-the-spot cleaning, and it mostly behaved afterwards. Maybe the wind was blowing junk into it. It was very windy.

In all, a good day of birding, with the kinglet and marsh wren shots being nice bonuses.

The Shots

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

Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:

  • American robin
  • Black-capped chickadee
  • Brown-headed cowbird
  • Dark-eyed junco
  • Golden-crowned sparrow
  • House sparrow
  • Marsh wren
  • Northern flicker
  • Red-winged blackbird
  • Ruby-crowned kinglet
  • Rufous hummingbird
  • Song sparrow
  • Spotted towhee
  • Tree swallow
  • White-crowned sparrow

Waterfowl:

  • American coot
  • American wigeon
  • Black-bellied plover
  • Bufflehead
  • Canada goose
  • Dowitcher
  • Green-winged teal
  • Great blue heron
  • Mallard
  • Northern pintail
  • Northern shoveller
  • Ring-necked duck
  • Sandhill crane
  • Scaup
  • Wood duck

Common:

  • American crow
  • European starling
  • Rock pigeon
  • Seagull

Raptors:

  • Bald eagle (mature and juvenile)
  • Harrier

Non-birds:

  • Several squirrels

Weird: March 7, 2024 bird shots are up!

Yes, I actually made a full gallery of bird shots, and only a few days after taking the photos. What wonders! Includes bonus bunnies and planes.

Birding, March 7, 2024: Eagles in trees, bunnies at my knees

Where: Boundary Bay Dyke Trail, Centennial Beach (Delta)
Weather: Mixed sun and cloud, 5-7°C

The Outing

We were once again out for a weekday bird adventure because the weather looks bad for the weekend. I’d feel even worse about it if I was still in school.

We headed out to Boundary Bay first, which we haven’t been to in a while, starting out at Beach Grove. After seeing a few errant robins (don’t ask about my pictures of them), I suggested we move into the dog area, which has a few trails meandering among the trees. Our detour was rewarded with not one, but two rare sights: a red-breasted nuthatch (which I heard tap-tap-tapping on the side of a tree before seeing it) and a varied thrush. Neat! We also saw a lot more robins.

We then headed to the dyke trail, and saw plenty of eagles in the trees and occasionally soaring above them. Even better, we saw multiple Northern harriers, including one that didn’t seem to be hunting, but was just kind of hopping and flying around in short bursts, landing for a bit, then taking off again. It did this conveniently close to the trail, so we had plenty of chances for good shots. As we continued up the trail, we saw a few songbirds, several Anna’s hummingbirds and at the private ponds a platoon or three of wigeons, including a rarely-seen Eurasian wigeon. Also, coot interlopers among the wigeons.

A guy reported seeing an owl flying over the marsh, but we did not see anything that resembled an owl. We did see the marsh, though. Content that we’d gotten enough steps, we turned back, saw some more harriers, and a few herons, and then headed off to our second destination, Centennial Beach.

The tide was out so we went out on the beach where we saw a fair number of cute little sanderlings. The conditions were just right for them, so we got a lot of opportunity for shots of them feeding, flapping and occasionally preening. We ended up walking down the beach because the sanderlings never ran out. It was sanderlings all the way down, with occasional gulls, ducks and a few crows mixed in. We finally started closing in on the pump station, but from the beach side, and realized there was no good way to cross without getting very muddy and/or wet, so we ended up backtracking a lot of the way back and then getting onto the trail proper. The tidal flats near the pump station were replete with gulls. There were yellowlegs and some dunlins, too. It was a shorebirdpalooza.

As we moved away from the water, we saw some towhees, golden crown, flickers and more, but some were not very close or cooperative. Birds gonna bird. We also saw a bunny near the Raptor Trail, which seems an unwise place for a bunny to be. Then we saw more bunnies, And more still. I can only imagine how many were hiding in the brush, wrinkling their cute little bunny noses.

We rounded out the day by getting a few more shots of the sanderlings before heading out.

Upon getting home, I discovered my robin shots were not good (boo, but not unexpected), but all of my other shots were also not good. I was sad, then discovered the tablet I was using was loading lower-res versions of the photos, making them all look fuzzy. The actual shots were fine, for the most part. I took roughly one million shots of sanderlings (they are adorable) and about 500,000 shots of gulls flying overhead (they are not adorable, but I wanted to nab at least one good shot of them in flight–and I did!)

