Serpentine fen

Yellow-rumped Warbler

The Serpentine Fen Bird Sanctuary and Wildlife Area is Located in south-west Surrey near Mud Bay, the sanctuary offers a refuge for thousands of migrating birds during Spring and Autumn as well as a home for many year-round residents. The habitat has over 4 kilometers of trails passing through meadow, marshland, waterways and fen.

Rob and I arrived to a glorious sunny day which started off well with what seemed like an influx of Yellow-rumped Warblers, at least twelve were recorded on the path leading up to the fen. A Bewick's Wren was singing from the telephone wires and I recorded my first Brown-headed Cowbird of this visit on the same wires, bringing my species total up to 119. My 120th species was recorded when a quick look into a nearby hay-barn produced a roosting Barn Owl!

We spent a pleasant 90-minutes touring the rest of the reserve recording of note: Northern Harrier, Belted Kingfisher, House Finch, Bald Eagle, Coopers Hawk, Tree Swallow and Marsh Wren. As we made our way along the Serpentine River path a very pristine looking Peregrine was perched atop a power pylon, unfortunately too high for any good photographs but a magnificent sight in the sunshine.



Brown-headed Cowbird

After a good start to our day things deteriorated somewhat when we made our way across to Crescent Beach and Blackie Spit. The last time we visited around 10 days ago it was a gloomy and rainy day with very few people around. With the glorious sunshine and balmy 17C, today was entirely a different matter!

As a visitor to Canada, a place I love, it's very difficult for me to criticise what I can only describe as a mindless minority, but I feel that I must make comment on my observations today. I would also say that having walked the seawall of English Bay on numerous occasions the same observations would apply.

I refer to Dog-on-Leash rules which seem to be blatantly disregarded by a lot of dog owners, despite the prominence of many signs in the area both at English Bay Beaches and Blackie Spit. As a former dog owner myself I watched in despair today at Blackie Spit, a sight which boasts 'A Haven For Migrating and Wintering Birds', while irresponsible dog owners simply let their dogs run free, even though there is a designated Dog-off-Leash Area!

The Spit itself has some excellent habitat and it was probably no coincidence that Rob and I recorded very little in the area today. We even witnessed two couples, one who walked directly through a track which had a clear sign stating 'Path Closed to Improve Habitat', and another who walked off one of the perimeter routes and over a fence to the waters edge, flushing several Greater Yellowlegs, Killdeer, and a number of waterfowl, a HAVEN it is not! As my birding buddy Rob stated "There's simply nobody around to police it", apparently there are only twelve animal control officers in Vancouver to watch over the estimated 100,000 dogs in the city, a great shame and unfortunately with so few officers the onus must be on the owners!

Anyway, my cup is always half full and we did manage to record a number of species in the area, mainly far out in the bay which included: Horned Grebe, Barrow's Goldeneye, Common Loon, Greater Scaup, and a trio of Mergansers, Common, Red-breasted and Hooded, a nice end to a frustrating day!

First Warbler!

Hummingbird Feeder (Library Picture)

I met up with Rob at Queen Elizabeth Park at around midday for some local birding, due to the early morning downpour we decided not venture too far. Queen Elizabeth Park is the second most visited park in Vancouver and holds within its perimeters some of the most beautiful public gardens anywhere, it also has an extensive outdoor arboretum and indoor Bloedel Floral Conservatory.

To be honest the conditions weren't the best for birding, and although the park made a pleasant enough stroll in the rain, we contented ourselves over lunch by watching Anna's Hummingbirds on the Hummingbird feeders located near the park office.

After lunch we moved across to Stanley Park for a look at Beaver Lake and Lost Lagoon. By the time we arrived the rain had finally subsided. The weather here in Vancouver can change in a very short time and the afternoon turned out to be quite a pleasant one in the end.

