August 28 - Boundary Bay

On this Tuesday, I had some time after dinner to visit 104 St on Boundary Bay. I was hoping to see some migrating shorebirds but the tide was not as favourable as it looked on the website I use to check the levels. However it was a nice night and I did see a few birds.

The first thing you notice here is the view of Mount Baker, it looks huge and close across the water. It also looked somewhat bare and darker than normal. Was this a sign of a hot summer or global warming?

There were very few birds at first. I settled for a shot of a couple of Ring-billed Gulls.

Ring-billed Gull - 104 St at Boundary Bay, Delta BC

I did see one shorebird, a Dunlin flying overhead. It was already in Basic (winter) plumage and may be getting ready to head south, although some winter in the lower Mainland.


Dunlin - 104 St at Boundary Bay, Delta BC

I don't always photograph immature gulls, but this shot had another bird in the frame.


Glaucous-winged Gull - 104 St at Boundary Bay, Delta BC

I believe it was a Barn Swallow flying over the Gull. This shot shows it a little more clearly.


Glaucous-winged Gull and Barn Swallow (?) - 104 St at Boundary Bay, Delta BC

Two more recognizable birds flew overhead. They were Caspian Terns. I was a bit slow on the draw and only got a shot of one bird.


Caspian Tern - 104 St at Boundary Bay, Delta BC

About 15 minutes later, things got busier overhead. A large flock of ducks flew over the bay. Most of them were Northern Pintail, but there were a couple of American Wigeon in this shot.


Northern Pintail and American Wigeon - 104 St at Boundary Bay, Delta BC

If you can't find them, here's a closer look at the lower leading edge of the flock. The two Wigeon are in the lower left corner of the photo above the two Pintails in the corner.


Northern Pintail and American Wigeon - 104 St at Boundary Bay, Delta BC

That was the end of the evening outing and my last birding excursion in August.