With the weather being a mix of sun and some cloud and the wind low, it was reasonably comfortable at both locations. In all, a good day for birding, especially with so many rarely-seen birds.

The Shots

The Birds (and other critters)

Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:

  • American robin
  • Black-capped chickadee
  • Dark-eyed junco
  • European starling
  • Golden-crowned sparrow
  • House finch
  • Northern flicker
  • Red-breasted nuthatch
  • Red-winged blackbird
  • Song sparrow
  • Spotted towhee
  • Varied thrush

Waterfowl:

  • American coot
  • American wigeon
  • Dunlin
  • Eurasian wigeon
  • Great blue heron
  • Greater yellowlegs
  • Green-winged teal
  • Mallard
  • Northern pintail
  • Sanderling

Common:

  • American crow
  • Seagull

Raptors:

  • Bald eagle
  • Northern harrier

Non-birds:

  • Bunnies!

Birding, February 16, 2024: All the owls we never see

Where: Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Centennial Beach (Delta), Piper Spit, Burnaby Lake (Burnaby)
Weather: Sunny, cloudy late, 7-11°C

The Outing

A rare-ish weekday round of birding, thanks to sunny weather. We hit Reifel first and soon discovered that school was out today, as the place was chock-full of kids. They were fairly well-behaved, though.

We got off to a nice start with a pair of Anna’s hummingbirds sharing a drink at a feeder.

Surprisingly, there was a thin patina of ice on a lot of the ponds. I suspect most of it melted by mid-afternoon, but we did see one wigeon land on the ice, then sink into it as it waddled forth. This apparently displeased it, as it then flew just enough to land ahead where the water was clear. We also saw some shovelers hanging out like cool kids on the ice (geddit?)

And speaking of shovelers, they were all over the place and in large numbers, save, oddly enough, in one of the spots they usually hang out. We saw what seemed to be a couple of scruffy-looking juveniles.

And speaking of juveniles (I am master of segues in this post), we saw a bunch of juvenile bald eagles circling overhead multiple times. One pass apparently spooked some of the shovelers and they took off, only to land back where they’d flown from a minute later.

The Chickadee Empire was somewhat in retreat, as we saw fewer than normal, and the ones we did see seemed even less interested in sitting still for a moment.

Herons were dotting the landscape like broody sentinels, and we got to see the Sandhill cranes before exiting. Several of them even flew overhead, giving us a chance to behold their gangly forms in the air.

We even saw a common goldeneye, which I don’t think we’ve spotted at Reifel before, though I only got a single shot of it, as it flew away almost as soon as we saw it.

On the way out, an older man told Nic about all the owls we never see. He was still going on and adjusting the onion on his belt as we left. We did not see any owls, alas.

Next up was Centennial Beach. We actually didn’t see many birds here, but the tide was out, so we strolled offshore and took photos of Mt. Baker. We did some gadwalls, more herons and golden crowns. And Nic got a lot of heart points.

With the sun setting at the late hour of 5:34 p.m. we had enough time to visit Piper Spit. By this time the clouds had moved in, so the light went from good to so-so, but you work with what you’re given. Fortunately, the bufflehead was back and diving all over the place. The seagulls that have been occupying the land mass near the pier were completely gone, replaced by hundreds of crows, preparing for their nightly mini-migration. There were making a lot of crow noises, which complemented (?) the blackbird noises.

After seeing no wood ducks at Reifel and only a single coot (or two? It was only one or two), we saw plenty of both at Piper Spit. But mostly it was crows, crows and more crows. And the bufflehead. And actually, a lot more scaups than I remember normally seeing here.

In all, a good outing, even if the clouds made the shots at Piper Spit a bit more challenging at the end.

