January Backyard Birds

These photos were all taken on January 39th in our back yard. This is before the big snowfall in early February. As I write this, many of these birds have not been seen since that snowfall. Hopefully they all survived and will return to the yard.

Black-capped Chickadee - Backyard, North Delta BC

Dark-eyed Junco - Backyard, North Delta BC

Northern Flicker - Backyard, North Delta BC

Red-breasted Nuthatch - Backyard, North Delta BC

Red-breasted Nuthatch - Backyard, North Delta BC

We also have Anna's Hummingbird regularly, but no good photos so far in 2019.

One backyard I'm still struggling to see this year is the Bewick's Wren. Will post when I see one.

Another Point Roberts Sunday

I may be wearing out the readers with posts from Point Roberts, but cheap gas takes me there every weekend. I try to not repeat the photos too much, and I think this day's collection has some interest.

The Common Goldeneye winters in coastal areas and feeds on Mollusks, crustaceans and small fish. They seem to have their beak in the water frequently as these photos show.


Common Goldeneye - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

Common Goldeneye - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

The female is quite striking with the brown head and, of course, the golden eye.

Common Goldeneye (F) - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

Another common bird in winter is the Horned Grebe, a small plain looking bird in winter. In spring it will moult into multi-coloured breeding plumage. Unfortunately, they seem to abandon this area before the moult starts.

Horned Grebe - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

There are two Cormorant species here during the winter. This is the Double-crested with the bright orange beak. The crests are almost never seen.

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

The predominant Gull on the Northwest coast is the Glaucous-winged. This one appears to be an immature bird, possibly in the moulting process. It reminds me of a pissed off teenager with acne.

Glaucous-winged Gull (Imm) - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

It's not unusual to see Sea Lions here in winter, it is difficult to get a photo of them. They only surface for a few seconds before submersing themselves again.

Steller Sea Lion - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

The last two photos taken on this day show an interaction between a Goldeneye and a Gull. I'm guessing the Goldeneye caught this morsel of food and had it stolen by the Gull.

Common Goldeneye and Glaucous-winged Gull - 

Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

The duck does not happy in this photo...

January 27

I visited again the following Sunday and only took one photo worth posting, a close-up of a Common Loon. This is their non-breeding plumage. With luck, I should see them in their more well known colours in the coming months. This photo shows their flat head quite well.

Common Loon - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

Boundary Bay 72 Street

On this Saturday afternoon I changed my routine and checked out this popular location on Boundary Bay. In spring and summer I come to this area to play golf at King's Links. The course was closed but it looked quite playable.

One of the attractions here is the good chance of seeing Short-eared Owls hunting on the foreshore, but I had no luck on this day. The birds I saw were quite common, but I took a few nice shots. The first bird was an immature Bald Eagle. It was unhappy as it had just been robbed of some food by an adult Eagle.

Bald Eagle (Imm) - 72 St Boundary Bay, Delta BC

I'm not sure if this was the thief or not...


Bald Eagle - 72 St Boundary Bay, Delta BC

Another predator in this environment is the Northern Harrier. I'm quite happy with this shot. They always look a bit line an Owl to me.

Northern Harrier - 72 St Boundary Bay, Delta BC

A common winter bird here is the White-crowned Sparrow. The brownish-red stripe on the head indicates a first-winter bird.

White-crowned Sparrow (Imm) - 72 St Boundary Bay, Delta BC

The last bird of the day was a female Red-winged Blackbird. I'm not suer what she's sitting on, perhaps a flowering thistle of some kind.

Red-winged Blackbird (F) - 72 St Boundary Bay, Delta BC

Point Roberts and Tsawwassen Revisited

Another Sunday at two familiar locations with the opportunity to add birds to my 2019 year list. It was a nice sunny winter day which made for good photo opportunities.

Point Roberts

There were a few commonly seen birds that I missed on my first visit the previous week. My first sighting was a Red-necked Grebe. It didn't get too close to shore, so these shots were not the best.


Red-necked Grebe - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA - 2019 Bird #48

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

A pair of Double-crested Cormorants flew over. The thick yellow bill distinguishes them from the Pelagic Cormorant which is also seen here.

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

I saw my first Common Loon of 2019 next, and it was reasonably close to shore. 

Common Loon- Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA - 2019 Bird #49

I thought I had seen another loon a bit earlier but was not able to get a photo. Near the end of my visit it appeared again. It was a Red-throated Loon, a smaller and more delicate looking bird. I was happy to get this on my 2019 list as sightings are uncommon for this species. The red throat does not appear until April when the bird is in breeding plumage. At that time it also has a gray face rather than the white seen here.

Red-throated Loon - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

2019 Bird #50

This shot was taken with my IPhone through my spotting scope.

Red-throated Loon - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

Beach Grove Lagoon

I left Point Roberts and took my customary Starbucks break in Tsawwassen. After that I decided to try for the Ruff at Beach Grove Lagoon. This rare bird has been around since Fall 2018.

