Let’s try something new! And by “let’s” I mean me because ain’t no one else writing this.
Most Saturdays I go birding with Nic. Starting with this post, I’ll recount each birding outing: Where we went, the conditions, some photos (of course), and what we saw.
And now, the inaugural entry:
Where: Piper Spit (Burnaby Lake Regional Park), Colony Farm Regional Park Weather: Cloudy, occasional drizzle, around 8ºC
The Outing
The forecast was not looking great–about a 50-60% chance of showers, but apart from a few drops here and there, the rain held off, and the sun even tried to come out a few times. It was breezy both at Piper spit and Colony Farm, so it felt a little cooler than the actual 8ºC.
We encountered a fairly significant number of birds heading from the dam to Piper spit, including a rare sighting of a varied thrush dining out on a tree stump normally occupied by squirrels. We also saw some kinglets, but alas, I was unable to get any shots beyond “this blurry butt is definitely on some kind of feathered creature.”
At the spit, we saw the usual crowd, but also what might have been a hermaphrodite mallard, showing both female and male characteristics. The giant flocks of seagulls were down to just a few this time, though I’m unsure why, and the number of dowitchers was also down, though they were in their usual (current spot) just west of the pier.
At Colony Farm we observed blackbirds possibly gathering nesting material, but the biggest surprise there came at the very end, in one of the small creeks: a muskrat. I can’t remember the last time I saw one.
The Shots
The Birds (and other critters)
All birds seen at Piper spit unless otherwise noted.
Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:
- Varied thrush (rare)
- Golden-crowned kinglet (rare)
- Ruby-crowned kinglet (rare)
- American robin
- Anna’s hummingbird
- Blackbird
- Black-capped chickadee
- Dark-eyed junco
- Golden-crowned sparrow
- Hooded merganser (Colony Farm)
- Song sparrow
- Spotted towhee
Waterfowl:
- American coot
- American wigeon (Colony Farm)
- Bufflehead duck
- Canada goose
- Gadwall (Colony Farm)
- Great blue heron
- Green-winged teal
- Lesser scaup
- Long-legged dowitcher
- Mallard
- Northern pintail
- Wood duck
Common:
- Crow
- Pigeon
- Seagull
Non-birds:
- Red squirrel
- Gray squirrel
- Muskrat (Colony Farm)