The Shots
Soon™. But here’s a shot of two hummingbirds as a start:

The Birds (and other critters)

Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:

  • Anna’s hummingbird
  • Black-capped chickadee
  • Dark-eyed junco
  • Fox sparrow
  • Golden-crowned sparrow
  • House sparrow
  • Red-winged blackbird
  • Song sparrow
  • Spotted towhee

Waterfowl:

  • American coot
  • American wigeon
  • Bufflehead duck
  • Canada goose
  • Common goldeneye
  • Dowitcher
  • Gadwall
  • Great blue heron
  • Green-winged teal
  • Mallard
  • Night heron (sort of)
  • Northern pintail
  • Northern shoveler
  • Ring-necked duck
  • Sandhill crane
  • Scaup (Lesser and Greater)
  • Wood duck

Common:

  • American crow (a billion or so)
  • Rock pigeon
  • Seagull

Raptors:

  • Bald eagle
  • Northern harrier

Non-birds:

  • Assorted and somewhat chonky squirrels

Birding, January 6, 2024: New year, strange birds

Where: Centennial Beach (Delta), Piper Spit (Burnaby) and Tlahutum Regional Park (Coquitlam)
Weather: Partly sunny, 3-8°C

The Outing

Our first birding outing for 2024 started at a rather chilly Centennial Beach, with a brisk wind and the tide in, so shorebirds, while present, were not nearby for good photo opportunities.

But we did see a bunch of golden-crowned sparrows, a northern harrier we didn’t have time to get shots of, and a bald eagle in a tree by the parking lot. Unfortunately, the perspective meant all I could do was catch a shot of its butt. I also got a shot of a robin’s butt. It was a butt kind of day.

After rounding out our trip there with shots of some good peeps (wigeons), we headed off to Richmond Nature House, where there was no parking at all, and two other cars waiting for a spot. Sadly, we had to move on, and went next to Piper Spit.

As compensation, we got a visit from a handsome Steller’s jay, and also a bufflehead that, rather than hanging back like they usually do, actually came in close to the pier, allowing us to get our best bufflehead shots ever. There were also a lot of gulls hanging around, trying to pull unspeakable things out of the water when they were not strutting around, proudly showing off the golf balls and other spherical objects clutched in their bills. Gulls are weird. We also saw our first Canad geese in a while. They are also weird and we have the pictures to prove it.

Even though it was already golden hour-y by the time we finished up at Piper Spit, we still went to Tlahutum, where we did see more golden crowns, some mergansers and another bufflehead (!) Generally the number of birds was small, so we mostly took shots showing off the setting sun.

In all, a decent outing to start the year, with cool but mostly sunny weather.

The Shots

Soon™

The Birds (and other critters)

Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:

  • American blackbird
  • American robin
  • Black-capped chickadee (briefly seen)
  • Dark-eyed junco
  • European starling
  • Fox sparrow
  • Golden-crowned sparrow
  • Song sparrow
  • Spotted towhee
  • Steller’s jay

Waterfowl:

  • American coot
  • American wigeon
  • Bufflehead duck
  • Canada goose
  • Gadwall
  • Great blue heron
  • Greater yellowlegs
  • Green-winged teal
  • Hooded merganser
  • Mallard
  • Northern pintail
  • Northern shoveler (seen but not shot)
  • Ring-necked duck
  • Wood duck

Common:

  • American crow
  • Rock pigeon
  • Seagull

Raptors:

  • Bald eagle
  • Northern harrier (seen but not shot)

Non-birds:

  • None! Unless you count people and dogs.

Birding, December 2, 2023: The sun also sets

Where: Centennial Beach and Boundary Bay Dyke Trail (Tsawwassen)
Weather: Sunny, 8-11°C

The Outing

The first birding of December was pleasantly sunny and mild, though we got a late start, due to me having an appointment to get stabbed multiple times in my left arm.

After the stabbings, we headed to Centennial Beach, and we saw an actual raptor in the vicinity of Raptor Trail. We also saw various bald eagles, some in trees, some flying too high to really get good shots of. I got probably my best eagle butt shots ever (it was sitting above us in a rather tall tree).

Sparrows proved to be surprisingly plentiful here, as well later along the Boundary Bay Dyke trail. The light was low and a bit golden even from the start, but we made due. We skipped the usual journey onto the mudflats, as the tide was in, but spied numerous shorebirds further out, including dunlins that kept flying about, dwarfed by the occasional seagull towering over them. There were even rarely-seen surf scoters, but they were far enough out that they just looked like duck-shaped blobs through my telephoto lens. Too bad, because they are seriously freaky looking.

