Saturday, June 18, 2016

38 new Province Birds in Quebec, June 2016



One of my recent listing priorities has been to work on my Quebec province list.  This started with a brief late summer visit to south-central QC north of NH in July 2014 which featured singing Bicknell’s Thrushes and Gray Jays in nice boreal habitat.  My next trip was in September 2015 in southwestern QC north of VT where my focus was on migrants.  On that trip I added several shorebirds (including Long-billed Dowitcher and Stilt Sandpiper as rarities), migrant passerines, and a rare Sandhill Crane.  And my last trip in November 2015 targeted early wintering birds including numerous waterfowl.  After just 6 birding days in QC my province list stood at 152.

The next group of “low-hanging fruit” were nesting species in southwestern QC.  With a lot of eBird research I came up with a list of 49 possible targets.  Although this included a few long shots, quite a number would be very likely with enough time and effort including 31 with rather specific staked out locations.  I started thinking that I might need 4 days in the field to pursue all these possibilities.  But then with some more research I decided I would only need 3 days to try to fill these gaps in my list.  My planned route would start in the southwestern corner of QC (just outside NY and Ontario) mostly in grassland habitat, then I would work north through south-central QC stopping in woodlands and wetlands, then southeast with additional woodland stops before exiting the province into VT.  I watched the weather and picked 3 days in early June with good weather predicted on Days 1 and 2, and passable weather on Day 3.  And with this itinerary I hoped for 31 new birds for my QC list.

Day 1

After the long 4-hour drive I finally neared the border crossing in Rouses Point, NY in mid-afternoon.  As I drove up to the customs and immigration booth I could hear a singing Brown Thrasher in the distance.  This was one of my targets, but was it in NY or QC?  After I finished answering the border guard’s questions I pulled over to the side and determined that the Thrasher was indeed in QC – new province bird #1.  That was easy!

The next stop was on a road called Chemin de Planches just north of Huntingdon where Clay-colored Sparrows had been recently reported on eBird.  Sightings were listed from several spots along this road, either suggesting that there were multiple birds, or the eBirders weren’t too careful about identifying the correct locations.  Unfortunately it turned out to be the latter.  The first spot that was listed turned out to be an electrical substation – no dice there.  However the next spot looked ideal with small conifers scattered in a grassy field.  As I got out of the car I heard the first of many Alder Flycatchers (#2) in the distance.  I listened for a while but heard nothing else in song, until a Field Sparrow started singing right along the road (#3).  But with no luck on the Clay-colored I drove up the road and checked out the next 3 reported locations.  All 3 were thick with aspens – certainly not the right habitat.  So I drove back to what appeared to be the best spot to try again.  And within seconds I heard the buzzy song of a Clay-colored Sparrow (#4) – my hunch was right about the proper habitat.  (Afterwards a local birder I met mentioned the exact location as a specific distance from a given intersection.  Maybe there was a post on the listserve with these details that I needed to translate from French.)  And as I drove away an Eastern Meadowlark sang (#5).  A most successful first stop.

The next stop was just to the west along Montee Smellie where Upland Sandpipers had been reported a couple weeks earlier.  Along the way I thought I heard an Indigo Bunting.  I stopped the car to listen but just heard a Wood Thrush singing from a nearby woodlot (#6) – a nice tradeoff.  When I reached the reported Uppie spot I found a large grassy field on both sides of the road.  Even if the birds were still around, the grass was high enough that they would be difficult to spot so I wasn’t feeling too optimistic.  Just as I started to scan I thought I heard one bird calling.  I listened closer and heard it again.  Then 2 birds rose out of the tall grass and flew overhead giving the full song – an amazing sound.  They then dropped out of sight into another field to the west.  I was very lucky to have been there when they were in view and calling (#7).  A few second later I heard a “che-wink” of a Rufous-sided Towhee (#8) and a Willow Flycatcher calling from the nearby trees (#9).  Another great stop.

The next target was a rare Grasshopper Sparrow that was being seen and heard occasionally in a field near the NY border on Montee Jamieson.  Along the way I spotted 3 Brown-headed Cowbirds on a wire at a cattle pasture (#10).  And then up ahead I noticed a birder pulled over peering up into the trees overhead.  I stopped and he said he had a Yellow-throated Vireo – one of my key targets for the end of the trip at Montgomery Sanctuary.  After just a minute’s wait the Vireo starting singing its buzzy call (#11).  I thanked him and mentioned I was off to try for the Grasshopper.  He said he had just spent 3 hours there unsuccessfully.  On a brighter note he also gave me great advice for finding the winged warblers at a planned later stop. 

