Birds of 2013 - August

In most places, August is a continuation of the slow days of summer for birding. On the west coast, it signals the start of southbound shorebird migration. With breeding completed in the North, many adults are already heading south. They leave their young and head south first.

Adults can be told from the young by their plumage, which is duller and more worn compared to their fresh and colourful offspring..

Our August started with our annual trip to Calgary to visit family. We usually do this in July on the Canada Day long weekend, but with the extensive flooding in Alberta, we delayed our trip for a month. Many of the normal birding spots that I visit were still closed due to flood damage, but I managed to pick up a few good species nonetheless.

#173 White-faced Ibis - Date: August 3. Location: Frank Lake Duck Sanctuary, High River, Alberta.
This is a spot I visit every year when I travel to Calgary. It is a Ducks Unlimited protected area, and can normally be counted on for Yellow-headed Blackbirds, Forster's and Black Terns, Ruddy Ducks, and Eared Grebes among others.
With the flooding this year, Frank Lake seemed to be affected in reverse by being drier than usual. I had seen one White-faced Ibis there in 2012, but this year they were the predominant species with a population approaching 30. I was able to capture some really nice shots of them as presented below.

#174 Forster's Tern - Date: August 3. Location: Frank Lake Duck Sanctuary, High River, Alberta.
I see this species most years at Frank Lake. This year, I caught a nice action sequence. The third photo shows the species in winter plumage. It was taken at the Radio Road sewage treatment plant in Redwood City, California, south of San Francisco in September.

#175 Chipping Sparrow - Date: August 3. Location: Cochrane, Alberta.
My cousin Cathy lives on an acreage outside Cochrane, which is just a bit west of Calgary. I always look for birds there, and have seen a good collection over the years. This is the only bird of note I saw this year, it is a very common Sparrow back east, but is a good catch in BC or Alberta.

#176 Swainson's Hawk - Date: August 4. Location: Calgary, Alberta.
This is southern Alberta's version of our Red-tailed Hawk. The Swainson's hawk is visible on lamp posts, or soaring high above the city outskirts. My cousin John told me about seeing one on a wire near the Springbank Airport as he drove home from Cochrane the night before. I had about an hour to spare for birding and headed out that way. Sure enough a hawk was positioned on a telephone post as promised. It took me a couple of passes to be able to safely stop and get a decent photo.

#177 Western Kingbird - Date: August 4. Location: Calgary, Alberta.
Sometimes you just get lucky. I had hoped to see this bird in the Hope area, where it had been reported back in July, but struck out.
In order to get the photos of the Swainson's Hawk above, I had to pass it by and backtrack. When I found a convenient turn-around spot on a small road, I decided to get out and see if there were any birds about. At first I saw a Savannah Sparrow, and then noticed a larger bird sitting on a fence wire. It was part of a family of Western Kingbirds. I believe the first photo is a juvenile and the second one an adult.

#178 Caspian Tern - Date: August 7. Location: Blackie's Spit, Surrey.
Back home in BC, I headed out to Blackie's Spit. Every year, there are a couple of Marbled Godwits and a Long-billed Curlew that spend the fall and winter there. However, those birds would not be seen until later in the month. Instead I saw a pair of Caspian Terns. The photos I took that day were okay, but I got some much better ones in September at Iona Regional Park in Richmond, including this one.

#179 Spotted Sandpiper - Date: August 7. Location: Serpentine Fen, Surrey.
A mid-sized sandpiper, it is fairly common in Fall in the Lower Mainland. It may or may not have spots on the breast, they tend to disappear in winter. I caught this one with spots still intact.

#180 Franklin's Gull - Date: August 7. Location: Iona Regional Park, Richmond.
This is a very common gull in Southern Alberta, but rare out here on the coast. It had been reported for at least a week at Iona. The first day I had time to look, it was very low tide and there were hundreds of Ring-billed Gulls out on the flats. I took a photo of something that was a bit different looking, but left disappointed. I went back a couple of days later and spotted the bird just as I was leaving. It was still mixed in with other gulls and was in winter plumage. The shot below was the best I could do. It turned out I had seen it the first day, but the photos were worse than the one below. For comparison, the second photo is an adult that I saw in Calgary on the Bow River in June 2009.

