2014 Birding Blog - Birds of January - Part 1

Starting in 2012, I decided to start keeping a list of all the birds I saw each year. My 2012 effort yielded 182 species. In 2013, I increased the count to 218 with 29 life list additions.

For 2014, I knew the year total could be beaten, but I was very unlikely to come close to that many life list additions. In April 2013, Edith and I went on a guided Okanagan birding tour where I picked up 10 lifers in just 3 days. We took the same tour in 2014 and I added 2 lifers. I also picked up 3 lifers in the San Francisco area last year, no such trip this year.

Similar to last year, many of the first sightings occurred early in the year. However, June was a good month with a second trip to the Okanagan, and September shore-birding was quite good. I also squeezed in a two day trip to Gray's Harbor, Washington in September. I picked up a few birds there that I could not see in the Lower Mainland.

Since I saw 47 species in January and 53 in April, these months have been split into two posts.
Below are the first 24 birds seen in January with comments for each bird.

Note: The photo accompanying the bird is the best one I took of the bird that year, not necessarily the photo taken on the first sighting date.

Additions to my life list are noted where applicable.

 #1 Northwestern Crow: Date - Jan 1. Location: our front yard.
This is the first bird I saw in 2014 as I left to go birding at Boundary Bay. As mentioned in the past, this species is unique to the Pacific Northwest. The similar American Crow inhabits most of the continent east of Hope and south of the Washington/Oregon border. This photo was taken at Burnaby Lake a bit later in January.

#2 Bald Eagle: Date - Jan 1. Location: Boundary Bay - 64 St. 
For such a common bird, I took surprisingly few good photos of them this year. Here's one from October taken at a nest on 104 St in Delta, very close to Boundary Bay.

#3 Long-eared Owl: Date - Jan 1. Location: Boundary Bay - 64 St. 
One of the last birds I saw in 2013 was still in the same spot on New Year's Day.On this day it decided to come out in the open for the gaggle of photographers to capture. I had no choice but to join the crowd and take a few shots.

#4 Snowy Owl: Date - Jan 1. Location: Boundary Bay - 64 St. 
After a big irruption in 2012/13, there were very few Snowy Owl's on our coast this year. Back east, it was a different story with hundreds of owls being seen from Eastern Canada all the way down to Florida. We had to settle for a single owl that spent most of its time away from the maddening crowds.

#5 Dark-eyed Junco: Date - Jan 1. Location: Boundary Bay - 64 St. 
A common winter bird spotted on New Year's day. The photo below is the first juvenile I've ever seen. This somewhat poor photo was taken up at Ryder Lake near Chilliwack in June. I was with my friend Mary-Jean for the annual Ryder Lake Ramble.

#6 Northern Harrier: Date - Jan 1. Location: Boundary Bay - 72 St. 
A common bird on Boundary Bay all year. The photo below is not the best. Taken in March, it shows a female which is larger than the male and has this beautiful grey and white colouring, much different from the mostly brown male.

#7 Great Blue Heron: Date - Jan 1. Location: Boundary Bay - 72 St. 
A common bird that I photograph throughout the year. This one was taken on New Year's day and was an easy choice for the blog.

#8 Mallard: Date - Jan 1. Location: Boundary Bay - 72 St. 
Not surprising to see this common bird on the first day of the year. The photo below was taken in May at Serpentine Fen in Surrey.

#9 Northern Flicker: Date - Jan 1. Location: Boundary Bay - 72 St. 
New Year's day was a good day on Boundary Bay this year, nice and mild. The birds were out in numbers. Usually, my best photos of this woodpecker are taken in my backyard. This year's selection was taken there in early March.

#10 Downy Woodpecker  Date - Jan 1. Location: Boundary Bay - 72 St. 
Last year this was the first bird of the year and I was embarrassed to not have a photo for the entire year. This one was taken in late June at Ward's Lake in Grand Forks.

#11 American Tree Sparrow: Date - Jan 1. Location: Boundary Bay - 72 St. 
These sparrows live up north most of the year and come south in winter. They are quite common back East in the freezing cold of winter. Here we seem to get a few every year. They were in the exact same tree this year as when I saw them in January 2013.

