Monday, January 18, 2016

#9 Birds of July

July 2015 continues in Newfoundland as we spent the first 20 days of the month in that province. After that, we flew to Calgary (after an overnight stay in the Halifax airport) for a visit with family and some birding. Upon returning home, I had one spectacular outing at Boundary Bay near the end of the month.

#185 American Black Duck Date - July 1.  Location: Signal Hill, St. John's NL. Status: Abundant
I had hoped to see this duck species on our trip and was not disappointed. After seeing it on Canada Day in St. John's, I also saw it in a couple of other locations in the province. The Black Duck is closely related to the familiar Mallard, although the males look completely different. The females in the two species are very similar. In fact, the two species will interbreed where their ranges overlap. The photo  below was take in Clarenville NL later in the month.
This was lifer #405.


#186 Lincoln's Sparrow Date - July 1.  Location: Gander NL. Status: Abundant
After travelling west halfway across the province, we stayed in Gander, famous for its airport that hosted travellers during the 9/11 crisis. There's not much else to see in this land-locked town, but I did find a nice marshy patch across the highway from our hotel. I saw a few different species there including this sparrow.  The first photo is from that outing.


I also saw this sparrow in Gros Morne National Park and then again in September at Reifel Bird Sanctuary back home. Since it is such a striking sparrow, here is the Reifel photo.


#187 Common Eider Date - July 3.  Location: St. Barbe, NL. Status: Abundant
This was another duck species I had hoped to see in Newfoundland. My only other sighting was a single duck at the end of the Iona Jetty in 1998. This was the only occasion (so far) where I was injured bird watching, as I slipped on the rocks at the end of the Jetty and cut my knee.

This occasion was injury free, but I did not identify the ducks until I saw the photos on my computer. I had thought they were American Black Ducks when I took the photos. We saw another large group of Common Eiders a bit later that week.


#188 Common Redpoll Date - July 4.  Location: L'Anse Aux Meadows National Historic Site, NL. Status: Abundant
This is the site where the Vikings landed in North America around 1000 AD. We spent the afternoon touring and while waiting for Edith to do her souvenir shopping, I returned to the parking lot. I heard some bird sounds and soon found a Yellow Warbler. I continued looking and saw a finch-like bird with some red on it. I took some photos and upon review realized it was a Common Redpoll. These northern birds are common in the East in winter, I had seen them in 1996 in Ottawa. This photo from that day turned out quite well.


We do see Redpolls in the winter on the west coast every few years, and 2015 was one of those. This photo was taken at Reifel Bird Sanctuary on December 31, there was a group of 30 to 40 Redpolls there.


#189 Magnolia Warbler Date - July 6.  Location: Western Brook Pond Trail, Gros Morne National Park, NL.  Status: Abundant
One of the attractions of Gros Morne is a boat tour on an inland fjord. To get to the launch point, visitors must make a two kilometre hike through a marshy forested area, some of it on board walks. After our boat tour that we took the longer more isolated trail back and it was one of those birdy days that happen on occasion. Almost immediately we were surrounded by calling songbirds. There had been no songbird concentrations like this elsewhere on our trip.
The first new bird seen was a Magnolia Warbler. I had seen this beautiful Eastern warbler in Florida a couple of years ago.


#190 Blackpoll Warbler Date - July 6.  Location: Western Brook Pond Trail, Gros Morne National Park, NL.  Status: Abundant
Almost immediately we saw other warblers. At first I thought this one was a Black and White Warbler, but it was not quite right. It had the look of a Chickadee, but was definitely a Warbler. I used my IPhone birding application to identify it as a Blackpoll, a fairly common Eastern warbler. This was lifer #406.


#191 Black-and-White Warbler Date - July 6.  Location: Western Brook Pond Trail, Gros Morne National Park, NL.  Status: Abundant
After my mistake on the Blackpoll, who shows up but a Black-and-White Warbler? I had seen this bird in Florida and at Point Pelee in Ontario. The first photo is from that day, the second is the next day on another trail in Gros Morne. Both are a bit over-exposed (intentionally).