It was associating with the more common Yellowlegs the last time I saw it in November. It did not take long to find a Greater Yellowlegs on the shoreline.

Greater Yellowlegs - Beach Grove Lagoon, Tsawwassen BC

2019 Bird #51

Mixed with the larger shorebirds were many Sanderling, a much smaller Sandpiper. In breeding plumage these birds are almost all white, but in winter they have some brown mixed in.

Sanderling - Beach Grove Lagoon, Tsawwassen BC - 2019 Bird #52

There were a number of birders on the viewing platform that looks out on the lagoon. They had already located the Ruff and pointed it out to me and others. 

The Ruff is an Eurasian shorebird similar to our Yellowlegs. Its legs are a paler yellow, and the overall colouring a bit duller. it also has feather pattern on its back that makes it look like it has a hump.

This photo also shows a Sanderling for size comparison.

Sanderling and Ruff - Beach Grove Lagoon, Tsawwassen BC - 2019 Bird #53 (Ruff)

I had some extra time so I set out on the trails with some of the other birders. We didn't see much, but one of them spotted a female Purple Finch. The streak pattern on the breast, the shape of the head and the feather pattern on the head distinguish this bird from the more common House Finch.

Purple Finch (F) - Beach Grove Lagoon - Tsawwassen BC

2019 Bird #54

We were now back to the lagoon and spotted a number of Brant Geese flying by. I caught some of them in flight.

Brant - Beach Grove Lagoon, Tsawwassen BC

A large flock of Dunlin flew in and landed in the Lagoon.

Dunlin - Beach Grove Lagoon, Tsawwassen BC

As we were walking back, I asked if there were any Eurasian Wigeon mixed in the ducks in the lagoon. I had not seen this species since early 2018. One fellow said they were common here and we looked out into the lagoon. Sure enough, there were a couple pretty far out. 

I took this photo with my IPhone through my spotting scope. The Wigeon are the farthest back with the Orange and yellow on their heads.

Eurasian Wigeon - Beach Grove Lagoon, Tsawwassen BC

2019 Bird #54

This ended a enjoyable and productive day. 

First visit to Point Roberts and Tsawwassen

Point Roberts

After a tough three days back at work after the holidays, I was back to birding on the weekend. I made my way to Point Roberts, guaranteed to pick up some new species for 2019. It was a bit shocking that I had not seen the ever-present Glaucous-winged Gull on earlier outings, but it was the first bird of the day today.


Glaucous-winged Gull - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA - 2019 Bird #33

Another common bird here is the Horned Grebe. They are seen reasonably close to shore where they dive for fish and small crustaceans. The red eye is the most distinguishing feature. The similar Red-necked Grebe has a dark eye.


Horned Grebe - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA - 2019 Bird #34

Point Roberts is the only location I visit where there are Harlequin Ducks. According to Google, they can be seen at Stanley Park and in West Vancouver at Ambleside Park.

On this day my best picture of the species was of the understated female; rather than the blue, white and brown male. The female Surf Scoter is similar, but the round spot behind the eye is diagnostic for the Harlequin.


Harlequin Duck (F) - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA - 2019 Bird #35

Another diving duck seen here is the Common Goldeneye. I think this might be a first-winter male.


Common Goldeneye - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA - 2019 Bird #36

The last duck seen was a Surf Scoter, the most numerous of the diving ducks seen at Lighthouse Marine Park.

Surf Scoter - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

2019 Bird #37

There are two species of Cormorant seen at Point Roberts, the slimmer looking Pelagic and the bulkier Double-crested. Both were seen on this visit. I did not get a very good shot of the Pelagic today.

Pelagic Cormorant - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA - 2019 Bird #38

In between the cormorants, I saw a very common bird, our Northwestern Crow. This is the dominant crow in the Pacific Northwest. The rest of the continent has the slightly larger American Crow.

Northwestern Crow - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA - 2019 Bird #39

And here's the Double-crested Cormorant, the most commonly seen Cormorant on the Pacific Coast. It can be told from the Pelagic the the colourful beak and the overall bulkier appearance.

Double-crested Cormorant - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA - 2019 Bird #40

The last birds of the visit were the biggest surprise, a flock of Dunlin. These are medium sized shorebirds that always travel in good sized flocks. They can be told from similar species by their size and by the extra large looking black bill. This photo also shows the surf in an interesting manner. That's not soap bubbles, folks.

Dunlin - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA - 2019 Bird #41

It's not uncommon to see Sea Lions here. Because of the steep drop-off, the can be in deep water quite close to shore. I still struggle to tell Sea Lions from Harbour Seals, but these creatures always look larger than seals to me.

Steller's Sea Lion- Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA 

Beach Grove Lagoon

After a Starbucks break in Tsawwassen, I made a stop at Beach Grove Lagoon. It's tricky to park here, but once that's done, you close to a walking trail that takes you east along the shoreline. This area can be very good for shorebirds at times when the tide is right.