#12 Song Sparrow: Date - Jan 1. Location: Boundary Bay - 64 St. 
Perhaps the most common bird on the west coast. These birds are everywhere, and will always poke their heads up if you do some pishing. This photo was taken at Iona Regional Park and is one of my favourites of the entire year.

#13 White-crowned Sparrow: Date - Jan 1. Location: Boundary Bay - 64 St. 
Another common winter bird, when the first year birds frustratingly resemble American Tree Sparrows. This photo is another favourite. it was taken at Hope Airport in June. It captures a mother showing a fledgling how to find seeds in the grass.

This ended a pretty good New Year's day with 13 species recorded. If only I could get that many each day I went out!

The next outing was on January 5th. I started at John Oliver Park, then headed for Point Roberts, and finally the Tsawwassen Ferry Jetty.

#14 Trumpeter Swan and #15 Canada Goose: Date - Jan 5. Location: Near John Oliver Park in North Delta.
I heard about the swans via the local birding reports. Since this is a short hop from home, it was my first stop. Sure enough, there was a large collection of Trumpeters mixed in with Canada Geese. This photo shows both.

I've added another Canada Goose photo as this one shows a Leucistic goose. This condition is caused by an absence of melanin pigment resulting in white feathers. This is different from albinism, which is quite rare in birds. This was taken at Pitt-Addington Marsh on the way to Pitt Lake in May.

#16 Glaucous-winged Gull: Date - Jan 5. Location: #10 and #99 Highway overpass, Delta BC. 
The most common gull on the Lower Mainland. This photo was taken from the Iona South Jetty in Richmond in April. The Gull was on a sandbar, trying to pry this crab out of its shell. The tide was rising quickly so the crab may have escaped.

#17 Double-crested Cormorant: Date - Jan 5. Location:  Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts Wa.
Point Roberts is an excellent place for birding in the Fall and Winter. With the sloping rocky beach, the tide does not go out very far. The surf is high enough to attract bids such as Harlequin Ducks, Scoters and Mergansers. A spotting scope works well here as the birds are close for really good looks.
Another common bird is this Cormorant. This was taken in March at this location.

#18 Harlequin Duck: Date - Jan 5. Location:  Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts Wa.
The males of this species are unique. Here's four of them, taken in March.

#19 Red-breasted Merganser: Date - Jan 5. Location:  Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts Wa.
Unlike other Mergansers, this species prefers the ocean over fresh water. Here's a female early in March, taken at this location.

 This pair was seen in March at Blackie's Spit in Surrey.

#20 Brant: Date - Jan 5. Location:  Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts Wa.
I saw a flock of these sea-going Geese on this day, but did not get any photos until later in the month. This one was taken at this location in March.

#21 Black Oystercatcher: Date - Jan 5. Location:  Tsawwassen Ferry Jetty, Delta BC.
You can see these large, colourful shorebirds year round on the south side of the jetty.

#22 Surf Scoter: Date - Jan 5. Location:  Tsawwassen Ferry Jetty, Delta BC.
Another colourful bird, this duck loves riding the waves. The photo below is in the calmer water around the White Rock Pier, taken on Jan 21.

#23 Common Loon: Date - Jan 5. Location:  Tsawwassen Ferry Jetty, Delta BC.
In January the Common Loon is seen in its drab winter plumage, not the famous Green head seen inland in breeding season. This year I got lucky and took this photo of a Loon in breeding plumage at the end of the Iona Jetty.It was the end of April and this one probably headed inland shortly after I saw it. One of my favourite photos of the year.

#24 Common Merganser: Date - Jan 5. Location:  Fraser River off River Rd., Delta BC.
On my way home, I spotted some Common Mergansers in the river as I was driving by. I stopped and took a few poor pictures as a record. The photo below was taken on a foggy March morning at Brydon Lagoon in Langley. I had overlooked the photo as the bird was muted by the fog. But then I added some contrast and magic happened.

That's the end of January Part 1. More January Birds to come in Part 2.

2014 Birding Blog - Birds of January - Part 2

Since I saw 49 species in January, I have split this post into two parts.This is part 2 of the birds of January.