Despite the birder’s unsuccessful efforts, I decided to try for the Grasshopper Sparrow anyway.  In route I finally conclusively heard an Indigo Bunting singing (#12).  When I arrived at Montee Jamieson there were several other birders there searching in vain for the sparrow.  But this bird was something of a celebrity, with this sign erected along the road summarizing the farmer’s efforts to manage the site both for the Grasshopper Sparrow (Bruant Sauterelle) and for Savannah Sparrows (Bruant des Pres). 

 
I had several Savannahs and Songs singing in the small field, but no Grasshopper.  The best I could do was add a Scarlet Tanager singing from the adjacent woodlot (#13).  So given that there had been no sightings of the target bird for a while, I decided to not wait any longer here and try my luck at the next stop.  Little did I know that the Grasshopper Sparrow would be the only stakeout target that I would miss on my entire trip.

Next I was off to Montee Biggar where rare Golden-winged Warblers had been joined by a rarer Blue-winged Warbler and even a Brewster’s, along with Black-billed Cuckoo which is another target.  As soon as I arrived along this road I spotted the area the previous birder had recommended – an overgrown grassy field with scattered low trees.  I began to walk through the field, hearing numerous Alder Flycatchers and Towhees along with an occasional Thrasher, but the only warblers were Yellow and Chestnut-sided.  Then maybe 30 minutes later I heard the 4-note buzzy call of the Golden-winged Warbler (#14).  I waited a bit longer and heard it again, but could never get a visual on this bird – which was most disappointing since I think this is one of the most beautiful species of North American birds. 

Then I heard a buzzy call that was somewhere in between Blue-winged and Golden-winged.  I figured this would be the Brewster’s, but with some searching I was able to see this one and it was in fact the Blue-winged (#15).  It continued to give the same odd buzzy call, but looked like a perfect Blue-winged.  I spent another 30 minutes in the field hoping to track down a Golden-winged but with no success.  I did however hear an odd hooting call that I couldn’t place.  The closest I could get was a Long-eared Owl, but I would never check that one off based solely on a call in daylight hours. 

With both winged warblers under my belt I decided to call it quits at this stop and was about to head to the north to the next spot.  But then I remembered that American Bittern had been reported here a few times recently, and the southern part of the road looked like it could provide wetter habitat.  So I headed just a bit to the south and as soon as I reached the wetter area heard a Bittern calling from a tall grassy field (#16).  That was an unexpected bonus for this stop.

Then it was on to 4e Rang at the north end of Montee Biggar where Northern Waterthrush seemed to be regular.  I got to this thickly wooded swamp but found that there was no standing water – not very conducive for finding the Waterthrush though the mosquitoes were still prevalent.  In between swatting mosquitoes I heard a Yellow-billed Cuckoo (#17) calling from the woods – a nice rarity to find in QC.  And then I heard a number of birds squawking back in the woods.  Thinking that maybe they had found an owl I tracked down where the noises were coming from and eventually spotted a small perched raptor deep in the woods.  It took a while, but I eventually got enough glimpses of the bird to identify it as an immature Red-shouldered Hawk (#18). 

I drove a bit farther down the road and eventually found an area of standing water – finally some potential habitat for the Waterthrush.  There were many birds singing here including the first of several Great-crested Flycatchers (#19), Sapsuckers, and a Pileated.  Then I heard mouse-like calls coming from the brush.  Although I thought it could be a Gnatcatcher, that would be quite rare for this area, and thought that maybe it was just a begging cry of a baby bird.  But then the bird came into the open and was in fact a Blue-Gray Gnatcatcher (#20).  I was even able to get a video of the bird with my iPhone.

As I was watching this bird I realized that a Northern Waterthrush was singing back in the swamp (#21) – I wonder how long it was singing and I hadn’t noticed it.  And then as I was trying to get a visual on this bird a Barred Owl began to call in the distance (#22).  What a nice spot with quite a southern feel for QC!