#181 Baird's Sandpiper - Date: August 10. Location: 104 St. Boundary Bay, Delta.
By this time in August sandpiper migration was heating up. There were plenty of Least and Western Sandpipers returning from the north. Among them was this slightly larger species. Although I had probably seen them before, I had not recorded them on my life list, making this life list addition #371, my only lifer in August.

#182 Greater Yellowlegs - Date: August 18. Location: Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta.
I may have seen this species earlier in the year, but this sighting at Reifel was unmistakable and verified by a tour guide. They can be very hard to distinguish from Lesser Yellowlegs if not seen together.

#183 California Gull - Date: August 20. Location: 104 St. Boundary Bay, Delta.
I saw a juvenile bird in August, identified by an expert guide (see next bird below).
This adult was seen at the very end of the South Jetty at Iona in September. The yellow legs and black and red spots on the bill are good field marks.

#184 Ruddy Turnstone - Date: August 20. Location: 104 St. Boundary Bay, Delta.
On this evening at Boundary Bay, I caught up with a group of people who were on some kind of birding tour. To my surprise, the leader was Chris Charlesworth, the leader of our April tour in the Okanagan. I joined the group and tried to provide some local knowledge. Chris spotted a group of Black-bellied Plovers, put his scope on them and announced there was a Ruddy Turnstone with them. I had seen this bird back east, but never here. In the first photo, I have cropped to the bird, in the second, it is the the bird with the different wing pattern in the upper left centre.

#185 Marbled Godwit - Date: August 25. Location: Blackie's Spit, Surrey.
#186 Long-billed Curlew - Date: August 25. Location: Blackie's Spit, Surrey.
These birds have been seen at Blackie's Spit for quite a few years. They seem to spend fall and winter here, disappear for a while and then return. Since I saw them together, the one photo below shows them well. The Curlew is on the right, with the long curved bill.

#187 Common Tern - Date: August 27. Location: Drayton Harbor, Blaine Wa.
I was playing golf in Bellingham on this day and had to cross the border early to ensure I arrived on time. I decided to stop and check out the south side of Semiahmoo Bay and was rewarded with a flyover of three Common Terns. This cropped photo was the only decent one I got.

#188 Western Grebe - Date: August 27. Location: Drayton Harbor, Blaine Wa.
The final August bird was this, our largest grebe. 
The photo below was taken from the White Rock Pier in October.

That closes out the August Post, more coming in September as the shorebird migration cranks up.

Birds of 2013 - July

July is usually a quiet birding month. The birds that are here are quietly going about their business, and the summer heat reduces activity.

However, in late June there were reports of a Nashville Warbler on the Powerline trail at Grouse Mountain. This trail starts at the East Parking lot and runs parallel to the mountain slope. I had never birded there but set out on Canada Day to have a look. I did not see the Nashville, which I had seen the year before back east, but did see another bird that I had never managed to photograph before.


#164 Western Tanager - Date: July 1. Location: Grouse Mountain Powerline Trail, North Vancouver.
This is a bird that I had seen before, but never had a camera handy. This time I was well armed and it was quite cooperative.

#165 Orange-crowned Warbler - Date: July 1. Location: Grouse Mountain Powerline Trail, North Vancouver.

Another hard to capture bird. It's very difficult to see the Orange crown, but the name Yellow Warbler was already taken. The first photo is from Grouse, the second was taken at Serpentine Fen in Surrey in September.

#166 Common Nighthawk - Date: July 2. Location: Front Yard, North Delta BC.

Every summer we have Nighthawks fly over our house at dusk. They come out of Burns Bog looking for insects to scoop from the air. They have been less frequent in recent years, but I managed to hear and see one on this date. I spent quite a few evenings with my camera poised, but they never showed up for a picture. This photo was taken in Saskatchewan in June 2009

#167 Lewis Woodpecker - Date: July 5. Location: Osoyoos.
I had hoped to see this bird on our April trip, but it may have been too early for them. In early July, we stayed at a Bed and Breakfast in Osoyoos, located east of the town and high above. The attraction  of the B&B was the observatory where we star-gazed through a computer controlled 18 inch telescope. Another feature of was a good variety of birds, including this one. It was my first sighting of it since the mid 1990's.

