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:
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