#4 Birds of March

March 2015 - another medium month with 19 birds to report. All are Abundant AOU status and there were no lifers.

Notes: 
The usual note applies about the photo being the best of the year, not necessarily taken the first time it was seen.

#70 White-throated Sparrow Date - Mar 1. Location: Near Ferry Rd. Delta BC.
Status: Abundant

Although abundant elsewhere in Canada, this bird does cause a stir when seen locally. This one was reported in a subdivision in Ladner. Conveniently there are walking paths in the area. It took me about an hour to locate the bird and get a decent shot. This one is an immature bird in first winter plumage.

In Newfoundland's Gros Morne National Park, these were the most common bird, almost annoyingly so. Here's one of the many adult birds seen there in early July

Finally, here's one seen in Calgary in mid-July.

#71 Eurasian Collared-Dove Date - Mar 1. Location: Near Ferry Rd. Delta BC.
Status: Abundant
This dove can be seen  in numbers in any of the farmland areas of Delta. It has displaced the Mourning Dove, which I only saw in the Okanagan this year. This photo was taken in September in farmland near the Massey Tunnel.

#72 Ring-billed Gull Date - Mar 1. Location: Blackie's Spit, Surrey BC.
Status: Abundant

Amazing that I did not see this common gull earlier in the year. They are always scavenging around the gravel parking lot at Blackie's Spit. The bird below was photographed out the window from inside an A&W restaurant in Gander, Newfoundland. 

#73 Dunlin Date - Mar 1. Location: Blackie's Spit, Surrey BC.
Status: Abundant

This shorebird got it's name long ago and it means "little dun coloured bird", probably because of its non-breeding plumage. However in breeding plumage it is quite striking. This photo was taken in May at Blackie's Spit.

#74 Canvasback Date - Mar 8. Location: Brydon Lagoon, Langley BC.
Status: Abundant

I always try to get to this spot in south Langley in early spring. It is the best place to see Canvasback ducks, and last year I also got a Green Heron last year. Nothing doing with the Heron, but I got this shot of two Canvasback females.

#75 Common Merganser Date - Mar 15. Location: Colony Farm Regional Park, Coquitlam BC. Status: Abundant

The duck tour continues a week later at Colony Farm. Here's a shot of a male and female together. I usually only see females with a group of ducklings in tow. I mentioned in the February post for the Red-breasted Merganser that the Common female has a clear line between the red and white on the neck. This photo shows it quite well.

#76 Ruby-crowned Kinglet Date - Mar 15. Location: Colony Farm Regional Park, Coquitlam BC. Status: Abundant

A common bird but very small and and very active. It is tough to get a good photograph as it rarely sits still for more than a second. These two photos were taken in Gros Morne National Park in Newfoundland. The first was taken on July 6, the second on July 7th on the same trail at Western Brook Pond. they are probably the same bird. You can see a bit of the red crown in the first photo.

#77 Tundra Swan Date - Mar 17. Location: Hornby Rd. Delta BC.
Status: Abundant

I was heading for Boundary Bay to look for shorebirds and drove right by these swans. I stopped to take some photos assuming they were the common Trumpeter Swans that we see in Delta all winter. But, the yellow mark by the beak is only seen on Tundra Swans. I did not see any Trumpeters until late in November.

#78 American Robin Date - Mar 17. Location: Hornby Rd. Delta BC.
Status: Abundant

Amazing I had not seen one before this date. This photos was also taken on the Western Brook pond trail in Gros Morne Park.

#79 Black-bellied Plover Date - Mar 17. Location: Boundary Bay, Delta BC.
Status: Abundant

After the San and Robin I continued on to Boundary Bay. I did see some Black-bellied Plovers but they were far out from shore. Here's one in breeding plumage in April at Iona Regional Park in Richmond. Those are Dunlin in the background.

#80 Tree Swallow Date - Mar 21. Location: Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC.
Status: Abundant

You know Spring is close when the swallows appear. The Tree swallow is the most common one we see on the Lower Mainland. Iona has a good number of nest boxes on the fence lines and the swallows take full advantage. This was taken on this day.

#81 Northern Shoveler Date - Mar 21. Location: Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC.
Status: Abundant

One of the last new ducks for the year, this species is very common on the Inner sewage ponds at Iona. It looks a bit like a Mallard, but it has the brown on the side and the enormous bill.

#82 Cooper's Hawk Date - Mar 21. Location: Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC.
Status: Abundant

I was very glad to see this Accipiter, it was pointed out to me by a birder coming from the opposite direction. I would have walked right by it as it wa sheltered from my view. Accipiters are hunters of small birds and include the Sharp-shinned Hawk, Cooper's Hawk and Northern Goshawk in North America. The Cooper's I saw on this day is an immature bird, told by the brownish colouring. the second photo is an adult seen in Osoyoos in May. It was too far away for my camera, but I managed to get this Digiscope photo with my IPhone.

#83 Barrow's Goldeneye Date - Mar 22. Location: Maplewood Conservation Area, North Vancouver BC. Status: Abundant

I saw this duck through my scope but could not manage any photos. Here's a photo of a male and female that I took at Okanagan Falls in April 2013.

#84 Pigeon Guillemot Date - Mar 26. Location: Lonsdale Quay, North Vancouver BC. Status: Abundant

Since my dentist is in North Vancouver, I try to take a bit of extra time off to do some birding before my appointment. I headed for Lonsdale Quay as it is a guaranteed spot for for the Guillemot and possibly Pelagic Cormorant. Alas, the entire area was under construction, and I could not get close to the inlet. I did see one Guillemot as shown in this poor photo.


Here's one of my favourite photos from 2014 of this species, also in March on the way to the dentist.


#85 Mountain Bluebird Date - Mar 31. Location: Hope Airport, Hope BC. Status: Abundant

I headed east on this day for my annual guided Okanagan birding tour with Avocet Tours. I had all day to kill, so I made a fairly long stop at Hope. The Airport with its grass fields attracts birds you don't see on the coast. I already posted a couple of photos of this day in earlier blog posts.
When I first saw these birds I thought I had a Mountain Bluebird and a Say's Phoebe.

But there are some female Mountain Bluebirds that have this rufous tint. Both of these are females. 



#86 American Crow Date - Mar 31. Location: Hope Airport, Hope BC. Status: Abundant
This area is on the border of the ranges for Northwestern and American Crow. The photo is was taken in May at Manning Park.

#87 American Dipper Date - Mar 31. Location: Hardy Falls Provincial  Park, Peachland BC. Status: Abundant
This location was on our birding tour itinerary in previous years, but last year we spent more time in Kelowna and skipped this spot. Since I was coming through here anyway, I took the detour. As soon as I started walking up the trail to the Falls, I spotted a Dipper in the fast running stream. It was quite cooperative and I managed some good photos. Here's one of the best.

#88 Greater White-fronted Goose Date - Mar 31. Location: Shannon Lake Golf Course, West Kelowna BC. Status: Abundant
My next stop was this golf course that we play in May on our Okanagan Golf trip. I stopped here to see if the clubhouse had been rebuilt. I had been burned to the ground two years before. Arson was suspected.
As I headed out of the parking lot, I spotted this goose in with a few Canada Geese. Although I had seen them before, it was usually at a distance or flying high above.  The size contrast is very apparent here.
When I mentioned my sighting the next day to Chris Charlesworth, the tour guide, he had it published on the Kelowna Bird Sightings page, along with this photo.

That does it for March. April is split into two posts. The first one covers all the birds seen on our Birding Tour. The second features Lower Mainland birds seen later in the month.