Note: The photo accompanying the bird is is not necessarily the photo taken on the first sighting date. It is one of the best I took of the bird in this year. If the date and location are different, they are specifically mentioned.

Additions to my life list are noted where applicable.

#25 Common Raven: Date - Jan 14. Location: Whistler Mountain.
I saw my first raven near the top of Whistler Mountain after having breakfast in the Roundhouse. I only managed a couple of poor IPhone photos. The photo below was taken at Manning Park in June. The Raven is eating what appears to be the remains of a small rodent, possibly one of the many Chipmunks that beg for food around the lodge. Birds eating prey seems to be a big theme in my photos this year, there are a few other examples in this posting.

#26 Common Goldeneye: Date - Jan 19. Location: Tsawwassen Ferry Jetty, Delta BC.

This photo captures both the male (foreground) and female of this species, another one that winters in the ocean waters on our coast, and then heads for inland lakes and rivers in spring to nest.

#27 Bufflehead: Date - Jan 19. Location: Tsawwassen Ferry Jetty, Delta BC.

Here's an action shot of the female taking flight. It was taken at Brunswick Point in February.

#28 American Wigeon: Date - Jan 19. Location: Tsawwassen Ferry Jetty, Delta BC.

Another very common duck in Winter. The male and female plumages are both striking. The male is in the foreground in this shot at Blackie's Spit in March.

#29 European Starling: Date - Jan 19. Location: Brunswick Point, Delta BC.

This invasive species is not a friend of most birders. Their size and numbers allow them to displace native birds. Here's a decent photo of one taken in my backyard in North Delta in May.

#30 Ring-necked Pheasant: Date - Jan 19. Location: Brunswick Point, Delta BC.

Here's another non-native species that was introduced from Europe. Since I took this photo, I have learned the pheasants are released in this area for a hunt sometime around Thanksgiving. This one managed to survive the hunt for at least a few months. It is unlikely that  this bird is countable for any kind of official list. Since I've seen them in the wild many times, I am keeping it on my year list.

#31 Chestnut-backed Chickadee: Date - Jan 19. Location: Backyard, North Delta BC.

We are so lucky to have a part-time resident in our backyard. I haven't seen it lately, but it seems to be here over the winter. This was taken in our yard in February.

#32 Black-capped Chickadee: Date - Jan 19. Location: Backyard, North Delta BC.

Of course, we also have these birds all year as well. This was taken at Queen Elizabeth Park in April.

#33 Anna's Hummingbird: Date - Jan 19. Location: Backyard, North Delta BC.

Another backyard resident for most of the year. When the Rufous Hummingbirds show up in spring, the Anna's disappear. Then come August, they are back again. This was taken in August from our back porch.

#34 Varied Thrush: Date - Jan 19. Location: Backyard, North Delta BC.

We usually see this lovely bird during the winter. In January, I only got a couple of fleeting glimpses of one in my back yard. However, on a crisp November Saturday at Reifel Bird Sanctuary, I managed to get some good shots of this female.

#35 Northern Shrike: Date - Jan 23. Location: 34 St, Delta BC.

I saw this bird while looking for another one. There had been a report of a Prairie Falcon in the South Delta farmland area close to Brunswick Point. On my way there, I decided to look at the end of 34 St. where I had seen this species back in 1998 with Stewart Sendall.No falcon, but I did see this Shrike. These are large songbirds that hunt smaller birds. I got one photo and then another birder, ignoring the fact that I was photographing something, drove past in his car looking for the Falcon. Some people...

#36 Prairie Falcon: Date - Jan 23. Location: Brunswick Point, Delta BC.

Shortly afterwards, I went to the reported location of the Falcon. I was told that it would sit and watch the Northern Harriers hunting in the fields, and then when they captured something, it would swoop in and try to snatch the prey away. I did see and photograph the Falcon from a distance, and was pulling out to leave when I saw the Falcon do exactly what was  described. I got one good shot, shown below (Falcon on the left). The guy that had scared off my Shrike had left already. Sweet justice!!

#37 Red-tailed Hawk: Date - Jan 23. Location: Highway 99, Delta BC.

