Tuesday, May 30, 2017

Diary Update #10 πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦ 2017

✈️   Tuesday 30th May 2017 πŸ‡¬πŸ‡§  ~ I'm now sitting back aboard the boat just after midnight recovering from our nine hour flight back from Vancouver and reflecting on what's been another superb adventure to Alaska and Canada.

View over Stanley Park Vancouver

☀️  Friday 26th May 2017 πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦   ~ The last few days of our holiday were spent enjoying the amazing weather, with temperatures well into the mid twenties and cloudless blue skies. The slogan 'Beautiful British Columbia' depicted on car number plates around here could not have been more appropriate!

Nesting Osprey on the pylons at Maplewood!
Black-tailed Deer at Maplewood Flats
We've spent more time with Derek and mixed our days between visiting more touristy areas and some of our favourite birding hotspots such as Maplewood Flats Conservation area, where both nesting Purple Martins and Ospreys can be found. Lynn Canyon, one of Dee's favourite parks in West Vancouver, with its stunning waterfalls and huge Cedar trees produced the usual American Dippers.

Turkey Vulture soars over Squamish
Rufous Hummingbird at Squamish ~ Photo by Dee..

☀️  Saturday 27th May 2017 πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦   ~ Today we drove the fifty or so miles out to Squamish. With its estuary, fast flowing river, waterfall and superb marsh trails it's a great place to explore. Dee was of course delighted to see River Otters and the birding produced some good diversity with Rufous HummingbirdsCaspian Terns, Belted Kingfisher, Swainson's Thrush, Turkey Vulture, Purple Finch, Cedar Waxwings and Great Blue Heron, all part of a real variety of species.

Double-crested Cormorants ~ Lost Lagoon, Stanley Park

Red-eared Slider ~ The Lost Lagoon
☀️  Sunday 28th May 2017 πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦   With our flight not until the late afternoon we spent the morning in Stanley Park, not the place to explore on a 'Blue Sky Sunday', with cyclists, joggers and walkers teeming all around but somewhere you really have to spend time during any visit to Vancouver. That said a walk around the Lost Lagoon and English Bay produced Red-eared Slider, Racoon, Common Merganser, both Double-crested and Pelagic Cormorants and the park the usual Wood DucksBlack Squirrels and Anna's Hummingbird, recently voted the new City Bird of Vancouver!

Female Red-winged Blackbird ~ Iona Beach

Male Red-winged Blackbird ~ Iona Beach
Our final destination was Iona Beach, quite handily on the western end of the airport. We'd started our visit to Vancouver here and so would end our latest visit here. Both Red-winged Blackbirds and Yellow-headed Blackbirds gave some astonishing close views, a noisy Pied-billed Grebe, the torpedos of the lagoons here and the nesting Purple Martins always a treat and of course before we knew it, it was time for home!

More Trip Images...

Purple Martin at Iona Beach ~ Photo by Dee...

Yellow-headed Blackbird ~ Iona Beach ~ Photo by Dee...

Cedar Waxwing ~ Sporting new sun glasses!
Wood Duck ~ Lost Lagoon

Great Blue Heron ~ Lost Lagoon