December 25/26 - Front and Back Yard Birds

This is a quick post featuring a few birds seen in the yard over the holidays.

On Christmas Day, there was a Brown Creeper on the Douglas Fir tree in our front yard. I grabbed the Nikon camera and got a couple of poor shots. The bird is constantly on the move making it tough to get a clear shot.

Brown Creeper - Front Yard, Delta BC

The bird also blends in very well with the tree back, a good evolutionary survival trait. The next shot caught more detail with the sky as the background.

Brown Creeper - Front Yard, Delta BC

On boxing day I pointed the camera towards our back yard for the last time in 2019.

This is looking down from our deck into the blackberry brambles,  where a couple of finches were munching on leaf buds.

House Finch - Back Yard, Delta BC

Not a great shot of this Junco, which are quite common at this time of year at the feeders and in the yard.

Dark-eyed Junco - Back Yard, Delta BC

We maintain a Hummingbird feeder all year round, but this is the first time I remember seeing this bird on it...

Chestnut-backed Chickadee - Back Yard, Delta BC

Here's the usual occupant for the last yard photo of 2019

Anna's Hummingbird - Back Yard, Delta BC

December 14 - Great Blue Heron Reserve - Chilliwack BC

I volunteered to drive out to Chilliwack to pick up some golf passes that our group had purchased from the Chilliwack Golf Club. The Heron Reserve is not too far from there, so I paid a visit.

I've never had a lot of luck at this location for uncommon birds, but many of the usual suspects were present today.

There were good numbers of Ducks on the ponds.


Mallard - Great Blue Heron Reserve, Chilliwack BC 

I played with the crop on this photo of a flock or Ring-necked Ducks. Interesting mix of three males with one female.


Ring-necked Ducks - Great Blue Heron Reserve, Chilliwack BC

Here's a Cormorant hanging out with the Mallards.


Double-crested Cormorant and Mallards - Great Blue Heron Reserve, Chilliwack BC

Here's a bushy looking Squirrel.


Eastern Gray Squirrel - Great Blue Heron Reserve, Chilliwack BC

I was pretty well done here, but checked out the seed feeders before leaving. There was an assortment of House Finches partaking in the Sunflower seeds. I think the bird in the right background is a Red-winged Blackbird.

House Finches - Great Blue Heron Reserve, Chilliwack BC 

This guy looks happy...

House Finches - Great Blue Heron Reserve, Chilliwack BC

And finally I saw one of the namesake birds overhead.

Great Blue Heron - Great Blue Heron Reserve, Chilliwack BC

November 2019 - Reifel Bird Sanctuary

November 2

I had a good visit here on this day. Nothing too rare was seen, but I took some good shots of commonly seen birds.

Golden-crowned Sparrows are common in fall/winter on the Lower Mainland. They're not as colourful as they are in summer, but still quite attractive.

Golden-crowned Sparrow - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

Late fall is a great time for Ducks at Reifel, most of them already back in breeding plumage. American Wigeon are one of the most common species.

American Wigeon - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

The Wigeon was ready to dive in and I caught the result in this unique photo.

The female is quite different, but still colourful and striking.

American Wigeon (F) - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

Another common duck at this time of year is the Ring-necked Duck. I've said in other posts that this bird is poorly named. There is a ring on the neck but it's mostly hidden. It is a rusty colour on a black background. 

 

Ring-necked Duck - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

You can see the "ring" on this side shot:

The next bird is a female and is probably a Greater Scaup. This is based on a rounded back of the head.

Greater Scaup (F) - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

Song Sparrows are common at Reifel and I usually get one or two good shots of them there.

Song Sparrow - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

There was a medium sized bird overhead in a tree. It took me a couple of looks to realize it was an American Robin.

American Robin - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

The last birds seen were of the larger variety, starting with our most commonly seen Heron.

Great Blue Heron - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

It's unusual to see Eagles in the sanctuary rather than soaring overhead.

Bald Eagle - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

And off in the distance were a group of Sandhill Cranes, the last sighting of the day.

Sandhill Cranes - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

November 11

I made a visit to Reifel on this statutory holiday. The photos taken on this day were all of common birds, but I picked out a few that I liked.

Here's a Junco poking around in some leaf litter.

Dark-eyed Junco - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

Another colourful shot, this one of a Towhee.

Spotted Towhee - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

This Song Sparrow looks quite comfortable.

Song Sparrow - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

And here is it in the leaf litter:

Song Sparrow - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

And finally a Gull bobbing for apples (or some other kind of food)...

Glaucous-winged Gull - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

This was my last visit to Reifel in 2019, I'd be back again on New Year's Day in 2020.

November 2019 - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

It's January 11 as I write this so I'm going to compress my November and December posts a bit. This post deals with outings on November 2nd and 3rd.