On my way home, I took Hornby Drive which runs parallel with Highway 99. I saw the typical Red-tailed Hawk perched on a lamp post. The photo below was taken at Reifel Bird Sanctuary in April.

#38 Peregrine Falcon: Date - Jan 23. Location: 112 St, Delta BC.

I had one more stop on my way home. I had spoken to an expert birder at Brunswick Point who had seen all five available species of Falcon on this day (American Kestrel, Merlin, Prairie Falcon, Peregrine Falcon and Gyrfalcon). I knew i could not match that, but thought I might get something if I tried. My luck held and I got this spectacular view of a Peregrine finishing off a meal on a telephone post.

#39 Collared Dove: Date - Jan 23. Location: 112 St, Delta BC.

After all the meat eaters I had seen this day, the last one was a bird that is on the other end of the food chain. These Eurasian doves have invaded all of North American, after being introduced into the Bahamas in the 1970's.

#40 Green-winged Teal: Date - Jan 26. Location: Burnaby Lake Regional Park, Burnaby BC.

My next outing was intended to pick up some of the common freshwater ducks that overwinter in the lower Mainland. Piper's Spit at Burnaby Lake is ideal for this purpose. There is a boardwalk there that puts you right in with the ducks in the lake. I was almost too close for this male Green-winged Teal.

#41 Lesser Scaup: Date - Jan 26. Location: Burnaby Lake Regional Park, Burnaby BC.

This photo shows a male Lesser Scaup. It can be tough to distinguish between Lesser and Greater Scaup. the Lesser are more common in fresh waster, and have a flatter forehead. Although tilted in this photo, the forehead does not have the slope from front to back that the Greater does.

#42 Wood Duck: Date - Jan 26. Location: Burnaby Lake Regional Park, Burnaby BC.

Another duck that was hard to photograph on this day with the long lens as they were so close to shore. This photo shows a pair at Reifel Bird Sanctuary in May.

#43 Red-winged Blackbird: Date - Jan 26. Location: Burnaby Lake Regional Park, Burnaby BC.

A very familiar bird that can be seen almost anywhere there is water. The males can be tricky to photograph due to the contrast between the black body and the red and yellow on the wings. My best photo is of a female balancing on a some reeds at Birdie Lake on Predator Ridge golf course in Vernon. Taken in May while on a golf vacation.

#44 Rock Pigeon: Date - Jan 26. Location: Burnaby Lake Regional Park, Burnaby BC.

Here's an interesting white Pigeon, a variation that occurs with this species.

#45 Fox Sparrow: Date - Jan 26. Location: Burnaby Lake Regional Park, Burnaby BC.

Similar to the Song Sparrow, this bird can be identified by a rounder head and the large brown spots on the chest. The ones we see here are of the Sooty race, and are quite different from other races seen across North America. This photo was taken in February at Brunswick Point in Delta. Yet another one with prey being consumed.

#46 Spotted Towhee: Date - Jan 26. Location: Burnaby Lake Regional Park, Burnaby BC.

Amazing it took me 26 days to see this bird, as we usually have them in our backyard.This photo was taken in February at Reifel Bird Sanctuary.

#47 American Robin: Date - Jan 26. Location: New Brighton Park, Vancouver BC.

Another mystery on how it took this long to see a Robin. It was a consolation prize on a brief trip to see a reported Gyrfalcon at this park by the Second Narrows bridge. That bird would have to wait. I am proud of two Robin shots taken later in the year. The first was taken in April at Iona Regional Park.

The second was taken at Ward's Lake in Grand Forks in June.

#48 White-winged Scoter: Date - Jan 31. Location: White Rock Pier, White Rock BC.

The male of this species looks like it is wearing a Halloween mask with the white around the eye. The white wings are most visible in flight,  you can see a bit of the white on the male in the foreground.

#49 Greater Scaup: Date - Jan 31. Location: White Rock Pier, White Rock BC.
I'm pretty sure this is a female Greater Scaup in this photo. The forehead shape is not conclusive, but the fact it's in salt water and the mixed colouring on the breast favour the Greater Scaup.

That does it for January. Check out the February Blog for 20 more bird species.