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.
#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.
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