2014 Birding Blog - Birds of July and August

July started off with another visit to Frank Lake and a lucky bit of birding in Sicamous on the way home from Calgary. The rest of the month was quiet with most of my efforts spent trying to see the elusive Common Nighthawk.

#183 American Pelican: Date - July 2. Location: Frank Lake near High River Alberta.
I had hopes of seeing this bird while on the prairies. Ironically, in the week before we left there were about forty of them seen out in Delta between Brunswick Point and the Tsawwassen Ferry Jetty. The one night i made it out there after work, it was raining heavily and I did not feel like making the 2 - 3 KM walk to see them. I did get lucky as three pelicans flew over as I was driving into the Frank Lake area on my second visit. Here are two of them.

#184 Western Grebe: Date - July 2. Location: Frank Lake near High River Alberta.
We see this grebe off the White Rock Pier in the winter, but I had missed them early in the year. Another birder was at Frank Lake and she had spotted a grebe family very far out on the lake. I got a good look with my scope, but this cropped photo was the best I could do with my camera from that distance. It's good enough to see the chick on the parents back on the left.

#185 Forster's Tern: Date - July 2. Location: Frank Lake near High River Alberta.
Another bird I expect to see at Frank Lake. It can be told from the very similar Common Tern by the Orange bill (the Common is reddish) and by subtle differences in the colours under the wing. This one was warning me away from a nearby nest, so I left the area quickly after taking a couple of really good shots.

#186 Lesser Yellowlegs: Date - July 2. Location: Frank Lake near High River Alberta.
This very common shorebird can be seen on the coast from April through September. It can be difficult to distinguish from the Greater Yellowlegs unless the two are seen together. This photo was taken at Reifel Bird Sanctuary in August. As a bonus, it includes two Long-billed Dowitchers.

#187 Chipping Sparrow: Date - July 6. Location: Sicamous BC.
We stayed in Sicamous on the way home from Calgary and I had a very brief time to go birding while Edith and Austin were in the motel swimming pool. After striking out in what looked like a good wildlife area, I crossed the river into the town's industrial area. There was good activity and I saw this bird immediately. There were also some Yellow-rumpled Warblers and a Gray Catbird. The Chipping Sparrow is rare on the coast, so this was a very fortunate sighting.

#188 Common Nighthawk: Date - July 7. Location: Front Yard, North Delta BC.

I worked harder for a photo of this bird than any other this year. In summers past we could have three or four nighthawks fly over our house at dusk. This year, I first heard one on July 7th, but did not spot it. Since I was sure of the call, I added it to my year list as Heard Only. The next night I was out again and caught a fleeting glimpse of the bird and updated my list to seen, but no photo. For the next two weeks i went out every night around 9:00 PM to try getting a photo. At first, I stayed in our yard. But it seemed to be coming out of the bog further north up our street. There's an empty lot there with a nice bench to sit on, so I started staking out that spot, getting curious glances from our neighbours. One night I felt something rubbing up against my leg, it was this cat who had decided to join me.

I had some close calls where I heard the nighthawk but could not find it in the camera viewfinder. Finally on July 21st, I heard the call, and managed to get a few shots away. This is the best one.

#189 Belted Kingfisher: Date - July 19. Location: Belmont Golf Course, Langley BC.
Almost as frustrating as the Nighthawk, I only heard this bird on this day. On August 10th, I saw one at Grant Narrows Regional Park in Pitt Meadows. I finally got some good photos of this female at Reifel Bird Sanctuary on August 30th. This is a species where the female has more colour than the blue and white male.

#190 Least Sandpiper: Date - July 29. Location: 88 St. Boundary Bay, Delta BC.
Another bird seen well with the scope, but only a few poor photos taken. This was the only day I saw this species.

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This was it for July, on to August

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August marks the start of Fall migration for Shorebirds, they come back sooner than warblers and other such small birds. Six of the eight species this month were shorebirds, although the first is a resident, not a migrant.

#191 Willet: Date - August 5. Location: White Rock Beach, White Rock BC.
This bird is a regular resident on the beach, quite often close to the big white rock. Last year, I made several trips to see it but always missed. I did get a Willet in San Francisco in September 2013. Since I was not heading south this year, I took advantage of a summer Tuesday off to try again. The tide was low but coming in slowly. I headed out from the rock and eventually spotted the bird. I managed quite a few photos and especially liked this one. See you next year Mr (or Ms) Willet.

#192 Baird's Sandpiper Date - August 12. Location: 96 St, Boundary Bay, Delta BC.
This is a medium sized sandpiper that is distinguished  by it 's black legs and long wings which project long past the tail. The photo shows the long wings reasonably well.

#193 Warbling Vireo: Date - August 17. Location: Maplewood Conservation Area, North Vancouver BC.
This bird and the next are a tribute to persistence. I had been at  Maplewood the previous day and saw some common birds such as house finch and others. However, I read a report that night by an experienced North Van birder who had led a group and found Vireos and Warblers on the site. I returned the next day and explored the west side of the area. I discovered that there were many dead spots and a few where there were clusters of birds. Photo conditions were poor, but I managed a good photo of this Vireo, and a mediocre photo of the warbler in the next item.

#194 Black-throated Gray Warbler: Date - August 17. Location: Maplewood Conservation Area, North Vancouver BC.
When I first saw this bird I thought it was a Chickadee. it was very difficult to get a good shot as they were constantly on the move and it was a grey day.

#195 Marbled Godwit: Date - August 18. Location: Blackie's Spit, Surrey BC.
This large shorebird can be seen at Blackie's Spit for much of the year. It is usually with the Long-billed Curlew which was featured in the April post. In the winter there may be as many as three or four with the Curlew.

#196 Stilt Sandpiper: Date - August 20 Location: Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC.
This rare medium sized sandpiper was reported at Reifel on a weekday. I left work a bit early and hustled out there. I got some scope views of the bird, but no photos. My only previous sighting was a questionable scope view in 2004 courtesy of an unknown birder.

However, the number of these birds increased, and on Saturday August 30th I managed to get very close for some good photos. About the size of a Lesser Yellowlegs, its main identifying features are the long black beak, slightly down-curved and the white eyebrow. It probes in the mud with a motion like a sewing machine.

#197 Ruddy Turnstone: Date - August 25 Location: 96 St, Boundary Bay, Delta BC.
I visited Boundary Bay almost every evening in late August and early September. On this evening I met up with super birder Russell Cannings. He spotted this bird, which is a common eastern bird, occasionally seen on the west coast in Fall migration. I only got a scope view. The next evening I met up with a young birder from Kelowna named Logan, who I knew from his on-line postings. He relocated the bird and I was able to get this heavily cropped photo. The Turnstone is the bigger bird in the middle with the bright orange legs.

#198 Ruff: Date - August 31 Location: Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC.
The rarities just kept coming this fall. The Ruff is a Eurasian sandpiper occasionally seen on the west coast. It is distinguished by the fact that the male and female have separate names. The male is called a Ruff and the female a Reeve. The naming dates back to the 1400's in England. The bird shown below is a female, but the name Ruff was used on all the bird alerts. I was one of a gaggle of photographers at Reifel on this Sunday morning. A good way to end the month, and this post.

That's it for July and August, the next post will include birds seen in September and October.