By the time we arrived at the dyke trail, the sun was quite low, but we pressed on to The Big Pond™ near a private residence…that proved to be waterfowl-free. Bummer! The adjacent and smaller pond on the western side of the property was populated prodigiously with perpetually propelling and peeping wigeons, mallard and others, however. The wigeons, as in our previous outing, were constantly nipping at and chasing each other. Maybe they are going through the wigeon equivalent of Pon Farr.

By the time we reached the pond, the sun was already sinking over the distant trees, but it did mean we got our first set of sunset shots in a while. We got back to the car three minutes after sunset and returned for dinner in darkness…at 5 p.m.

The Shots

Soon™

The Birds (and other critters)

Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:

  • American bushtit
  • American robin
  • Black-capped chickadee
  • Dark-eyed junco
  • European starling
  • Fox sparrow
  • Golden-crowned sparrow
  • Northern flicker
  • Song sparrow
  • Spotted towhee
  • White-crowned sparrow

Waterfowl:

  • American wigeon
  • Eurasian wigeon
  • Dunlin
  • Great blue heron
  • Green-winged teal
  • Long-billed dowitcher
  • Mallard
  • Northern pintail
  • Northern shoveler
  • Surf scoter

Common:

  • American crow
  • Seagull

Raptors:

  • Bald eagle (adult and juvenile)
  • Northern harrier

Non-birds:

  • Black squirrel

Birding, September 30, 2023: Hello fall

Where: Centennial Beach (Delta), Boundary Bay Dyke Trail (Delta), Crescent Beach (Surrey), and Piper Spit (Burnaby)
Weather: Sunny, 12-17C

The Outing

We hit four sites on our first official fall bird outing and the weather, though sunny, was indeed fall-like, with it starting at only 12C at Centennial Beach, along with a brisk wind. It warmed up to around 17C by late in the afternoon.

Centennial Beach: Raptors on Raptor Trail once again failed to materialize, but we did see a bald eagle out on the tidal flats. Shorebirds were also scarce, possibly due to the tide being way out, as it often is when we visit. We saw gulls, a Brewer’s blackbird couple, a wigeon or two, plus a bunch of goldfinches that would not stop flitting about.

Boundary Bay Dyke Trail: Planes were plentiful, and birds were, too, but much like earlier, they were flitting like mad from tree to tree and branch to branch, making good shots a fun (?) challenge! We did see a Northern harrier or two, as well. As always, the view was nice.

Crescent Beach/Blackie Spit: Seagulls were flying around in abundance, as were some herons, but no loons, alas. We did see some more yellowlegs and a few cormorants. The beach and park were fairly busy, which surprised me a little. Apparently everyone wanted to be outside on the first nice Saturday of fall. By now it was warm enough to doff jackets, if desired.

Piper Spit: This place was crawling with people and children (not that children aren’t people, but you know what I mean). Coots were croaking, but all the shorebirds were in one tight group, snoozing. Golden hour was setting in, so light was rather harsh. We shot a heron grooming up in a tree. They always look weird up in trees. I did not notice any pigeons or seagulls, and the land mass seems to be continuing to expand, so I assume they are letting more water flow out of the lake, Or maybe it’s magic.

Overall, it was a good day of birding, even if we didn’t see anything super exotic, and even though a lot of the birds were even more uncooperative than usual. Don’t they know we just want to capture them in all their pretty glory?

The Shots

Soon™

The Birds (and other critters)

Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:

  • American blackbird
  • American robin
  • Anna’s hummingbird
  • Black-capped chickadee
  • Brewer’s blackbird
  • Golden-crowned sparrow
  • Goldfinch
  • Northern flicker
  • Savannah sparrow
  • Song sparrow
  • Spotted towhee
  • Steller’s jay
  • Yellow-rumped warbler

Waterfowl:

  • American coot
  • American wigeon
  • Canada goose
  • Great blue heron
  • Greater yellowlegs
  • Green-winged teal
  • Mallard
  • Northern pintail (possibly)
  • Wood duck

Common:

  • American crow
  • Glaucous-winged gull
  • Ring-billed gull
  • Pacific gull (?)