#168 Bullock's Oriole - Date: July 5. Location: Haynes Point Provincial Park, Osoyoos.
This is another bird that is fairly common in the Okanagan. There was a period when this species and the Baltimore Oriole were lumped together in a single species call Northern Oriole. This was due to hybridization where they overlapped. This decision was reversed in 1995.
Although I got a photo in Osoyoos, it was poor. The one below was taken at Predator Ridge Golf course in Vernon in 2010.

#169 Gray Catbird - Date: July 5. Location: Haynes Point Provincial Park, Osoyoos.
A bird with an unusual name, it's call can sound like a cat's meow. However, this one was singing enthusiastically, perhaps still looking for a mate.

#170 American Redstart - Date: July 14. Location - Grant Narrows Regional Park, Pitt Meadows.
This is a common warbler back east, but attracts attention when seen in BC. This bird had been reported for about a week. I met up with a young birder named Jim, and between the two of us we found it. All I got was a quick look, no photos. The photo below was taken in Fort Meyers, Fla in April 2011.

#171 Bonaparte's Gull - Date: July 28. Location: South Jetty, Iona Regional Park, Richmond.
This is a small gull that has a black head in breeding season. The rest of the year, the black fades away. I was walking the jetty, hoping to see a rare Wandering Tattler that had been reported. Seeing the Bonaparte's after many years absence was an unexpected bonus. This is probably a juvenile.

#172 Wandering Tattler - Date: July 28. Location: South Jetty, Iona Regional Park, Richmond.
The Iona South Jetty is the base for a very large sewage pipeline. It is a 4 kilometre walk from the base until the end. The jetty  has a road beside the pipe with some tundra like growth. At the end there is a large open area with a small observation deck. I have seen quite a few lifers at various points on the Jetty.
All along the Jetty there are large rocks that help anchor the pipe and jetty in place. These rocks are perfect stopovers for rock loving shorebirds like Surfbirds and Tattlers. This Wandering Tattler had been reported for about a week, and was found around the 3km mark out.
This was lifer #370 for me.

This was the end of the July collection of sightings. Coming up next is August with southbound Shorebird migration starting up.

Birds of 2013 - June

By the time June rolls around, bird activity is subsiding. Most migrants have either headed north to breed or have done so here and are now trying to raise their young without attracting attention. I did have a few good weekend outings at Grant Narrows in Pitt Meadows and Colony Farms in Coquitlam.

I also partook in the Ryder Lake Ramble in the Chilliwack area with my friend Mary-Jean and her sister Chris. On this weekend, visitors are welcomed on a number of properties in the area, which is east of Chilliwack and 400-500 meters above the Fraser Valley. It is not primarily a birding tour, but we encountered a good range of species, a couple of which are featured in this blog and others in the earlier 2013 posts.

#151 Yellow Warbler - Date: June 1. Location: Grant Narrows Regional Park, Pitt Meadows.
Probably the second most common warbler after Yellow-Rumped. It is a striking bird, with a predominantly Yellow face and head, olive sides and red streaks on the breast. They were very active this day at Grant Narrows.

#152 Western Wood Pewee - Date: June 1. Location: Grant Narrows Regional Park, Pitt Meadows.
A fairly common fly-catcher, but this is the first photos I have taken of this species. Seen before in Alberta with no photos. This one was not shy about posing for me.

#153 Cedar Waxwing - Date: June 1. Location: Grant Narrows Regional Park, Pitt Meadows.
A familiar summer bird, usually seen in flocks on bushes and trees with berries. Very photogenic when still, which is rare.

#154 Eastern Kingbird - Date: June 8. Location: Colony Farms Regional Park, Coquitlam.
I usually see this bird in the Okanagan, but had no luck on my April trip. However, they are regular visitors to Colony Farms on the East side of the park. This photo was taken with a contrasting backdrop of grasslands, with a housing development blurred out farther back.

I had more luck in the Okanagan in July. This photo was taken at Haynes Point Provincial Park in Osoyoos.