#192 Blue Jay Date - July 10.  Location: Angel's Cove, NL.  Status: Abundant
We were driving south on Highway 100 heading for an exciting day at St. Mary's Ecological Reserve. It's unusual for me to be the first to spot anything, but I saw a flash of blue on the right side of the road. I stopped and grabbed the camera. It was a Blue Jay, a bird I expected to see somewhere on our trip. This was the only one.


#193 Thick-billed Murre Date - July 10.  Location: Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve, NL.  Status: Abundant
Most of the birds seen at this reserve are featured in the June 2015 blog post. This reserve is unique in that you walk from a visitor's centre out to the cliff tops where thousands of sea birds nest. The primary species are Northern Gannet, Common Murre and Black-legged Kittiwake (approx 20,000 each).  There are about 2,000 Thick-billed Murres which nest in a different location from the others. However, the birds are much further away here than where the other species are located.

After seeing the other birds, I was determined to try for a Thick-billed Murre as it would be a lifer. I used my scope to scan the cliffs for Murres with a broad white stripe along the beak. The first photo shows me scanning the cliffs and shows how difficult the search was.


The next photo is a capture from an IPhone video taken through my scope and shows lifer #407, a Thick-billed Murre.


#194 American Pipit Date - July 10.  Location: Cape St. Mary's Ecological Reserve, NL.  Status: Abundant
Our final reward was a very cooperative Pipit which would stay ahead of us and pose for photos. I normally see this bird in the Fall on Boundary Bay, but this was the only one of the year.


#195 Northern Waterthrush Date - July 10.  Location: Salmonier Nature Park, Holyrood NL.  Status: Abundant
I thought this nature park was a glorified zoo, but further research showed that it was a good place to potentially see wild birds as well. It is primarily an animal/bird rehabilitation centre, so we did see some injured owls and falcons, along with some injured mammals.
The only new species I saw there was this warbler, the first of this species I have seen since 1990. It was sitting in the Great Horned Owl cage, but was small enough to go in and out and be considered a wild bird. I need help from the staff at the centre to identify the species.


#196 Black Guillemot Date - July 13.  Location: Middle Cove, St. John's NL.  Status: Abundant
Our last few days were spent back in the St. John's area. Edith was hopeful to see a Capelin run, and Middle Cove was the most accessible place to see this natural phenomenon. The Capelin are small sardine-like fish that are a vital part of the Atlantic ecosystem. They are consumed by birds, whales and humans. in the summer they come ashore in huge numbers to lay eggs. We did not get to see a Capelin run, but I did capture this Guillemot species. There are only two species in North America, the Pigeon Guillemot that I see in North Vancouver each year, and the Black Guillemot of the east coast.



That concluded our Newfoundland adventure. Our next stop on the way home was a 3 day layover in Calgary to visit family and hit some of my favourite birding spots.


#197 Franklin's Gull Date - July 18.  Location: Weaselhead Flats, Calgary AB.  Status: Abundant
After an interesting travel adventure from St. John's to Halifax with an overnight stay in the Halifax Airport, we made it to Calgary one day later than expected. The Glenmore Weaselhead is a protected area around the Elbow River in south-west Calgary. It is close to my cousin's place and I always make time for a visit. On this morning, the first birds I saw were a flock of Franklin's Gulls overhead. These dark-headed Gulls are common in Calgary in the summer.


#198 Clay-colored Sparrow Date - July 18.  Location: Weaselhead Flats, Calgary AB.  Status: Abundant
This is another reliable bird at this location. Unfortunately, it was early and the birds that I saw were directly into the sun. This is the best of a bad lot of photos.

#199 Cliff Swallow Date - July 18.  Location: Weaselhead Flats, Calgary AB.  Status: Abundant
These birds are the main reason I come here each year. The bridge over the Elbow River houses hundreds of Cliff Swallow nests. It's always hard to get a good photo as the birds come and go at high speed. I was lucky to get this shot which captures the beauty of these swallows.



#200 Eared Grebe Date - July 18.  Location: Frank Lake, High River AB.  Status: Abundant
Frank Lake is my other go-to location. It is about 60 KM south of Calgary near the town of High River. There is a board walk that leads up to a blind on the lake. From the blind one can usually see Coots and Eared Grebes with chicks. Here is a photo of an Eared Grebe with two chicks on her back.


