Birds of 2013 - October to December

When doing a year list, it becomes much more difficult to add new birds as the year closes. Although we have a good collection of Winter birds on the Lower Mainland, many of them were seen in January and February. Therefore, this last post has just enough birds to fill out the last three months of the year.

On the flip side, the birds I did see were mostly really good ones, and there were some of my best photos of the year for a few of them.

October Birds

#209 Palm Warbler - Date: Oct 5. Location: Iona Regional Park, Richmond.
This is mostly an Eastern/Central warbler, but there is a small population that migrates down the West Coast. I had seen them before in Florida and at Point Pelee, but they were always in the tall grass or on the move. There had been an alert for this one at Iona. When I saw it, it was right at eye level in some bushes and was quite willing to pose. The first is one of my favourites for the year.

#210 Lapland Longspur - Date: Oct 5. Location: Iona Regional Park, Richmond.
The British verb for missing out on a rare bird is "to dip on it". I dipped on this bird and the much rarer Smith's Longspur a week earlier at Boundary Bay. After seeing the Palm Warbler I was ready to call it a day but there had been reports of Lapland's on the South Jetty. I was going to walk about 1 Km out and then turn around. However, I met a birder named Tak who told me there were two of them at about the 3 Km mark. I decided this might be my last chance for the year so out I went. I found them around 3 Km out and they were quite cooperative. This was lifer #378, well worth the walk out and back.

#211 Thayer's Gull - Date: Oct 13. Location: Iona Regional Park, Richmond.
Gulls are notoriously difficult to identify, especially in the Pacific Northwest where the Glaucous-winged Gulls hybridize with a couple of other species. This day at Iona had been quiet when I noticed a group of birders near the sewage lagoons. I recognized on of them as Russell Cannings, whom I had met on our tour in the Okanagan in April. As well as the holder of the BC Big Year, he's also the caretaker for the BC Rare Bird Alert website. I dropped by to say hello and heard him mention there were Thayer's Gulls in one of the ponds. I had a look through his scope, saw the Gulls, and then pointed my camera in the same direction. The Gull is the second from the left with the red spot on the bill. The other Gulls are Ring-billed.

#212 Harlequin Duck - Date: Oct 20. Location: Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA.
I had these ducks on my target list, knowing that I could get them here or at Stanley Park any time in Fall or Winter. The first shot is a male. The second is a female taken at the same location in November.

November Birds

#213 Pigeon Guillemot - Date: Nov 3. Location: Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA.
These are Ocean birds that can seen close to shore. I first saw them in the Queen Charlottes in 2004 where they were sitting inside steel tubes at the Ferry Terminal. In breeding season, they are mostly black with white sides. This one is in winter plumage, it may be a juvenile. In the second photo it has caught a tasty treat.

#214 Red-breasted Merganser - Date: Nov 16. Location: Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA.
My earlier posts showed Common and Hooded Mergansers in small freshwater ponds and lakes. This Merganser prefers salt water, and really seems to like the rocky shores of Lighthouse Marine Park. The first photo shows a male (left) and female. The second shows a female with a female Harlequin Duck.

#215 Black Turnstone - Date: Nov 16. Location: Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA.
This is the other Turnstone species. The Ruddy Turnstone was in the August post. These birds get their names from their habit of looking under stones on rocky beaches for small prey. This bird is common year round in the Pacific Northwest, but in limited locations. I had never managed to see them before, so this was life list addition #379.

#216 Ancient Murrelet -  Date: Nov 16. Location: Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA.
Another ocean bird that is seen further out from shore. I could only see them through binoculars, with identification provided by a birder with a spotting scope. This was an unsatisfying lifer #380. Next year I hope to have a scope. You'll have to Google the bird to see what they look like.

#217 Brant - Date: Nov 16. Location: Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA.
This is a goose that is likely unfamiliar to most. They favour salt water and can be seen in Point Roberts, or the BC Ferry Jetty. They tend to fly low over the water in groups, as in this photo.

December Birds

#218 Snow Bunting - Date: Dec 19. Location: Tsawwassen Ferry Jetty.
Another reported sighting that I was late in getting to. It was a cold windy day and I had walked from where I'd parked to the end of the boat launch on the south side of the jetty. And there they were. I got past them and they then escorted me half way back to my car. The second photo is a bit blurry as it was difficult to get focus on both birds with my telephoto lens.

#219 Cackling Goose - Date: Dec 26. Location: Terra Nova Nature Park, Richmond.
You may look at the photo below and say that's a Canada Goose. However, this smaller goose was split from Canada Goose back in 2004. You can see how small it is in the second photo compared to the Snow Goose beside it. I may have seen one sometime in the past, but had never recorded it, so I ended the year with life list addition #381.

So ends the 2013 birding blog, 219 species in total with 29 life list additions. It's going to be hard to beat in 2014, especially on the life list front.

I hope you enjoyed reading the blog.

Good birding...

Lou Davidson
Delta BC