#155 Willow Flycatcher - Date: June 8. Location: Colony Farms Regional Park, Coquitlam.
By far, the most common fly catcher one is likely to see. The photo below was taken at Road 22 in Oliver in July.

#156 Warbling Vireo - Date: June 9. Location: Ryder Lake, Chilliwack.
Our first stop on the Ryder Lake Ramble was an English Country Garden named Oversky. Upon entering the garden we heard a bird singing melodically and continuously. Mary-Jean located it and my first impression was a Vireo. One of the owners was nearby and confirmed they had a nesting Warbling Vireo. I was only able to get off a few half-decent shots, one of which appears below.

Here is a photo of its nest, taken by Mary-Jean Payeur.

#157 Turkey Vulture - Date: June 9. Location: Ryder Lake, Chilliwack.
The unofficial "State Bird of Oklahoma" according to a Texan birding guide we once met, these birds are now quite common in the Fraser Valley. The photo below was taken in the Columbia Valley south of Cultus Lake in September.

#158 Ring-billed Gull - Date: June 16. Location: Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts, Wa.
I'm not sure how I avoided this most common gull for half the year. This photo of a particularly evil looking specimen  was taken in July at Iona Regional Park.

#159 Black Oystercatcher - Date: June 16. Location: Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts, Wa.
This is one of the two Oystercatcher's you can see in North America. The American Oystercatcher is an east or gulf coast resident. The Black Oystercatcher can be seen year round on rocky shores in Southern BC and Washington. This photo was taken at the Tsawwassen Ferry Jetty in September.

#160 Swainson's Thrush - Date: June 22. Location: Colony Farms Regional Park, Coquitlam.
This bird is often heard but seldom seen. It has a very musical, fluty song which I can hear in my backyard in late spring and early summer. But they are very shy and drab looking. I have taken one good photo of it back in the 1990's. This year I saw the bird when another birder used his IPod to call the bird out. Not the way I'd like to see a species, but sometimes you have to stoop to such measures. There is no photo to post from this year.


#161 Red-eyed Vireo- Date: June 23. Location: Burnaby Lake Regional Park.
Another species seen but not photographed this year. I did get a good look at this one through binoculars. The photo was taken in May 2012 at Point Pelee National Park in Ontario. It's not very good, but the best I can offer.

#162 Least Flycatcher - Date: June 23. Location: Burnaby Lake Regional Park.
This is the bird I was hoping to see on this day, it had been reported a few days back. I did get one look at the bird and one poor photo.

#163 Green Heron - Date: June 27. Location: Burnaby Lake Regional Park.
Another Burnaby Lake bird that required a long walk and assistance from another birder to find. There are usually two or three Green Herons reported each year in the Lower Mainland. They are well worth the effort to get out and see.

That's it for June, only 13 species, but some very nice ones. Coming up next is July, where the count is ever lower. However, there were some really good birds, including a life list addition.

Birds of 2013 - May

May is normally one of the best birding months of the year as spring migration is in full force. It is especially good for warblers. Although we don't get the variety of species that Central Canada does, it can be good here.

However, it seemed that my timing was off all month. I'd read about the incredible fallouts at Queen Elizabeth Park during the week only to see very little there the following weekend. I did manage 13 new species during the month, some of them on my annual golfing trip to Kelowna.

As mentioned in previous posts, the photo accompanying the bird is the best one I took of the bird that year, not necessarily the photo taken on the first sighting date. 

#138 Brown-headed Cowbird - Date: May 3. Location: Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta.
A reasonably attractive bird but one with nasty habits. This species place their eggs in other birds nests and let them do all the hard work. Sometimes the larger Cowbird chicks will kill the other nestlings, which are usually smaller. This was part of the reason for the near extinction of the Kirtland's Warbler in Michigan. The cowbirds were removed and the Warbler is rebounding.

#139 Black-headed Grosbeak - Date: May 3. Location: Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta.
Now this is a nice bird, no bad nesting habits. Two photos below, the first is a male seen at Reifel, the second is a female seen on the Ryder Lake Ramble in Chilliwack in June.