Next it was off to Chemin Demers in Saint-Antoine-Abbé where numerous Whip-poor-wills and Woodcocks had been reported recently.  After a short 30-minute drive I knew I was in the right area as I began to drive through woodlands of stunted pines and very sparse vegetation on the ground.  I got to the first spot mentioned on eBird and got out of my car to begin to listen for these nocturnal targets.  I had arrived a bit before sunset so I was still listening to a chorus of diurnal birds – Hermit Thrushes seemed to dominate – along with a buzz of black flies and mosquitoes.  Finally about 15 minutes after sunset the Whips started to sing (#23).  I counted at least 4 from this location, but heard no Woodcocks.  So I drove just a mile down the road to the next eBird spot listed for these targets.  When I got out of the car I was shocked by how many Whips were calling – literally in every direction around me.  There were so many birds calling at once that I could not discern individual calls.  I guessed 20 birds – who knows how many there were.  But I could not hear the peents of the Woodcocks.  Finally I heard the higher pitched twittering of one Woodcock overhead (#24).  I wonder if Woodcocks were “peenting” all along but I couldn’t hear them over the din of the Whip-poor-wills.

It was a great ending of a great day – adding 24 new birds to my QC province list among 77 species total.  And I didn’t even arrive in QC until 2 PM!

Just before heading for bed I checked the weather to see if the forecast for the Day 3 had improved.  Amazingly, heavy rains were now predicted starting midday on Day 2 – nice weather had been predicted for Day 2 as recently as this morning.  I now needed to re-think my plan for the next day so that I could try for the most critical landbirds before the rains started.  And I could try for the wetlands birds in the rain if necessary.  That also meant an early wake up call to get in as much birding as possible before the rains arrived.

Day 2

My new plan had me starting the day with a 2-hour drive to Tourbière (bog in French) Sainte-Marie-de-Blandford, and then working my way south to concentrate on waterbirds in the afternoon.  The eBird reports suggested the Troubiere could be a great spot with boreal habitat much closer that the more typical boreal spots in northern QC.  My three key target breeders here were Canada Warbler, Palm Warbler, and Lincoln’s Sparrow, and this spot did not disappoint.  I had my first of 6 Canada Warblers (#25) singing just a short distance along the 2.5 km loop trail.  My only Palm Warbler (#26) was singing at the edge of the bog a short distance away.  And my first of 3 singing Lincoln’s Sparrows (#27) was just another 50 m down the trail.  The woods and bog were full of song, including 8 other species of warblers.  I wanted to stay longer at this really nice spot, but with the impending weather I needed to move on quickly.  I did stop long enough to appreciate this scenery out over the bog.


And took this photo of one of my most favorite flowers – the Lady Slipper.


The next stop was at Parc écologique de l'Anse du Port where a most cooperative Prothonotary Warbler had taken up residence over the last couple weeks.  Numerous Soras, another of my targets, had also been reported here recently.  Luckily I had birded here on an earlier trip so I knew right where to go to try for the Warbler – the main boardwalk through a wooded swamp in the center of the park.  As I started down the boardwalk I noticed a small group of photographers and birders up ahead though they were all talking instead of pointing their optics in any one direction.  It turns out the bird had put on quite a show and had just flown off.  As Maxwell Smart would say – “missed it by that much.”  But then I heard the sweet “churee churee churee” call in the distance.  “Wasn’t that the Prothonotary?”, I asked the birders.  They all agreed but they were just intent on photographing it, so a distant singing bird didn’t get their attention.  Luckily I count heard-only birds (#28).  Then with a short walk down the boardwalk I heard a Sora out in the marsh giving its “churwee” call (#29).  I walked back to the photographers and just then a Black-billed Cuckoo started to give its 3-note calls (#30).  I really wanted to stay longer, but the weather was closing in and I needed to get to one more landbird stop before the rain started.  I hated to bird and run, but there were more new province birds ahead of me.

The planned last stop before the rain started was Route Pepin in Baie du Febvre where Vesper Sparrows had been reported apparently quite reliably.  But just a few minutes before I arrived the skies opened up – sure wouldn’t expect a Vesper Sparrow to be singing in the heavy rain.  So instead I headed to the impoundments in Baie du Febvre, deciding to water birds there in the rain, and then head back to Route Pepin if there was a break in the precipitation.

As I arrived at the wetlands I noticed a pair of Purple Martins flying low overhead (#31).  And before I could get out of the car the first of several Black Terns flew by dancing over the water surface (#32).  I was just about to get out and put on the rainsuit when the rain suddenly stopped.  Time to head back to Route Pepin!  Ten minutes later I was back at the potential Vesper Sparrow spot.  The good news was the rain had mostly stopped; the bad news was that all the fields along the road were planted in corn - certainly not conducive for finding most any type of bird.  But then I remembered hearing Vesper Sparrows in this type of habitat as long as they had at least a little grassy margin around the field edges.  So I drove along until I found a small area of grass and got out of the car to listen.  Almost instantly I heard a Vesper Sparrow singing (#33).  With that one checked off, it was back to the impoundments to try for my marshbird targets. 

It was only raining lightly when I got back to the impoundments and I walked along the trail to get a view of the marshes.  There were numerous dabblers and Gallinules on the marsh, along with perhaps as many as 50 Black Terns.  Eventually I picked out several American Coots (#34) scattered throughout the marsh.  That left me with just one remaining realistic target - Least Bittern - which had been reported several times from the marsh.  I started scanning the cattails hoping to pick one out when I heard an American Bittern calling.  Amazingly I spotted this bird out in the open on one of the dikes.  And then I was able to get a video through my scope as it went through what almost looked like convulsions as it called – I’ve never seen an American Bittern calling before.  Here is a still shot of the bird.


I then went back to scanning the cattails and almost instantly a Least Bittern flew low over the vegetation (#35).  Although I had planned to spend more time here, that was the last of my likely targets from this spot.  So since there was still a lull in the rain, I decided to head to my next couple stops in Drummondville to try for my targets there.

While on the 30-minute drive to Drummondville I started reviewing my remaining list of target birds.  Amazingly I was down to needing just 3 stakeout targets, and all of the stakeout birds had been so cooperative that it was just midday on the second day of what I thought would be a 3-day trip.  If the weather cooperated I could try for all 3 of the remaining targets yet that afternoon.  And although there were still several lower probability non-stakeout targets that I could just run into (like Turkey, Ruffed Grouse, Peregrine, and Rough-winged Swallow), I realized I could cut the trip short and head back home that afternoon without missing out on too many new province birds. 

My first target in the city of Drummondville was Chimney Swifts.  Amazingly this species is quite uncommon in southern QC even though the range maps would suggest they are regular in the area.  In my travels through the area I think I’ve realized why there are so few Swifts – there seem to be few buildings that have chimneys that might be attractive to nesting birds.  But there was one location in downtown Drummondville (Pub le St-George) that was featured in an eBird post from this spring with 50 Swifts, which was accompanied by a comment “first of 2016” .  So I hoped that maybe this building had chimneys attractive to Swifts.  It took me a while to navigate the downtown streets but eventually found the Pub and parked on the street right next to the building.  I got out of the car, inserted a “Looney” in the parking meter, and started to check the skies.  Not a minute later 2 Chimney Swifts flew twittering overhead (#36).  That was easy.

The next Drummondville stop was a location called Site des Neiges where Mockingbirds had been spotted likely nesting the last couple years.  This is apparently a downtown location where snow removed from the city streets was dumped.  The dump site is surrounded by a grassy berm with spruce trees planted at the top.  I walked around 2 sides of the site but didn’t see my targets.  I guess I had gotten spoiled by finding so many of my targets almost the instant I arrived at their stakeout locations, so I was getting a bit antsy when 10 minutes passed and there was no Mockingbird.  Then I noticed some movement and there was a Mockingbird hopping among the spruce trees (#37). 

 
That just left one stakeout target – Cerulean Warbler at George Montgomery Sanctuary in Philipsburg.  When I first started planning this trip the Sanctuary was to be one of my key stops with reliable sightings of up to 10 of my targets.  As a result I had planned to bird there much of the morning on Day 3 starting at dawn.  However, one by one, I was able to find all of these targets on other stops - that is with the exception of Cerulean Warbler.  I really wanted to find a Cerulean, and this was the only known nesting location of this species in QC, so it was here or not at all.  I didn’t want to leave QC not having found this bird, nor did I want to have to spend the night and bird there the next morning just for this 1 species.  So although an early morning stop would greatly improve my odds of finding a singing Cerulean, I crossed my fingers that I could still find the Cerulean with an afternoon stop at the Refuge. 

As I arrived at the refuge the sky was threatening and it was spitting a bit of rain.  So although it was damp underfoot, I hoped the cloudy, cooler conditions might entice the Ceruleans to sing more than they might otherwise in mid-afternoon.  I had been told that they were most likely heard near the junction of the blue and red trails, so I headed right to that location.  Along the way I heard several of my other targets singing, like Great-crested Flycatcher, Alder Flycatcher, and Indigo Bunting, but I no longer needed these species for my QC list.  After taking a couple wrong turns I finally neared the trail junction and almost instantly heard a distant song that was likely a Cerulean.  I stopped in my tracks and listened intently – there it was again – a Cerulean (#38).  I probably heard a second bird too, but couldn’t be sure.  The birds were in the deciduous woods on the hill in the background of this picture.


Given the rainy conditions I decided to head back to the car rather than trying to get visuals on these birds, which was most unlikely anyway as they typically forage high up in the canopy.  As I walked back to the car I realized that I had just gotten 30 of my 31 stakeout targets – an amazing success rate.  Plus I was able to find almost all of them so quickly that I needed just two partial days of birding instead of the initial plan of 4 days.  

For the trip I compiled a list of 112 species.   Eight of these species were new for my Canada list which is now at 307.  The 38 new province birds puts my QC list at 190 – my largest single province list.  Finally making some progress on my Canada lists.  It's about time for me to start making "province bird maps" like my statebirds maps for the US.

Friday, June 3, 2016

63 New Province Birds in Vancouver, British Columbia, May 2016



I was most excited when I found out I had needed to go to Vancouver, BC for a short business trip.  My BC list was only 81, so needless to say there were many possible species I could add to my province list.  Although ordinarily I would think about adding some vacation birding time to a trip such as this one, I was planning a trip to both BC and Alberta in June, including about 3 birding days in eastern and southcentral BC.  So I couldn’t quite justify taking more vacation time on this trip.  But then with a little research I realized that there were a number of species possible along the coast in and around Vancouver that would not be feasible on my inland trip in June.  But the challenge was whether I could squeeze in a bit of birding time to try for these local coastal targets.  I was only going to be in the area for 2 full days, and at most could only be free before work in the morning and after work in the evening.  But since at this high latitude sunrise was just after 5 and sunset wasn’t until 9, that would give me at least a couple hours free for birding at the beginning and end of each day.  I would sleep after I got home… 

With some detailed eBird research I came up with a list of about 30 possible coastal targets that would be less likely or not feasible on the inland June trip.  Then I started researching the best locations to visit to maximize my chances to find as many of these targets as possible.  I picked out 4 locations to bird covering quite a number of habitats, hoping for about 20 of my coastal targets, and 50-65 new birds for my province list.

Day 1 – Early AM - Burnaby Lake Regional Park

I had to be at work that morning in Burnaby starting at 8:30, so I had time to cover just one site in and around the greater Burnaby area.  I decided to bird Burnaby Lake Regional Park because of its varied habitats of woodlands and wetlands, and recent sightings of several of my key coastal targets.  Plus it was only 10 minutes from the office.  In route to the park I spotted a Peregrine Falcon flying up to a power line trestle – the first of my coastal targets.  I arrived at Piper Spit in the park a bit after 6 (later than I had wanted), but then got a work call delaying the start of my birding time even further.  But as I finally stepped out of my car at 6:30 the woods were alive with song – including numerous Swainson’s Thrushes singing from the understory, and Golden-crowned Kinglets and Chickadees calling from the conifers.  It looked like it was going to be a nice morning.

I walked to the lake edge where mudflats had recently held several of my target shorebirds.  But the extent of the mudflats was quite limited, and I only found a Solitary and a Spotted as new birds.  There were lots of tame waterfowl as well, and I picked up Blue-winged and Cinnamon Teal and Hooded Mergansers in with the numerous Mallards and Wood Ducks.  I then walked over to the wetlands to try for Virginia Rail, but could only come away with Yellowthroat, Warbling Vireo (singing a different dialect than the eastern birds), and the first of many Wilson’s Warblers.  I also saw the first of many Song Sparrows which are much darker and rustier than the ones I’m used to in the east.

Although I already had 14 new birds for my province list I wasn’t doing too well with my coastal target species.  I then started walking down the trail to the east along the northern edge of the lake.  Soon I got lucky with 2 of my coastal targets – a pair of Bushtits were foraging right along the path, and a Hutton’s Vireo flew in to a bush right next to me to feed its fledglings.  The trail continued to be very birdy, and I picked up birds like Western Tanager and Black-headed Grosbeak in the woodlands, and Willow Flycatcher and Yellow Warbler out in the wetlands.  Plus I had at least 5 Rufous Hummingbirds along this part of the trail. 

