Although May is prime time in most parts of North America for migrating songbirds, it can be a bit too late for the Lower Mainland. I had a good, but not great month. It seemed that many of the good days occurred while I was trapped in the office.
I did have some good luck on my annual golf trip to the Kelowna-Vernon area late in the month.
#136 Caspian Tern: Date - May 1. Location: Boundary Bay, 112 St, Delta BC.
We only see two terns here with regularity, the Caspian and the Common. Usually a Caspian Tern is seen alone or with one or two others, while Common are in groups. The Caspian is the largest North American Tern and it's huge bill is unmistakeable. This shot shows one with a group of Gulls taken at Ocean Shores in Washington state in September.
#137 Barn Swallow: Date - May 3. Location: Westham Island, Delta BC.
The barn swallow appears a bit later in the spring than the Tree and Violet-green Swallows. The photo shows a parent and two fledglings at Iona Regional Park in Richmond later in May.
#138 Blue-winged Teal: Date - May 3. Location: Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC.
I had not seen this duck in a couple of years and was lucky to get a fleeting glimpse of it at Reifel on this day. I had better looks at a few in the sewage ponds at Iona Regional Park in May. That is where this one was taken.
#139 Yellow-headed Blackbird: Date - May 6. Location: Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC.
I usually first see this bird in the Okanagan in late May on my golf trip. But they seem to be establishing themselves at Iona in small numbers. This male was photographed there on that day.
#140 Cinnamon Teal: Date - May 13. Location: Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC.
This beautiful duck is closely related to the Blue-winged Teal shown earlier in this post. In some cases the two species hybridize. This shot was taken at Serpentine Fen in Surrey later in May.
#141 Wilson's Warbler: Date - May 16. Location: Grouse Mountain, North Vancouver BC.
This warbler sums up my experience with migrating warblers this year. I saw this bird a couple of time but never managed to get a good photo.
#142 Western Tanager: Date - May 16. Location: Grouse Mountain, North Vancouver BC.
I only saw this beautiful bird once this year as well. This photo is the best of a mediocre lot.
I had more luck with this species, it is a much more approachable bird than a warbler or a tanager. The first photo shows a male taken on this day. The second was taken on a rainy day in June up on Ryder Lake in Chilliwack, attending the annual Ryder Lake Ramble with my friend Mary-Jean.
#144 Pectoral Sandpiper: Date - May 17. Location: Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC.
This was a rare day that Edith went birding with me, so I figured she should get to see the sewage ponds at Iona. There we met another birder with very good eyes and he spotted a Pectoral Sandpiper about 100 meters away. This bird is very common in Fall migration, but I had not seen one this early in the year before. Alas, the photo was not the greatest, so here's two birds seen in August at Boundary Bay during Fall migration.
#145 Long-billed Dowitcher: Date - May 17. Location: Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC.
We also saw this species that day and I did get some good close-ups. Here's one in the muck of the sewage pond.
#146 Cedar Waxwing: Date - May 18. Location: Grant Narrows Regional Park, Pitt Meadows BC.
It's not if, but when this species will appear on the scene. A bit later than some of the others, this year it was mid May when I spotted my first Cedar Waxwings. They are always on the move, but quite photogenic when they sit still.
#147 Yellow Warbler: Date - May 18. Location: Grant Narrows Regional Park, Pitt Meadows BC.
This is the same location that I saw this warbler for the first time last year. The photo below was taken at Ward's Lake in Grand Forks in June. It shows the classic field marks for this species very well.
#148 Swainson's Thrush Date - May 18. Location: Grant Narrows Regional Park, Pitt Meadows BC.
This very elusive bird was only heard on this date. I did manage one very poor photo on Grouse Mountain later in the month. However, I got lucky in August on the same Nature Trail at Grant Narrows and captured photos of this immature Swainson's Thrush.
#149 Red-necked Grebe: Date - May 22. Location: Shannon Lake Golf Course, West Kelowna BC.
Very lucky to get some nice shot of this species while on my Okanagan Golf trip. I always carry my digital SLR camera in the cart on this course, because the birds are plentiful on the 17th and 18th holes down on the lake.
#150 Least Flycatcher: Date - May 23. Location: The Rise Golf Course, Vernon BC.
This was even a luckier shot, seen approaching the first hole at this golf course high above Vernon. I had a camera handy and did not ID the bird until I got home.
#151 Western Screech Owl: Date - May 24. Location: Predator Ridge Golf Course, Vernon BC.
This is the ultimate "heard only" listing of a bird, a lifer to boot. This bird woke me while sleeping in our cottage at Predator Ridge. I heard it calling very loudly. I recognized the sound as Chris had used a recording to call owls on our tour in April. The next morning, I played a recording for fellow golfer Fritz Banek and he confirmed that was the sound he had heard as well. This was life list addition #386, and maybe the first based on sound alone. The photo below is lifted from Wikipedia.
#152 Eastern Kingbird: Date - May 24. Location: Kelowna Springs Golf Course, Kelowna BC.
I only saw this bird on this day, no photo. It is now common at Pitt Lake and Colony Farms, so I got decent photos from those sites. This photo was taken at Road 22 in Oliver in June on a rainy Friday morning.
#153 Purple Martin: Date - May 28. Location: Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC.
These birds can be seen in a few locations in the lower Mainland. There are nest boxes for them at Iona, Blackie's Spit in Surrey, and Maplewood Conservation area in North Vancouver. This photo of the dark male and lighter female was taken on this day at Iona.
#154 Spotted Sandpiper: Date - May 28. Location: Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC.
This is a medium sized sandpiper, almost always seen by itself. For all the times I have seen it over the years, it has always been in its drab Basic (non-breeding) plumage. This year I was lucky enough to see it in Alternate plumage, but only for about five seconds. I managed two shots, this was the best one.
I closed out the month with this bird. It is very common all across inland North America, but not usually seen on the West Coast. I had seen it before in Arizona in 2008. However, it was reported to be at this location and was one of the most easily found rarities I saw this year. Here it is just away from the boat launch on the gravel road beside Pitt Lake.
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