#201 American White Pelican Date - July 18.  Location: Frank Lake, High River AB.  Status: Abundant
This site is always good for these huge Pelicans. I did see them here, but my best photo was taken in October at Redwood Shores California, south of San Francisco. This photo highlights the size of the pelicans in comparison to the Black-necked Stilt (in the foreground) which is 14" tall with a 29" wingspan.


#202 White-faced Ibis Date - July 18.  Location: Frank Lake, High River AB.  Status: Abundant
This is another bird that can be seen at this location most years. This is the very northern tip of their breeding range. Earlier in the year, there were some seen on a lake north of Merritt BC.


#203 Western Grebe Date - July 18.  Location: Frank Lake, High River AB.  Status: Abundant
These grebes tend to be farther out from the blind than the other birds. They can be seen in White Rock off the pier at certain times of the year was well. The grebe on the left is an immature bird, problably with its parent.


#204 Wilson's Phalarope Date - July 18.  Location: Frank Lake, High River AB.  Status: Abundant
This shorebird can also be seen on the coast in early spring, but I always seem to miss it. I did not get a good photo this year compared to previous years.


#205 Forster's Tern Date - July 18.  Location: Frank Lake, High River AB.  Status: Abundant
I was reluctant to identify this Tern as a Forster's because the photo was poor. However, I met a fellow later in the year that does tours of Frank Lake and he assured me that this was by far the most likely white Tern to show up at Frank Lake. This was my fifth tern of the year, the only one I missed for Canada was the Black Tern.


#206 Black-necked Stilt Date - July 18.  Location: Frank Lake, High River AB.  Status: Abundant
I trekked across to the far side of the lake and scared up this very vocal shorebird. I saw them in numbers in October in California.


#207 Swainson's Hawk Date - July 18.  Location: Springbank Road, Calgary AB.  Status: Abundant
This is the predominant hawk in Southern Alberta, much like the Red-tailed is here on the coast. This road runs parallel to Highway 1 and passes the Springbank Airport. I have seen a hawk here for three years in a row, it could be the same one shown in last year's blog.


#208 Semipalmated Plover Date - July 28.  Location: Boundary Bay, 104 St. Delta BC.  Status: Abundant
I celebrated my daughter Sarah's 30th birthday with an outing at Bounday Bay. To be fair, we had celebrated her birthday on the weekend and she was was unavailable on this day. For me, it was the best day at Boundary Bay for the year.
These plovers are similar to Killdeer but smaller with only one black neck ring instead of two. They also travel in flocks whereas Killdeer are usually in small numbers.


#209 Red Knot Date - July 28.  Location: Boundary Bay, 104 St. Delta BC.  Status: Abundant
I was going to head home but noticed that a large group of birders were east of the 104th St parking lot. I joined them and discovered a number of good species were on hand. The first was the Red Knot, an eastern shorebird that turns up in small numbers as the young return from the breeding grounds in the North. This was life list addition #408 for me.
The first photo is from my camera, the Knot is in the lower right side of the island, the bird with the reddish tint on the breast.


This IPhone digiscope photo shows it better.It is the centre bird with the reddish tint.


#210 Ruddy Turnstone Date - July 28.  Location: Boundary Bay, 104 St. Delta BC.  Status: Abundant
I've seen this bird quite a few times, but it is a rarity on the West Coast. This is another long distance photo. It is the bird in the centre facing away with the Ruddy back.


#211 Bar-tailed Godwit Date - July 28.  Location: Boundary Bay, 104 St. Delta BC.  Status: Abundant
I saw this bird but did not get a photo. I hate lifers with no photo proof, but this is lifer #409. The photo below was lifted from Wikipedia and shows the winter plumage, which is what we saw.


#212 Pacific Golden-Plover Date - July 28.  Location: Boundary Bay, 104 St. Delta BC.  Status: Abundant
This was the fourth rare bird in the flock, there were many birders by this time. I saw this bird for the first time in 2014. This was another IPhone digiscope shot


This ended July, another good month. Next up is August/September.


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