Once again the birding was slow by comparison to previous days, but we did manage to connect with Rob's first Hutton's Vireo of the spring, and finally our first migrant warbler! One of the first spring warblers to arrive here is usually the Yellow-rumped and true to form we located two, looking quite bedraggled, on the perimeter of Beaver Lake. Also of note: Various numbers of Ruby and Golden Crowned Kinglets, very vocal Red-winged Blackbirds, Bald Eagle, Spotted Towhee, Northern Flicker, Fox Sparrow and a lone Ringed-necked Duck.

A quick look around the lost Lagoon before calling it a day had the usual good numbers of Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, American Wigeon and Common Goldeneye, plus today I recorded my first Pied-billed Grebe on the lake for this visit.

Maplewood Flats

Male Purple Finch (Library Image)

Maplewood Flats Conservation Area is a birding hotspot located in North Vancouver, BC just east of the Second Narrows Bridge. With over 311 acres of land including tidal marsh, forest, shoreline, mudflat and meadow habitats, the Park encompasses over three kilometres of trails.

A later than normal start today Rob and I arrived at Maplewood at around 11am, continuing our ongoing search for spring migrants. Although we had heavy rain overnight the rain had cleared by the time we arrived producing an overcast but mild day. A quick visit to the office to familiarise ourselves with the reserve, and get the latest news, it wasn't long before we were off to investigate, especially as one of the species showing well was a Northern Goshawk.

As we made our way to the reported Goshawk location a Hummingbird whizzed past Rob's head, but recognition was impossible due to it's speed, possibly Rufous. Northern Flicker were plentiful, and vocal, with at least a half dozen causing havoc, they always remind me of our own Green Woodpeckers back in the UK!

Shortly after crossing the Old Barge Channel bridge it wasn't long before we had immature Goshawk perched up in the canopy of a tall Alder, several Crows not too happy about it's presence. A great tick for this visit and only my second sighting for Canada. You can see pictures of the bird on Les Lee's site: Here

As we made our way towards the salt marsh and our first look across Burrard Inlet, we'd pick up Downy Woodpecker and the usual Red-winged Blackbird, Spotted Towhee , Song Sparrow, Chickadees, Varied Thrush, Red-tailed Hawk, and both Ruby and Golden Crowned Kinglet. As we stood looking across the salt marsh we met one of the local birders, Les Lee and his mate Rob. I'd spoken to Les only online and he'd been extremely helpful regarding my many questions about BC birding, it was an amazing coincidence to actually meet up and I enjoyed our chat.

Ringed-necked Duck (Library Picture)

The West Pond had a male Ringed-necked Duck and Rob discovered an American Robin sitting on her nest. We had lunch overlooking the mudflats and this area had plenty of activity which included various numbers of: Northern Pintail, Greater Yellowlegs, Common Merganser, Pelagic Cormorant, Wigeon, Scaup, Bufflehead and Common Goldeneye. On the several pylons which reach out from the water two Bald Eagles were keeping vigil, but the surprise of the day was when the ducks scattered and an Otter suddenly appeared! We enjoyed watching the Otter antics for around 10 minutes before moving on, a most enjoyable lunch break.

Three Purple Finch on the way back across to the salt marsh for a final half hour stint which produced of note: Barrow's Goldeneye, 3 Black Scoter, around 40 or so Surf Scoter and a single Pigeon Guillemot. Before leaving we spent a while at the bird feeding station talking to another local birder called Quentin and managed Pine Siskin, American Goldfinch and House Finch. A very enjoyable day but due to the dull conditions no photography was possible!

First Migrants!

Savannah Sparrow

After a weekend off from birding it was out and about again with my BC birding buddy Rob Catchpole. Another look at Boundary Bay Regional Park and the surrounding area and at last a couple of migrants to report.

We arrived at around 9.45am and although the weather was pleasant enough a rather nippy southeasterly breeze kept the temperature down. The bay produced good numbers of Green-winged Teal, amongst them a lone Eurasian, and as the tide edged slowly in around a dozen Greater Yellowlegs were feeding along the edges, a single Killdeer was also seen.

As we continued along the sea front a small number of Brant were the best we could muster, the opportunity of spotting anything further out not helped by the choppy conditions. As we arrived at the southern end of the bay around 200 Sanderling came in to feed, and after sitting watching these amazing little birds scurrying around for a short while, we decided to move into the interior of the park.

Two female Northern Harrier and a stunning male were quickly followed by our first spring migrant of the day as a Western Meadowlark made off to the east, this quickly followed by Savannah Sparrow, which was seen singing within the birch. A reasonably quite morning, apart from our new migrants, with various numbers of Tree Swallow, Song Sparrow, Marsh Wren and Bald Eagle also recorded.

Great Horned Owl (Library Image)

After lunch we decided to head north through the residential area and back along the bay towards Beach Grove, and finally ended up venturing into Beach Grove Park. Here we picked up Pine Siskin feeding on the Alder seeds, Band-tailed Pigeon, Brown Creeper and we were a little surprised to come across 2 Eurasian Collared Dove, a species I believe which has been introduced to North America in recent years.

The best of the day was saved until last, when thanks to some local information, we were able to connect with  a superb Great Horned Owl, which we found roosting high up in a tall Fir tree. Not a prolific days birding by recent comparison, more quality than quantity, but four more additions to my current visit list is very welcome.

Hutton's Vireo

Hutton's Vireo, Another 1st For Me!

The weather here in Vancouver over the past few days has been very spring-like, with a light breeze and lots of sunshine, I've certainly taken full advantage. Yesterday Thursday, I took another look at Stanley Park, starting my walk once more at the Lost Lagoon and tracking back via the seawall overlooking English Bay.

Having spoken to a few local birders, amazingly a rare breed themselves, and checked various local birding websites, my target bird for the day was Hutton's Vireo, which had been reported as arriving in the Park. It closely resembles a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, but having researched the bird, and in particular it's song, I was confident of being able to ID this little chap.

Douglas Squirrel

My first bird of the day turned out to be Merlin, as one whizzed over the appartment block as I walked down to the lagoon. The Lagoon itself  had the usual waterfowl with good numbers of Scaup, several Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser, and today a pair of Ring-necked Duck.

The track around gave me my first opportunity to test my Vireo skills but no joy, both birds in question being very frisky Ruby-crowned Kinglet, the male displaying and giving stunning views of the vivid ruby red crown. By the time I disappeared into the park I'd spent several enjoyable minutes watching a Pileated Woodpecker absolutely destroy part of a tree, much to the annoyance of a Douglas Squirrel.

A good walk around Beaver Lake in the parks interior, which was very quiet by recent comparisons, but I still managed Spotted Towhee, Song and Fox Sparrow plus Bushtit and Red-winged Blackbird. When I did finally stumble on my main target for the day I needn't have worried about the ID, the bird was singing with gusto, popping out nicely into the open and thus delivering my first spring migrant, and indeed my first ever Hutton's Vireo!

The walk back to the appartment along the seawall was equally as quiet, smaller numbers of Barrow's Goldeneye and Surf Scoter, the majority of wintering birds now having moved off northwards. A lone Black Oystercatcher, a pair of Harlequin Duck and Hooded Merganser being the highlights.

Life's Such a Stress!

Friday, and my goodness how quickly the first two weeks have passed. Having trekked for absolutely miles around the Vancouver District over past 14 days, I actually took the day off from birding, well apart from Gull watching for a little while down on the harbour.

Surprisingly enough Vancouver Harbour is not as prolific as you might think for Gulls. The majority that are here are mostly Glaucous -winged, but having spent 90 minutes I did manage to pick out Thayers, Mew and Californian.

This weekend is an intense one and I have to put my corporate business head on, so sadly birding will have to take a back seat. Fortunately, next week I have more days out to look forward to with my birding buddy Rob Catchpole, and so here's hoping that more spring migrants appear over the coming days.

10 Mile Hike

Vancouver International Airport

Out with Rob Catchpole once more and the plan for today was to take the Skytrain from Downtown Vancouver to Templeton Station, and then walk the five miles out to Iona Island.

Iona, is home to a primary sewage treatment plant, an animal refuge and a park. In fact it's actually no longer an Island, but is now a peninsula physically connected via a causeway to what is now known as Sea Island. Sea Island itself is in the estuary of the Fraser River and is actually the home to Vancouver International Airport. I hope that's all as clear as mud!

We arrived to clear blue skies, very little wind, and a pleasant temperature of around 12C, perfect conditions for a 10 mile hike. This was birding with a difference! The hustle bustle of an international airport on one side, and the tranquility of lagoons, meadows and estuary on the other.

Northern Shrike, 1st Bird Of The Day!

Within minutes of beginning our birding day our first species of note was a Northern Shrike, which we located perched on a nearby Birch. As we continued along our chosen route a farmers field yielded at least 24 Killdeer, which were happily feeding in the bright sunshine, a terrific start.

As per normal it wasn't long before our first Bald Eagle's were noted, by the day's end we had probably encountered around 50 of these iconic birds. Northern Harrier were also affluent with about 12 birds recorded. The surrounding brash had Golden-Crowned Kinglet, Spotted Towhee, Song and Fox Sparrow plus good numbers of Red-Winged Blackbird.

Arriving at the estuary large numbers of Green-Winged Teal, Pintail, Greater and Lesser Scaup were seen, plus huge numbers of wintering Dunlin were constantly in flight. We continued to the sewage works, which is a well known migration hot-spot and boasts four treatment ponds. The ponds unfortunately were in flood, much to Rob's annoyance, and so despite good numbers of wildfowl no shorebirds other than several Killdeer were seen.

Rough Legged Hawk

The Beach Regional Park, our final destination before heading back, hosts two artifical ponds, constructed with the aim of restoring marsh vegetation and providing wildlife habitat, and they are a significant stopover for migrating shorebirds and waterfowl.

Here we spent a few hours locating of note: Rob's first American Bittern of the year, my first Pied-Billed Grebe of this visit, plus Tree Swallow, Canvasback, Common Goldeneye, lots more Scaup, American Wigeon, Snipe, Red-Breasted, Common and Hooded Merganser, Bufflehead and a Garter Snake, which I almost stepped on!

The long walk back gave up superb views of Rough-Legged Hawk (pictured), other Hawks of the day were Coopers and Red-Tailed. Two more Northern Shrike were also seen. The only downer on yet another superb days birding was the lack of migrants, which seem to be only arriving in small numbers within the province, and completely evading Rob and I at the moment!

Raptor Day!

Pigeon Guillemot My 1st For Canada!

With the amount of ground covered over the past 10 days, and a long day arranged for tomorrow at Iona Island, we decided to stay a little closer to home, and so only ventured across the bay to West Vancouver and Lighthouse Park, about a 40 minute bus ride.

The park marks the point where Burrard Inlet meets Howe Sound and can be a good lookout for deep water birds. The rock type you see here is old, primarily granitic and varying in age from 96 to 187 million years. Most is blanketed by forest, including huge Douglas Fir, Western Hemlock and Western Red Cedar Trees.

Having eventually reached the lighthouse we were a little disappointed that the access wasn't open to the general public, and so the view out across the bay was somewhat obscured. Mind you we spent a good 15 minutes scanning the surrounding areas and were rewarded with Winter Wren, Anna's Humminbird, Varied Thrush, Spotted Towhee and Golden-crowned Kinglet.

Eventually we did emerge at an excellent lookout area and spent a good 30 minutes sea watching, once again in the rain. A number of Bald Eagles and Ravens were observed, and during our scans of the deep water we managed Harlequin Duck, Barrow's Goldeneye, White-winged Scoter, Pelagic Cormorant and yet another first for me for Canada, Pigeon Guillemot (pictured Above).

