2014 Birding Blog - Birds of February

Welcome to the birds of February 2014. Only a single post this month as I only added 20 species, slowing down already.

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.

#50 Ring-billed Gull: Date - Feb 2. Location: Blackie's Spit, Surrey BC.
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.

I did not see any more new species in February after the 16th. Two months and I still did not have a life list addition in 2014. Next up is the March Blog where things may change. 

2014 Birding Blog - Birds of March

On to the birds of March. If you haven't read the January and February posts, it might be a good idea to start there.

This blog lists the birds I saw in 2014, with an entry for the first date it was seen. The accompanying photo is one of the best of that species taken during the year. If it is not the first sighting date, then the date and location of the photo is noted.

Additions to my life list are noted where applicable. 

#70 Snow Goose: Date - Mar 1. Location: Deltaport Way, Delta BC.
Snow Geese migrate from the north by the thousands in October/November. They stay in the Lower Mainland until sometime in January, and then head further south into Washington State. Come March, they head back and fuel up to the trip back up to Wrangel Island in the Bering Sea between Alaska and Siberia. It's possible Sarah Palin can see them nesting from her living room. The first photo was taken in April at Brunswick Point in Ladner. The second was taken in a field in North Delta in October.

#71 American Coot: Date - Mar 1. Location: Deer Lake Park, Burnaby BC.
I had been at Deer Lake Park in February hoping to see the reported Glaucous Gull. I had been confused about which part of the park to go to, and had cleared that up for this visit. While scanning the large number of gulls present, I saw some American Coots. It was unusual that it had taken this long to see them. Once again there are two photos. The first shows a large raft of Coots in Vaseux Lake in the Okanagan. This was taken from high up the the Bluff above the lake. The second photo was taken at Frank Lake near High River Alberta. It shows three fledglings in all their orange-red glory.

#72 Glaucous Gull: Date - Mar 1. Location: Deer Lake Park, Burnaby BC.
Finally, my first life list addition (#383) for the year. The Gaucous Gull is common in Alaska, but rare down here. The reported location  was a playground and beach on the east side of Deer Lake. There were about a hundred gulls there, mostly Ring-billed and Glaucous-winged juveniles. I only had a vague idea what I was looking for and became anxious when I could not spot anything different. I was joined by a pair of birders who were just as clueless.Then I saw a larger Gull that was creamy white and I knew that was it. I saw another Glaucous Gull later in the year in Penticton on a guided tour. But this look was much better than that one.

#73 House Finch - Mar 2. Location: Backyard, North Delta BC.
After a rarity comes a very common bird. Since we have a breeding pair in our back yard, it's a wonder I took so long to spot one. This photo is from our yard in May.

#74 Canvasback: Date - Mar 9. Location: Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC.
I missed out on seeing this duck last year. They are seen in fall and winter here, but always in small numbers. This elegant female was seen on the date above. The second photo shows a male and female at Brydon Lagoon in Langley two weeks later on March 23.

#75 Marsh Wren: Date - Mar 9. Location: Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC.
A sure sign of spring is the song of the Marsh Wren. They are always tricky to photograph, hidden in the reeds and tall grasses. This photo was taken at Iona on March 30.

#76 Tree Swallow: Date - Mar 9. Location: Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC.
Another spring bird seen on the same day. Although I saw tree swallows many other times during the year, this photo from the first sighting ranked as the best.

#77 Black Turnstone: Date - Mar 9. Location: Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts Wa.
Last year, this was a lifer for me. I now realize that I could have added them to that list years ago. This year I saw them on a few occasions at Point Roberts and once at Ocean Shores Washinton on a September birding trip.

#78 Sanderling: Date - Mar 9. Location: Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts Wa.
Quite often you will see Black Turnstones and Sanderling together. This was the case on this day.

#79 Rufous Hummingbird: Date - Mar 9. Location: Backyard, North Delta BC.
These hummingbirds always show up at our feeder around this time of year. They displace the overwintering Anna's hummingbird for about four months. The first photo is a female on that first day. The second is a male at Reifel Bird Sanctuary later in March.

  


#80 Townsend's Solitaire: Date - Mar 13. Location: Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver BC.
This is a member of the thrush family that I photographed for the first time in 2013. I was lucky on this day as I was returning home from an appointment in Vancouver and made a quick stop at the park. I did not see another one all year.

#81 Lincoln's Sparrow: Date - Mar 13. Location: Boundary Bay 104 St  Delta BC.
This is an uncommon relative of the Song and Fox Sparrow that is seen occasionally on the coast, especially during spring migration. I did see a few of them in Quesnel in August as well. This photo is from the first sighting.

#82 Pigeon Guillemot: Date - Mar 20. Location: Lonsdale Quay, North Vancouver BC.
I had a dentist appointment  in North Vancouver on this day and took extra time off work to visit Lonsdale Quay. It is one of the best spots to see this species in Metro Vancouver. This photo is another favourite. The red colour is a reflection of a red metal pole on the other side of the Quay.

#83 Green Heron: Date - Mar 23. Location: Brydon Lagoon, Langley BC.
This wilderness area is in the middle of a sub-division in south Langley. There is an avid birder named Randy living there and he posts weekly reports of what he has seen recently. A Green Heron sighting is reason to get out there. They can also be seen in Vancouver at Hastings Park and McLeery Golf Course as well as Burnaby Lake Park. This photo was taken across the lagoon in poor light, but is is my only sighting at the time of this posting.

#84 Violet-green Swallow: Date - Mar 23. Location: Brydon Lagoon, Langley BC.
Brydon is also an excellent place to see this species in Spring. It is such a different looking swallow from the others we see in North America. This photo was taken at Iona Regional Park in May.

#85 Ruby-crowned Kinglet: Date - Mar 23. Location: Brydon Lagoon, Langley BC.
Randy spotted this hard to see species while we were touring the lagoon. This photo was taken at Queen Elizabeth Park in April.

#86 Gadwall: Date - Mar 23. Location: Colony Farm Regional Park, Coquitlam BC.
After Brydon, I headed over the Port Mann Bridge, paid my toll and stopped at Colony Farm. I was hoping to see the Lazuli Buntings that had been reported there, but had no luck. I did see my first pair of this dabbling duck for the year. This photo is a female and chicks taken at Surrey's Serpentine Fen in May.

#87 Horned Grebe: Date - Mar 27. Location: Blackie's Spit, Surrey BC.
This small Grebe is a common winter salt water resident. We usually only see the Basic (non-breeding) plumage as shown in the first photo. In spring they transform and head inland to breed. I was luck to see an Alternate (breeding) plumage bird at the end of the Iona south Jetty in late April.

#88 American Goldfinch: Date - Mar 29. Location: Surrey BC.
I saw this bird in a friend's backyard, but only had the IPhone to take a record shot. The two photos below show a breeding plumage male at our bird feeder in April. The second shot shows a non-breeding female in August. It was taken at Maplewood Conservation Area.

#89 Yellow-rumped Warbler: Date - Mar 30. Location: Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC.
The last bird of the month is our most common warbler.On the west coast we see mostly the Audubon's race (pictured below) while in the east they see the Myrtle race. I think the bird in the first photo, taken on this day, had just landed at Iona after migrating from the south. It was out in the open, probably indicating it was tired and hungry.

This second shot was taken at Manning Park in June. I like the (completely accidental) artistic effect.

So ends the March Blog. 

The next posting will be April Part 1, including a guided tour in the Okanagan.