As mentioned in previous posts: 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.
The other common gull on the lower mainland. Can be seen in urban settings, like your local McDonald's. This photo was taken from the Iona South Jetty in September.
#51 Eurasian Wigeon Date - Feb 2. Location: Blackie's Spit, Surrey BC.
These birds are fairly common on the Pacific Coast. They are often seen in the same location as the native American Wigeon.
#52 Northern Pintail: Date - Feb 2. Location: Blackie's Spit, Surrey BC.
This distinctive duck is a regular feature at Reifel Bird Sanctuary and other freshwater sites over the winter. In late fall, they can be seen in the thousands on Boundary Bay. This pair was photographed in February at Iona Regional Park on the outer ponds.
#53 Pileated Woodpecker: Date - Feb 3. Location: Backyard, North Delta BC.
The largest woodpecker in North America, this beauty was taken from our living room window looking out into our back yard.
#54 Sandhill Crane: Date - Feb 8. Location: Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Ladner BC.
It was a cold February day at Reifel with most of the ponds frozen over. This led to some comical shots (from our perspective) of birds on ice. Sandhill Cranes are not well adapted for this.
This second shot of the species was taken in the Okanagan Falls area in early April. It was quite awe inspiring to see these large birds so high up.
#55 Golden-crowned Sparrow: Date - Feb 8. Location: Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Ladner BC.
A common winter sparrow, well named for the golden crown stripe on its head.
#56 Virginia Rail: Date - Feb 8. Location: Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Ladner BC.
A very secretive bird normally, it came out into the open a couple of times at Reifel this year. The first was the icy cold day in February where the ponds were frozen. The second was a special day in August when the water levels were quite low.
#57 Black-crowned Night Heron: Date - Feb 8. Location: Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Ladner BC.
It always feels like cheating when I see these birds at Reifel every year. I'm not sure if it's the same ones over and over or if this location has been passed down through the years. It's always hard to get a good shot of them, did pretty well this year.
#58 Killdeer: Date - Feb 9. Location: Blackie's Spit, Surrey BC.
It was a frigid February Sunday morning at Blackie's Spit when I captured the next three species. All three are shorebirds that overwinter around Boundary Bay. This Killdeer was captured in a balmier time in August on the other side of Boundary Bay at 104 St.
#59 Dunlin: Date - Feb 9. Location: Blackie's Spit, Surrey BC.
A plentiful medium sized shorebird that can be seen at any time of the year on Boundary Bay. The first photo is a close-up taken that chilly morning. The second shows a portion of a large group in the thousands seen on Boundary Bay in April during spring migation.
#60 Black-bellied Plover Date - Feb 9. Location: Blackie's Spit, Surrey BC.
Another plentiful shorebird on Boundary Bay. Plovers are related to Sandpipers, but are much shorter-billed. In spring they have very distinctive colouring as shown below, but in fall they are very nondescript. The expert birders scan flocks of hundreds looking for rare American or Pacific Golden Plovers. The September/October posts show one such bird.
#61 Steller's Jay: Date - Feb 9. Location: Brydon Lagoon, Langley BC.
This familiar Crested Jay is the most common Jay on the Pacific Coast. Although I saw them numerous times, I struggled to get a good photo. This one was taken at Manning Park in June.
#62 House Sparrow: Date - Feb 9. Location: Brydon Lagoon, Langley BC.
This common sparrow was imported from Europe over a hundred years ago. They don't seem as abundant as in the past. This striking male caught my eye at Blackie's Spit in March.
#63 Ring-necked Duck: Date - Feb 9. Location: Alouette River, Pitt Meadows BC.
I spent the good part of this Sunday morning looking for a Gyrfalcon that had been reported in Pitt Meadows. No luck with that, but I did see see some Ring-necks in the river. This photo of a male (right) and female was taken at Iona Regional Park a week later on the 16th.
#64 Bushtit: Date - Feb 10. Location: Backyard, North Delta BC.
One of the smallest birds we see (excluding hummingbirds) in our yard. They always travel in flocks, which can actually be large multi-generational families. They often feed hanging upside down as in this shot taken on Boundary Bay in October.
#65 Pied-billed Grebe: Date - Feb 16. Location: Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC.
This is an interesting Grebe with an unusual name. The name comes from the black ring that appears on the bill with breeding adults. This Grebe is the only North American member of its genus (Podilymbus). This photo was taken at Predator Ridge Golf course in Vernon.
#66 Northern Shoveler: Date - Feb 16. Location: Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC.
This duck gets its name from the way it uses its huge bill to shovel in the muck in shallow water. The colouring on the male is similar to the Mallard. This pair was seen at Serpentine Fen in Surrey in April.
#67 Tufted Duck: Date - Feb 16. Location: Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC.
This is a quite rare duck that is occasionally seen on our coast. It is common in Europe and Asia. This one was reported on the rare bird alert, which led to my trip to Iona. I had seen this duck before at Reifel Bird Sanctuary. The first photo is the best I could do this year, the second is much better from 2008.
#68 Gyrfalcon: Date - Feb 16. Location: New Brighton Park, Vancouver BC.
It was third time lucky for the Gyrfalcon. I returned to this park by the Second Narrows Bridge. This is where I had seen this falcon last year. After looking around for a while, I noticed a large flock of Pigeons in the sky and sure enough they were being chased by the Gyrfalcon.You can see it in the centre of the flock in this photo.
I followed it with my binoculars and saw it land on top of the nearby grain handling building. It stayed there quite a while and I was able to get close enough to get this shot, cropped quite a bit.
#69 Hooded Merganser: Date - Feb 16. Location: Deer Lake Park, Burnaby BC.
My final stop on this Sunday was Deer Lake Park where a Glaucous Gull had been reported. This would be a lifer for me. I did not see that bird on this day, but did get some poor shots of a group of Hooded Mergansers. I had to wait until December to get this shot of a male Hooded Merganser at Reifel Bird Sanctuary.
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