Raptors:

  • Bald eagle
  • Northern harrier

Non-birds:

  • Douglas and gray squirrels
  • Dragonflies
  • Grasshoppers
  • A fuzzy little caterpillar dude (or dudette, who can tell?)
  • Various aircraft

Birding, August 26, 2023: Still on P, plus raptors, brewers and more

Where: Blackie Spit (Surrey), Centennial Beach (Delta), Boundary Bay Dyke Trail (Delta), Tlahutum Regional Park (Coquitlam)
Weather: Smoke haze and sun, 23-26C

The Outing

Two bits of good news to start:

  • Despite the return of the smoke haze after a brief respite, it wasn’t as bad as previously. The main change is it was no longer causing a distinct yellow cast to the lighting. Today it mainly affected the visibility of distant scenery (no shots of Mt. Baker) and the sky looked whitish-blue instead of just blue.
  • I never had any of the shenanigans that happened last week with my camera. I set it to P (Program) mode before heading out, and it stayed there the entire day. Woo. All lousy photos were my own fault, just as nature intended.

We hit four places today. It was kind of crazy, but the good kind of crazy. Mostly.

We started at Blackie Spit and at first the birds were as scarce as the water (it was low tide). Once we moved away from the beach, our luck improved with some house finches, purple martins, a northern flicker, distant herons, a gaggle of ducks in a creek huddled against the shady side (smart ducks–it was hot!) but best of all, a group of greater yellowlegs hanging out on a couple of logs, most of them initially snoozing. They were eventually joined by others, along with a pair of short-billed dowitchers, and began feeding and bobbing and doing the things they do.

We moved onto Centennial Beach next and there we saw some Brewer’s blackbirds, a couple of waxwings, some raptors (not on the Raptor Trail but technically above it), herons and more shorebirds, including a variety of gulls, some terns, more yellowlegs and the ever-cute and weird killdeer. We also saw a very shiny beetle, which ended with Nic taking a photo of his own foot. Nic got some really nice shots of a red-tailed hawk and was able to crop out all the weird stuff that showed up in multiple images, then mysteriously went away on its own. We agree that my dial of doom curse had somehow transferred over to his camera, at least for today.

From there, we moved on to fill our tummies with lunch, then headed for an unplanned trip to the Boundary Bay Dyke Trail. We saw many grasshoppers, though Nic has declared he is done with them, but they remain a freaky favourite of mine. Birds were a bit scarcer here, but we did see some more finches, chickadees (however fleetingly) and a trio of red-necked pharalopes, which I’d never shot before. They were not especially close, but I did get some shots that were good enough for Merlin to ID. I also got some extreme close-ups of planes landing at Boundary Bay Airport, of course. We also saw a male and female harrier and were able to get some of our best shots ever. Even I got a decent shot, woo.

After this, we were still not done, and headed to Tlahutum Regional Park for a quick check of the community gardens. We saw more flickers, white crowns, but best of all, hummingbirds that cooperatively supped at flowers nearby. We both got good shots of these pointy-beaked birbs when they weren’t chasing each other in a territorial dispute..

We each also drank our own weight in fluids. Did I mention it was hot?

Overall, a very respectable outing, with enough birb surprises to almost make up for no Savannah sparrows.

The Shots

This gallery has everything. Birds! Bugs! Boats! Black and white! Yes, I indulged myself and converted three photos to black and white, but I kept the originals for comparison.

The Birds (and other critters)

Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:

  • Black-capped chickadee
  • Brewer’s blackbird
  • Cedar waxwing
  • Goldfinch
  • House finch
  • House sparrow
  • Northern flicker
  • Purple martin
  • White-crowned sparrow

Waterfowl:

  • Canada goose
  • Caspian tern
  • Great blue heron
  • Greater yellowlegs
  • Killdeer
  • Mallard
  • Red-necked pharalope
  • Short-billed dowitcher

Common:

  • Crow
  • Seagull

Raptors:

  • Harrier
  • Red-tailed hawk

Non-birds:

  • Grasshoppers and a beetle
  • Butterflies and things
  • A few squirrels

Birding, July 29, 2023: Beach, beach, scum

Where: Reifel Bird Sanctuary (Delta), Centennial Beach (Surrey), Tsawwassen Beach (Tsawwassen)
Weather: Partly cloudy and Sunny, 17-25C

The Outing

Reifel: We arrived a bit early, and it was somewhat busy at the start, with lots of families out feeding the ducks and such. The kids were generally not terrorizing the birds. Near the first slough, we caught sight of a goose that was both banded and had some kind of module around its neck, with the designation C19. C19 did not seem to mind the thing. We later saw two geese (one of them was possibly C19) and they were clearly not concerned with the tracking (?) devices, as they were snoozing. And speaking of terrorizing and geese, one of them was going full-on berserk by the aforementioned slough. We didn’t encounter too many others on the trails directly, though they were ever-present.