I then made my way to the Conifer Loop trail where I added singing Purple Finches that didn’t sound much like their eastern counterparts (a possible split some day?).  And a pair of large doves flew in and landed high in a conifer.  Although I expected them to be Band-tailed Pigeons they were surprisingly Eurasian Collared Doves.

It was now 8:00, and although I wished I could continue to cover this very birdy spot, I had just enough time to head to the western part of the lake where shorebirds and a Cackling Goose had been reported recently.  The Cackling had been feeding on the ballfields with Canadas, but there were no geese in sight that day.  I headed to the lake and there was no mudflat either.  I was striking out here.  That is until I started scanning through the Canada Geese on the lake and picked out a (the?) Cackling Goose swimming with its larger cousins.

I left the park with 26 new province birds, including 4 of my coastal targets.  Plus I made it to work in time to head to my site walk, where I added a calling Steller’s Jay to my province list.  A most productive morning!

Day 1 – Evening – Iona Island

For my first evening of birding I had picked out Iona Island on the north side of the airport.  This location has a large sewage treatment plant, several more natural but still man-made lagoons, and a small area of woodlands, all surrounded by tidal flats and open water.  And along the way you pass by some small horse pastures where I made my first stop to look for blackbirds.  Although I could only find Starlings, I noticed a large shorebird in the pasture in the distance – a migrant Whimbrel which is a nice rarity for the location.

My first stop on the island was at the sewage treatment impoundments in search of shorebirds (local birders had given me the code to the gate to access the inner impoundments).  While walking in I had the first of many Caspian Terns fly over (another coastal target), along with some Cliff Swallows in with the numerous Trees.  There were only a few shorebirds feeding in the “mud”, but I added 2 Lesser Yellowlegs and a Western Sandpiper, along with 6 Pectorals, a Solitary, and a Spotted.  A flyover Osprey and a Brewer’s Blackbird also were new additions.

The next stop was at the lagoons just to the north, with excellent cattail and reed habitat.  Here I picked up a diverse set of species new for my list – Black-crowned Night Heron, one lone Ruddy Duck and a flyby Merlin - along with four coastal targets - a pair of Virginia Rails, the first of several Purple Martins, numerous Anna’s Hummingbirds, and several singing Yellow-headed Blackbirds.  I got this nice phonescoped photo of one of the blackbirds –


A quick stop in the woods yielded few birds at all.  Then I realized the likely reason – I flushed a Great Horned Owl perched in one of the cottonwoods. 

The last habitats to bird were the tidal flats and the open water beyond.  Unfortunately it was at mid-tide meaning there were substantial mudflats to scan and the only shorebirds I found were a flyby flock of 4 Least Sandpipers.  There were several gulls feeding on the flats including a couple target California Gulls, along with at least 15 more Caspian Terns roosting on driftwood.  The last new bird of the day was another coastal target - a really distant group of 4 White-winged Scoters. 

That gave me 88 species on the day, 45 of which were new for my BC list and 16 of those were my coastal targets.  Not bad for about 5 hours of birding!

Day 2 – Early AM – Stanley Park

Stanley Park on the northern edge of Vancouver is a beautiful natural park with many acres of mature conifers on a peninsula surrounded on three sides by open water.  There are also two small lakes in the park, and I decided to start my birding at one of these spots, Beaver Lake, due to the diversity of recent eBird sightings there including several of my coastal targets.  I arrived a bit before 6, and while trying to figure out the rules for the parking meters, I heard a nearby song that I had studied the day before – Black-throated Gray Warbler.  It took me a while to find the bird high up in a cedar, but I eventually got to see this striking warbler.  And while looking for this target, I also added Yellow-rumped Warbler and Red Crossbill.  In route to the lake I heard the drumming of a target Red-breasted Sapsucker.  That gave me 4 new birds and I hadn’t even reached the lake yet. 

Beaver Lake was a beautiful spot featuring a shallow body of water surrounded by boggy vegetation and small deciduous trees at the edges.  And farther from the lake you had the tall cedars and firs typical of the rest of the park.  So it presented an interesting juxtaposition of habitats and bird species.  The first part of the loop trail around the lake had several benches where local visitors apparently routinely fed the birds.  There were numerous very tame Song Sparrows and Red-wings feeding on the ground including these two female Red-wings at my feet –


I couldn’t get a picture of the male that landed on my shoulder!