November 2

It was a quick stop here on this day as I had plans to visit Reifel Bird Sanctuary as well.

Only two photos made the grade. The first is of a Merganser seen frequently here.

Red-breasted Merganser (F) - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

I noticed that a Harlequin Duck had captured some kind of fish or creature. This is the best I could do as it was fairly far from shore.

Harlequin Duck - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

November 3

I returned to the Point the next day to get gas for our second vehicle and try again at Lighthouse Marine Park. I had more success today than the previous day.There were a pair of Harlequin Ducks in breeding plumage close to shore to start things off. The front duck may be the first female I've seen in this plumage.

Harlequin Duck - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

Speaking of females, here's a shot of a female Surf Scoter.

Surf Scoter (F) -  - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

Every once in a while a Sea Lion comes close enough to shore for me to get a photo. They are very large creatures.

Steller Sea Lion - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

The common loon can be seen here year round, especially in Fall and Winter. They're in their Basic (non-breeding) plumage by this time.

Common Loon - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

Less common but occasionally seen here is the Red-necked Grebe. This is a mid-sized grebe with a distinctive large yellow bill. The neck is a rusty colour.

Red-necked Grebe - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

The highlight of the day occurred when a flock of Sanderlings flew past quite close to shore. 

Sanderling - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

Mixed in with the flock were a couple of Dunlin. They are a brownish colour and have a larger down-curved bill.

Sanderling and Dunlin - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

The birds landed on the shoreline quite close to me. There's two Dunlin in this shot, one near the left edge and the other at the right edge.

Sanderling and Dunlin - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

The last shot of the day is probably the best, a  Common Loon preening.

Common Loon - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

October 2019 - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

Similar to September, I'm rolling all my Point Roberts visits into one post for October 2019. I see the same set of birds most weeks so I've picked the best shots taken during the month.

October 5

The very first shot is one I'm not 100% certain of the ID. I believe this is a Mew Gull, it was quite far from shore. Zoomed in, the bill seems to be mostly yellow. The black around the eyes does not agree with the species description. This could be a Bonaparte's Gull as well.

Gull sp. - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

No mistaking this bird, a Common Loon still transitioning from Alternate (breeding) to Basic plumage.


Common Loon - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

A common sight are the Pelagic Cormorants winging past. They always seem to be in a hurry to get somewhere.


Pelagic Cormorant - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

Much more sedate are the Surf Scoters, in this case three males.


Surf Scoters - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

A bit later three Western Grebes swam by. They are similar to, but larger than, the more commonly seen  Horned Grebes here.


Western Grebe - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

It was a good day for sailing, breezy but not too cold.



This is a acceptable shot of a male Harlequin Duck. The colours often seem to fool the camera leaving the picture looking a bit under-exposed.


Harlequin Duck - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

No such problems with the last two shots of the day, a pair of White-crowned sparrows. The first is an Adult. The second is what is called a first-winter bird.


White-crowned Sparrow - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

White-crowned Sparrow (Imm) 

Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

October 12

There's fewer photos from this Saturday visit. The first on is face on with a Common Loon.

Common Loon -  Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

Pelagic Cormorants are more common here, but I do see the occasional Double-crested fly by, such as this one. The orange on the face and bulkier look are good ID marks. The crest is very hard to see on non-breeding birds.

Double-crested Cormorant - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

Horned Grebes are numerous in Fall and Winter. Here's a trio followed by a close-up of a single bird.

Horned Grebes - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

Horned Grebe - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

And last for this day is another male Harlequin Duck. 

Harlequin Duck - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

October 13

I was back again the following day. Only a couple of photos made the grade for this visit. The first is a Red-breasted Merganser in non-breeding plumage.

Red-breasted Merganser - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

I like the alien look of this straight on shot of a Horned Grebe.

Horned Grebe - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

October 27

This was my last visit for the month. It was a nice sunny day, which enabled some good shots at a high shutter speed.

This loon was quite close to shore and was preening. I'm very pleased with this shot.

Common Loon - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

With that taken care of, it's back to cruising around for food.

Common Loon - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

This is one of my better shots of a Red-breasted Merganser. It can be tricky to tell males and females apart in non-breeding plumage. I believe this is an adult female.

Red-breasted Merganser (F) - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

I don't usually take photos of the most commonly seen Gulls here, but this one looked quite stately. I think this is an 4th year adult gull in winter plumage. It takes Gulls up to four years to have full adult plumage.

Glaucous-winged Gull - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

Another look at a Horned Grebe, this one captures the eye colour quite nicely.

Horned Grebe  - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

There seems to be plenty of fish here to support the birds. This Loon has a tasty meal to digest.

Common Loon - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

And finally for Point Roberts in October, the most predatorial of birds, a Bald Eagle. I see them perching here quite often, but have not witnessed them scavenging from any of the other birds.

Bald Eagle - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA