Trip report by Jan Lowcock The September 28th birding field trip, led by Jan Lowcock and John Chandler, at Iona Beach Regional Park began with light winds and cloud cover, slowly breaking way to sunny skies by the trip’s end. A group of 13 set out from the parking lot, scoured the outer pond and southern inner pond from the walkway. The ponds held a few species of dabbling ducks, Pied- billed Grebes and American Coots. Three large flocks of…
A cool bright morning greeted us at our meeting spot at Terra Nova in Richmond. One of the first birds we found was a Band-tailed Pigeon at the top of a conifer beside the parking lot, reinforcing the first rule of birding: bird the parking lot. As we headed out, a Northern Harrier was seen soaring fairly high overhead. We headed to the pond and found two Mallards and a Gadwall, as well as a Pied–billed Grebe. Looking to the…
When Harvey and Michelle arrived at Burnaby Lake just before 8am on Sunday September 28, they were surprised to find a group of birders already gathering near the Nature House. The Vancouver Chinese Birder’s Group had also arranged a walk for Piper Spit that morning! It was lovely to meet this group of about 10 birders, led by Hank, an expert originally from Taiwan. They bird together a couple of times a month (Find them on Facebook, if you’re interested)….
Forty-six species were recorded by the participants during the half day birding at Reifel Refuge. Our first stop was the House Pond where the group had excellent looks of roosting Long-billed Dowitcher, juvenile Greater Yellowlegs and in amongst the dowitchers a couple of Lesser Yellowlegs. A small flock of Northern Shoveler were actively spinning to draw their food close to the surface. We were surprised to see five Greater White-fronted Geese roosting on a boom at Fuller Slough and with…
Trip report by Tom Plath Despite dubbed as a shore birding field trip very few were observed possibly evicted by Peregrine Falcons. The dozen or so participants did enjoy an unseasonably warm and pleasant walk from the foot of 104th Street to 96th Street and back. First to greet us were a few small, loose flocks of American Pipit eventually allowing us scope views as they foraged on the decaying foreshore vegetation. There was a continual overflight of Northern Pintail…
Trip Report and Photos by Christine Balkwill A group of 11 enthusiastic birders started out on an overcast but pleasant day. The group had a mix of experience with a handful of eager beginners, a few local, experienced birders and one birder with more experience in eastern North America. The ponds only held a few remaining puddles of water so ducks were scant and we spotted no shorebirds today. A single Heron relaxed with the 6 loafing Mallards west of the…
A cloudy, cool morning with a bit of a breeze greeted us at the parking lot. As we set off, right at the trailhead we were treated to two adult Cooper’s Hawks in a snag. They then flew about for a few minutes before disappearing into the forest. We set out and were accompanied by Chestnut-backed Chickadees as we headed towards Yew Lake. Stopping to check out plants along the way, we noted Bunchberry berries, Copperbush berries, Pearly Everlasting in…
There were surprisingly few insects as we headed out on the trail and came across some Fireweed, Deer Cabbage and Copperbush right at the start of the path. A Townsend’s Warbler was spotted and then chickadees of both species, Black-capped and Chestnut-backed, soon appeared. A little way further along we came across four Olive-sided Flycatchers, possibly a family group. While we were watching these birds, four juvenile Red-breasted Sapsuckers were spotted in the snag next to one of the flycatchers….
Trip Report by Christine Balkwill. Photos by Christine Balkwill and Michel Crepeau Our group of 10 birders were treated to a wonderful sunny day for this outing. We started out from the east end of the park where we heard a few high up warblers and many Black-capped Chickadees starting their day. Nigel spotted a tree frog. We stopped at the bridge to visit with the local Barn Swallow flock and check the pond for ducks. A couple of Green-winged…
Just around sunrise, six people joined the walk co-leaders Ly and Neill to listen to the dawn chorus on the edge of the woods at the 62nd Avenue entrance to Everett Crowley Park. For about 20 minutes we listened to American Robins, Song Sparrows and a strident Spotted Towhee singing close by for all they were worth. Distant Swainson’s Thrushes could also be heard. By only 5:30 the intensity of song had diminished significantly. At this point Ly did an…