The ponds are continuing to see a lot of bloom and one particularly slimy and had a group of ducks swimming and dunking in it, which led to them being covered, seaweed-like, in the stuff. Scum ducks. Like C19, they didn’t seem to mind their particular condition.

The blackbirds were gathered around the tower as usual, and one juvenile was especially insistent that he be fed. His dad was totally not having it, constantly flying off a short distance, only to be followed by the demanding youngster, its maw open in that FEED ME NOW pose. I got some good shots on that particularly bird. I imagine it eventually got some seed on its own. Or maybe it ran away from home, to guilt-trip its parents.

We heard but never saw any chickadees (or at least I never caught a glimpse of one). But there was a marsh wren and some waxwings and a harrier, which has been absent for quite some time. Finally, we saw oodles of shorebirds (mainly dowitchers), which have been scarce of late, and made good use of the bird blind we rarely visit on the east side of the main pond to better observe them.

Centennial Beach: Raptor Trail once again failed to live up to its name, but we saw some herons, a few somewhat distant killdeer and a new lifer for both of us–a Bonaparte seagull (named after a cousin of the emperor, who apparently contributed a lot to ornithology back in the 1830s). We also had a Savannah sparrow handily land on a rope fence right in front of us, just long enough to get a few photos. Nic was pleased. The tide was in, making the beach look rather ordinary, and it was also very windy. Kites were flying, and I watched someone’s beach umbrella get loose and start tumbling. Amazingly, it managed to avoid hitting anything before getting stuck in the sand.

We also discussed art and AI here, which has nothing to do with birds. Overall, not a great amount of birds here, but it’s always a nice visit when you’re not getting assaulted by driving hail.

Tsawwassen Beach: After making the semi-treacherous sprint across the highway to the ferry terminal, we walked along the beach until I noticed a proper trail running next to it. We got all civilized by moving onto it and headed off, spotting herons, terns, tons of geese and near a pedestrian bridge, a lot of barn swallows (and possibly others) that were nesting underneath the bridge and hunting in the river and waterways nearby. There were also sandpipers and killdeer and–baby killdeer! They’re fluffy and adorable. We also came across a spot where dozens of seagulls were hanging out on a couple of pseudo-islands near the shore. The trail goes on for quite a way, so we made a note to return and park further up and not on the opposite side of the highway. We shall return!

We ended by getting dinner at the nearby Tsawwassen Mills mega-mall. This has nothing to do with birding, but I’d never been before. The place is so big you can rent out vehicles to drive around inside the mall. You could probably hang glide in there, like a bird.

The Shots

I made Nic pick photos from my batch to go into this gallery. He was openly uncomfortable doing this, which kind of delighted me. He selected 32 photos in total, which I further narrowed down to 10. I may add in a few more later. It’s my first “curated” gallery!

The Birds (and other critters)

Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:

  • Barn swallow
  • Blackbird
  • Brown-headed cowbird
  • Black-capped chickadee (heard, but not seen)
  • Goldfinch
  • House finch
  • Savannah sparrow
  • Song sparrow
  • Spotted towhee

Waterfowl:

  • Canada goose
  • Caspian tern
  • Dowitcher
  • Killdeer
  • Mallard
  • Great blue heron
  • Wood duck

Common:

  • Crow
  • Seagull

Raptors:

  • Bald eagle
  • Harrier (!)

Non-birds:

  • Bees, bees, bees
  • Dragonfly (several types)
  • Grasshopper
  • Ladybug
  • Some kind of beetle thinger

Birding June 24, 2023: Cool, windy and full of cowbirds

Where: Reifel Bird Sanctuary and Centennial Beach, both in Delta
Weather: Cloudy, 17C

The Outing

I’ve actually done several bird outings between this one and the last one I wrote about on May 24, but for some reason never put together write-ups or galleries. Lazy? Bad? Who can say! I may eventually put up at least galleries for each later.

For now, though, on to the most recent birding, which was also the first outing of Summer 2023. The weather was not particularly summer-like, as it was cloudy, windy and around 17C, but no rain, no hail and no risk of sunburn, so it was fine.