#140 Western Sandpiper- Date: May 8. Location: Iona Regional Park, Richmond.
Each spring, a half-million (or so) of this species pass through the Fraser Delta. They're heading north to breed, and typically start coming back through starting in August. Usually the adults return first leaving the juveniles to fatten up and then find their way south. It seems to work for them.
The photo below was taken at the tip of the Iona Jetty in August. It is probably a juvenile based on the reddish colour in the upper scapulars.

#141 Blue-winged Teal - Date: May 8. Location: Iona Regional Park, Richmond.
An uncommon duck that can be seen in places like the Iona Sewage Ponds. It is closely related to the Cinnamon Teal which was in the April 2013 - Part 3 blog. Sometimes the two teals will hybridize. The photo was heavily cropped as the teal was part of a large group of other species.

#142 Purple Martin - Date: May 8. Location: Iona Regional Park, Richmond.
A member of the Swallow family, Purple Martins are colony nesters. They are more commonly seen in the prairies and further east. There are some restoration projects in the lower Mainland with colonies at Iona, Blackie's Spit and Grant Narrows. The boxes are put on pilings offshore to minimize land based predation.

#143 Whimbrel -  Date: May 14. Location: Blackie's Spit, Surrey.
These are large shorebirds with down-curved bills. I was lucky to see a pair near the entrance of the Spit when I drove in. I parked quickly and was able to get reasonably close to take the photo below. Two days later I saw two Whimbrel at Iona in Richmond. I suspect they may have been the same pair.

#144 Wilson's Warbler -  Date: May 16. Location: Iona Regional Park, Richmond.
This was my one Warbler experience in May. After walking around the entire park and seeing little, I noticed a photographer in a wheelchair and went up to chat. He told me there was a Wilson's nearby and I was able to get off a couple of good shots. Always a great bird to see.

#145 Sooty Grouse -  Date: May 19. Location: Burnaby Mountain Park.
There were reports of this bird being seen during the week. This was breeding season and the males had come out of hiding and were hooting to attract attention. As I was walking up to the location I met my birding buddies Floyd and Peter and they directed me to the location. The grouse was barely visible and this photo was the best I got. However, this was life list addition #369.

#146 Lazuli Bunting - Date: May 20. Location: Jack's farm, Hope BC.
My friend Mary-Jean and I had agreed to try the Hope airport area out for birding as it had received good reviews on the Fraser Valley birding site. I picked her up at Cultus Lake and we headed out. The Hope airport is very small and only used by a flying club. It is surrounded by farms and mountains. We stopped the car and decided to walk along the road and did find some good, but common birds.
A truck pulled up and the driver asked us if we were birders and invited us to come to his yard where he had swallow boxes and hummingbird feeders. We accepted and were not disappointed.
The highlight of the day was a Lazuli Bunting, which I had seen once before a few years ago.It only appeared for a moment and I got some good but not great shots.

#147 Ruddy Duck - Date: May 23. Location: Shannon Lake Golf Course, Kelowna.
I participate in a 5-day golf trip each year. We stay near Vernon at Predator Ridge, and play various courses in the area. Shannon Lake is always a good location for birds and marmots. The Ruddy  is a very odd Duck with the Blue bill and upturned tail. Not the greatest photo.

#148 Red-necked Grebe - Date: May 23. Location: Shannon Lake Golf Course, Kelowna.
While the guys were putting on the 17th green, I noticed a bird out on the lake. I got a couple of quick shots off and continued on. They were, of course, oblivious to it. However, the photo below was taken at the White Rock Pier in November.

#149 Brewer's Blackbird - Date: May 24. Location: Sunset Ranch Golf Course, Kelowna.
A very common Okanagan resident, I may have seen it in April but did not record it. The photo below was taken near Hope Airport in June.

#150 American Crow - Date: May 25. Location: Shadow Ridge Golf Course, Kelowna.
As mentioned in a previous post, the crows of the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley are Northwestern Crows. Once you get past Manning Park, any crow you see is an American Crow. There's a slight difference in the Caw, but other than that you need to do a DNA test to distinguish them.

That's it for May. The next post is June, another slower month, but with some great birds.