This species is very similar in appearance to the Black Guillemot but show dark wing linings in flight. In winter, the upper parts are mottled grey and black and the underparts are white, quite an attractive bird in flight. Harbour Seals were also observed during our stay but disappointingly no further birds of note were recorded, perhaps a little too early for arriving Terns and most Warblers, which are probably being held up by some late winter storms further along the coast.

Band-tailed Pigeon

The 30 minute wait for the bus back into Downtown Vancouver provided the best birding of the day. With the constant rain subsiding into showers, the sun finally emerged and seemed to act as a catalyst for what I can only describe as a 'Raptorfest'. Firstly, several Bald Eagle flew northwest, these closely followed by 5 Red Tailed Hawk, Coopers Hawk, Turkey Vulture, Robs first in the Vancouver area, and finally Sharp-shinned Hawk, which Rob located perched high in a Douglas Fir, before the bird took off also flying northwest. Migration in action!

The final bird of note was the above Band-tailed Pigeon, which Rob tells me are common in this neck of the woods, a nice end to the birding day.

100 Up!

Red Throated Loon (Library Picture)

The first day of spring and the rain returned to Vancouver overnight after a very spring like weekend.

Notwithstanding, I met Rob at Bridgeport Station, around 20 minutes out of Vancouver, for another days birding near the Canadian U.S. border, a further 40 minutes by bus. This time the plan was to try Crescent Beach and Blackie Spit in the hope of more spring arrivals.

Blackie Spit is renowned as one of the best bird watching areas in Canada with almost 200 species of birds recorded in a calendar year. The park is managed as a wildlife conservation area and habitat enhancement activities are ongoing throughout the park.

The sand bars are a favourite resting place for Harbour Seals and their pups. The sandy spit, surrounded by tidal marsh and eelgrass beds, is an important stop for migrating and wintering waterfowl and shorebirds, as they make their way up and down the coastline of North and South America.

Before trying Blackie Spit we spent a good 90 minutes at White Rock Pier surveying the surrounding shore, and although raining constantly we managed good numbers of Common Loon, White Winged Scoter, 8 Long Tailed Duck, 15 Red Necked Grebe, and 11 Horned (Slavonian) Grebe, the latter another addition to my current visitors list.


Marbled Godwit (Library Image)

When we arrived at Blackie Spit the rain was falling heavier than ever and visibility wasn't too good for birding, but we continued on and were happy with the results. Despite the tide not working in our favour, it was ebbing when we arrived, we managed several notable species. Common Loon were in excellent numbers and amongst the many we were able to pick out Red-throated, another addition to my numbers. Rob had his first Belted Kingfisher of the year and I recorded my first ever Marbled Godwit for Canada, which was wading quite close in, accompanied by a lone Greater Yellowlegs.

A walk around the surrounding scrub areas provided us with an excellent view of Anna'a Hummingbird, which was looking quite forlorn perched in the pouring rain, and my 100th species for this visit as a group of American Goldfinch were seen feeding in the Alder. An excellent days birding despite the weather, and we eventually cut short our day due to the deteriorating conditions, and with little chance of any photography I've used library images for the day.

Dee's Weekend!

Dee's 'American Bittern'

With the wife having to work the whole week while I've been out birding every day, this weekend was entirely devoted to Dee, and with a hire car at our disposal we had the perfect opportunity to go a little further afield.

Dee chose The Reifel Bird Sanctuary for our Saturday trip, somewhere I'd visited earlier in the week, and Squamish for Sunday. I must say she couldn't have picked a more perfect weekend weather wise!