Today there were no shorebirds, but I was able to pick up a couple of new Gull species for the year. The first was the common Ring-billed Gull.

Ring-billed Gull - Beach Grove Lagoon, Delta BC - 2019 Bird #42.

In the same area was a similar Gull minus the ring on the bill.

Mew Gull - Beach Grove Lagoon, Delta BC - 2019 Bird #43

There wasn't much else going on, but I was my first White-crowned Sparrow of the year on one of the trails.

White-crowned Sparrow - Beach Grove Lagoon, Delta BC

2019 Bird #44

Tsawwassen Ferry Jetty

I left Beach Grove Lagoon and parked in the pull-out just before the Ferry Terminal. I was here to specifically see Brant Geese in the compensation lagoon. They'd been here in December and I wanted to get them before they migrated north to the Arctic Tundra.

However, the first bird I saw was a Barrow's Goldeneye. This bird can be told from the Common Goldeneye by the much more angular head.

Barrow's Goldeneye - Tsawwassen Ferry Jetty, Delta BC - 2019 Bird #45

And out in the lagoon were a small flock of Brant. I love the look of these smaller Geese.

Brant - Tsawwassen Ferry Jetty, Delta BC - 2019 Bird #46

 I'll end the blog with a short movie of the Brant:

Fraser Valley Rarities

While I was visiting Reifel on New Year's day, someone discovered a Cape May Warbler at Mill Lake Park in Abbotsford.  This was a bird I'd never seen. But I was back at work on Tuesday the second and would not be able to go out there until the weekend.

I contacted my friend Mary-Jean and she agreed come from Chilliwack to meet me there on Saturday the 5th. I arrived early and made my way over to where the bird had been seen.

This park is quite large, with a good sized lake. I was parked in the middle of it had had a nice walk along the lake to get to where the Warbler was being seen.

Along the way, I checked out the ducks in the lake, including this female Common Merganser.


Common Merganser (F) - Mill Lake Park, Abbotsford BC

This was an interesting shot of a pair of Mallards.


Mallards - Mill Lake Park, Abbotsford BC

Sometimes when your chasing a rare bird alert, you have to work really hard to get a glimpse of the bird. My rule is always "Find the Birders and you'll Find the Bird".

It was pretty simple this time, the birders were all at one corner of the park and the bird was popping up frequently. My first shots were a bit tentative as this was my first lifer since 2017. It was worth the wait.

Cape May Warbler - Mill Lake Park, Abbotsford BC

Life Bird #426

2019 Bird #27

Cape May is a famous birding location in New Jersey. Edith and I visited there in 2003, but we missed the namesake Warbler on that visit.

The bird was a bit off course. It's breeding range is east of the Rockies from Alberta to the eastern provinces and states. It has been seen in Northeastern BC on the east side of the Rockies. This was the first record in BC west of that range.

Cape May Warbler - Mill Lake Park, Abbotsford BC

The bird appeared frequently and was quite feisty. It had a running territorial battle going on with an Anna's Hummingbird. It also had one skirmish with a Marsh Wren. In both cases it chased the invaders away.

After a while I headed back to the parking lot to wait for Mary-jean who was one her way from Chilliwack. Of course, I took photos as I walked back, including this male Bufflehead.

Bufflehead - Mill Lake Park, Abbotsford BC

2019 Bird #28

Farther out on the lake I spotted a Pied-billed Grebe.

Pied-billed Grebe - Mill Lake Park, Abbotsford BC - 2019 Bird #29

Although I'd seen one earlier, this was my first (poor) photo of the year for the Anna's Hummingbird.

Anna's Hummingbird - Mill Lake Park, Abbotsford BC

2019 Bird #30

I met Mary-Jean at the parking lot and we headed back for the Warbler. As before, I took some photos of the ducks on the lake. We were both impressed with this park and intend to visit it again.

Another new species for the year for me were these Lesser Scaup.

Lesser Scaup - Mill Lake Park, Abbotsford BC - 2019 Bird #31

I got a better shot of the Common Merganser on the way back.

Common Merganser (F) - Mill Lake Park, Abbotsford BC

We arrived back at the Warbler area and Mary-Jean added it to her life list. I tried to get some zoom shots with the Nikon this time and this was the best result.

Cape May Warbler- Mill Lake Park, Abbotsford BC

After while we headed back and parted company. I decided to head south rather than west to see if the Great Egret I'd seen in December was still in Aldergrove. It was on the rare bird alert for the previous day.

My luck held up and the bird was closer to the road than when I'd seen it on New Year's eve.

Great Egret - 272 St, Aldergrove BC - 2019 Bird # 32

Although these birds are seen in southern Washington and Oregon, they are rare here. This one seems to really like this large grassy yard, it's been there since December 21 and was last seen on January 27th.

One last close-up and I headed for home.