Common birds in the small trees at the edge of the wetlands included Song Sparrows, Wilson’s Warblers and Spotted Towhees, and the conifers featured numerous singing Swainson’s Thrushes, Creepers, Golden-crowned Kinglets, and Chestnut-backed Chickadees.  As I walked around the lake I heard a couple notes that sounded like a Least Flycatcher.  But that would be a rarity for this far west, plus it was tough to pick out the call from all the other songs in the area, so I wrote it off as a Hammond’s.  But a bit farther along the trail I heard it again, and conclusively ID’d the call as a Least as it continued to give its monotonous “song”.  While listening to the Least I added a singing Townsend’s Warbler and a calling Pileated Woodpecker.  A bit farther along the trail I picked up a Red-breasted Nuthatch and a singing Pacific-slope Flycatcher.  Plus I heard a singing Varied Thrush – not new for my list but always one of my favorite songs.  Another highlight was a flyover flock of about 40 Canada Geese that included 1 Cackling Goose at half the size of the Canadas.  What an exceptionally birdy spot! 

As I walked back to my car I heard a singing Western Pewee along the way joining the Yellow-rumps and Black-throated Grays I had heard earlier.  I checked the time and it was already almost 8:00 - I had thought I would have plenty of time to bird several other areas in the park that morning, but the Beaver Lake trail was just too birdy!  I had just enough time for a quick stop at the northern end of the park at Prospect Point to check for divers on the water.  Just after I got out of my car I heard a singing bird in the low brush that I couldn’t quite figure out - eventually I realized it was a MacGillivray’s Warbler.  Then off to the point where the view was beautiful, but the only “divers” were cormorants.  Then I heard the sound of a dove taking off and noticed a flock of 20 Band-tailed Pigeons flying out of the conifers out over the water – another coastal target.  I ended the morning with 12 more for my BC list – 3 of which were coastal targets.

Day 2 – Evening – Raifel Refuge and Tsawwassen

After work I headed to the southwest toward the Raifel Bird Sanctuary on Westham Island.  But first, just as I crossed onto the island, I made a quick stop to look for countable Mute Swans on the Fraser River.  With just a few minutes of searching I found a flock of 8 roosting on the riverbank.  My next stops were on the very birdy entrance road to the Sanctuary, where I picked up a singing Bullock’s Oriole, and a couple Yellow Warblers that sounded a lot like Redstarts. 

Then onto the Sanctuary where I hoped to be able to find a pair of breeding Sandhill Cranes somewhere in the marsh (I had no specifics), and maybe some shorebirds.  When I arrived at the park I was surprised to see so many tame ducks and geese – again being fed by park visitors.  Then as I entered the main trail I was shocked to see these 3 Sandhill Cranes feeding among the tame waterfowl.


And this one walked right by me along the trail.


Later I found the spot where the Cranes were nesting, sitting still enough to give me the opportunity to take this photo holding my phone against my binocs.  And I was worried that I might not find the cranes…


Other than the tame waterfowl (and cranes), it was pretty slow birding.  I reached the perimeter of the western lagoon and hoped for shorebirds, but found none.  As I continued to walk along the trail I thought to myself that at least it would be nice to find a Phalarope swimming in the lagoon.  And just a couple minutes later I noticed a male Red-necked Phalarope feeding in one of the ponds.  Maybe I should have wished for an Ivory-billed Woodpecker…

Since birding was slow I finished my stop at Raifel faster than expected.  That meant I had time to head to the Tsawwassen Ferry terminal.  Along the way I heard a singing House Wren in a small suburban area.  A few minutes later I reached the terminal road, which is bascially a 2-mile-long rock-lined jetty sticking out into the open water.  I was a bit uneasy birding out there given the potential for security concerns, so I only made a quick stop, luckily picking out the key target bird - the resident Black Oystercatcher.


A quick scan of the water revealed a large flock of Surf Scoters, and 3 roosting Red-breasted Mergansers and several Caspian Terns on a nearby spit.  But I dipped on the expected but out-of-season Brant - perhaps I needed a more lengthy search to pick them out.  Despite missing this coastal target, I ended the day finding 5 coastal targets among the 18 new province birds, and 76 species total species.

That gave me a total of 112 species for the trip, including 21 of my 30 coastal targets, and 63 new species for my BC province list, which now stands at 144.  Not bad given my limited available birding time.  And not only was I happy with finding so many coastal species, but adding the non-coastal birds will help me focus my birding efforts when I come back to the province in June.