I was delighted that Dee had chosen the Reifel Sanctuary, firstly because I was desperate for her to see Northern Saw-whet Owl, Owls being her favourite birds, and secondly, because it's such an amazing place to visit. I can report that she certainly wasn't disappointed, personally finding not one but two Owls, and coming up trumps yet again by finding my first American Bittern of this visit, which posed for her beautifully while she happily snapped away. I was really pleased that we'd managed to see all of the species I'd recorded here last Wednesday, and was even more grateful when I recorded a second addition of the day to my current list in the form of Violet-Green Swallow.

Today, Sunday, was a gorgeous day with the temperature up to a very balmy 15C. We took the hour long drive northwards up to Squamish, a place we'd stayed and enjoyed last September when completing the final stages of our RV tour from Calgary to Vancouver.

Rufous Hummingbird (Library Image)

The first surprise of the day was when we were enjoying a coffee in Starbucks, our second favourite pastime, when to my astonishment a small orange flighty shape sped past the window, a Rufous Hummingbird no less! The Rufous was high on my hit list for this visit to Canada but I never expected to connect in such a manner, but who's complaining!

We took the drive across to the estuary which, although the sun was shining, was extremely blustery with a biting wind coming off the mountains. Consequently the birding was poor by comparison to recent days, but we still managed, Bald Eagle, American Wigeon, Barrow's and Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser and Bufflehead. However the second surprise of the day was during the drive back along the causeway, when suddenly to our surprise what I first thought to be a Canadian Lynx walked out in front of us.

Our First Bobcat!

Although the whole thing happened so quickly, Dee managed to fire off a few camera shots, a cropped version of one is displayed here. Having investigated our sighting I'm now certain that what we have is a Bobcat! With a grey to brown coat, whiskered face, and black-tufted ears, the Bobcat resembles the other species of the mid-sized Lynx genus.

The Bobcat is smaller than the Canadian Lynx, with which it shares parts of its range, but is about twice as large as the domestic cat. It has distinctive black bars on its forelegs, which you can clearly see in Dee's shot, and a black-tipped, stubby tail, also visible, from which it derives its name. Still another welcome addition to our Canadian Species list and a wonderful animal to see out of the blue.

Different Kind Of day!

Black Turnstone Takes Flight

Just like in the U.K. the spring migration is well underway here in Canada too. With this in mind I hooked up once again with Rob Catchpole for a days birding with a difference. We arrived at the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal around 9.30am in the hope of catching a few early migrants in or around this deep water terminal.

The Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal is a major transportation facility in Delta, British Columbia. It is located on a 2 mile man-made causeway off the mainland at Tsawwassen, and is less than 550 yds from the 49th parallel, Canada's border with the United States.

With a strong easterly wind hammering the terminal we battled away for around an hour, much to the surprise of the many passengers setting off for the weekend to Victoria. This was hopefully a good opportunity to increase my Gull count but unfortunately the only additions were a Thayer's and California, the majority being Mew, Herring, and Glaucous Winged.

Brant Geese

The surrounding waters provided better results with large flocks of Brant Geese, plus among the many Scaup, Common Loons and Common Goldeneye a lone Red Necked Grebe, another welcome first for this visit.

After battling the wind for long enough we decided to take shelter and so took the 2 mile walk back across the causeway. The walk provided the first Waders of the day, firstly Black Oystercatcher, and then some 20 or so Black Turnstone (pictured above), their appearance is striking in flight, with white patches on the back, wings and tail, these birds are also high Arctic breeders and were definitely flighty and on the move.

Our next stop was Boundary Bay Regional Park a short distance away, renown for having Canada's largest population of wintering birds of prey. I can tell from today, having seen over 15 Northern Harrier, 12 Bald Eagle, Coopers Hawk, Red Tailed Hawk and Rough Legged Hawk, that the reputation is sound!

The bay also provided further additions to my birding day with Ring Billed Gull, Greater Yellowlegs, Pacific Loon and  2 Northern Shrike, a Virginia Rail was also heard but not see. Another wonderful day out, adding fifteen new species to my current visit list, which also included a small flock of Brewer's Blackbird seen while waiting for the bus back to Vancouver.