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.