We started out early at Reifel I opted to keep my hoodie on. This was a wise choice.

We got some quick pics of the sandhill crane family adjacent to the parking lot to start, but the main pond was unusually quiet. We headed off toward the bird blinds, where Nic had seen an owl last week when I was in Kamloops, but alas, no owls on this day. Also, the left bird blind was closed due to birds nesting in it. They clearly do not understand what a bird blind is for.

The theme at Reifel was cowbirds, and plenty of them. We only saw a couple of chickadees, no squirrels at all, but plenty of ducks, geese, and the cowbirds, who were spread out across nearly the entire sanctuary. It was kind of weird.

As befits summer, the marshland is starting to look appropriately lush and green, besmirched only by that now abandoned sailboat, which is badly listing to port now and has been there for many weeks.

The outer trails were especially breezy and cool, but some workers pointed out an oriole nest we’ll keep an eye on in future visits. The inner trails were warmer, but festooned with giant swarms of flying bugs. Fortunately, they are not the biting kind. The swallows were very well supplied.

The oddest sight may have been a small group of Northern pintails. They should have migrated weeks ago, but they either got lost, lazy or just like it here.

Centennial Beach proved a bit lacking for raptors and killdeer (we saw the latter, but only flying overhead and away from the beach), but we did see Savannah sparrows and house finches. A few others, like goldfinches, teased with their presence, but never made for good shots. The weather improved enough that the sun almost came out a few times, and it was almost warm enough to doff the hoodie.

It’s warm and sunny as I type this the day after. 😛

Overall, it was nice to be out, and I got some of my best cowbird shots ever because a) they were plentiful and b) some of them stopped frantically jumping around and stood still for several moments.

The Shots

The Birds (and other critters)

Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:

  • Anna’s Hummingbird
  • Barn swallow
  • Blackbird
  • Brown-headed cowbird
  • Chickadee
  • European starling
  • Goldfinch
  • House sparrow
  • Savannah sparrow
  • Spotted towhee
  • Tree swallow

Waterfowl:

  • Blue-winged teal
  • Canada goose
  • Great blue heron
  • Killdeer
  • Mallard
  • Northern pintail
  • Wood duck

Common:

  • Crow
  • Seagull

Raptors:

  • Bald eagle

Non-birds:

  • Some giant freaky catfish (?) in a slough at Reifel
  • Cows in a field

Birding May 22, 2023: Killdeer peeps and diving swallows

Where: Centennial Beach, Delta
Weather: Cloudy, 15C

The Outing

Nic and I headed out for the first time in three weeks, now that he is back in the Pacific time zone, in body, if not in mind. Alas, after two weeks of warm, summer-like weather, the clouds have returned. It actually wasn’t that cold overall, but the wind coming over the bay was a little chilly. Shorts weather, but without the chance of sunburn.

We did technically see two raptors, way up high–an eagle and what Merlin says was a northern harrier. I’ve never seen them fly in proximity before.

The birding turned out to be a bit better than expected, especially as we returned along the trails, with a goldfinch proving elusive, then somewhat more cooperative. All of my shots of it were poo. I did get one when it was up closer, but didn’t have time to properly focus. If it had sat still for two more seconds, I would have gotten a great shot.

I consoled myself by getting a bunch of shots of a positively adorable rabbit. While the first one dashed into the undergrowth before we could get any shots, the next proved suitably chill. And adorable. I’m going to assume there were about a thousand others we didn’t see, just out of sight.

I attempted to get some shots of diving swallows and managed a few that were surprisingly half-decent. Like, you can not just tell they’re swallows, you can see feathers and stuff. Neat!

Overall, it was nice to be back out. While better light would have been nice, at least we didn’t have to find the right spot to avoid the harsh glare of the sun. Yeah, that’s it!

The Shots

The Birds (and other critters)

Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:

  • Barn swallow
  • European starling
  • Goldfinch
  • House sparrow
  • Savannah sparrow
  • Spotted towhee
  • Tree swallow

Waterfowl:

  • Gadwall
  • Killdeer
  • Mallard

Common:

  • Crow
  • Seagull

Raptors:

  • Bald eagle
  • Northern harrier

Non-birds:

  • Rabbits
  • Some bugs if you squinted or were a swallow