#8 Birds of June

In June 2015, the pace of new species slowed down for the first three weeks of the month. After that, we were off to Newfoundland for almost four weeks with hopes of many lifers and east coast specialities.

#169 Western Tanager Date - June 7.  Location: Grouse Mountain Powerline Trail, North Vancouver BC. Status: Abundant
This trail runs along the bottom of Grouse Mountain. It is my go-to place for Western Tanager. Although I saw one on this day, it was quite high up and the photo leaves something to be desired. It's the only Tanager I saw in 2015


#170 Band-tailed Pigeon Date - June 7.  Location: Grouse Mountain Powerline Trail, North Vancouver BC. Status: Abundant
On my way back to the car I noticed a large bird atop a tall tree on the lower side of the trail. I wasn't sure what it was and snapped three quick photos before it disappeared. I looked at it in my camera view screen and realized I had Lifer #401. This made up for the poor Tanager photo.

#171 Cedar Waxwing Date - June 13.  Location: Columbia Valley, Chilliwack BC. 
Status: Abundant
Edith and I headed out to Chilliwack to join our friend Mary-Jean for the annual Ryder Lake Ramble. We took a side trip to Columbia Valley for some birding. It was not as rewarding as in years past, but I did get my first Cedar Waxwing of the year.


#172 Barn Owl Date - June 13.  Location: Kent BC. 
Status: Abundant
We did not see many birds on the Ryder Lake Ramble this year, the few we did see were not new for the year and were covered in other posts. We then headed out to a location in Kent where Mary-Jean knew of some nesting barn owls. I won't reveal any more details where we saw them. To get the IPhone photo below I had to climb some hay bales and then a ladder on top of the bales. I only disturbed the bird for a couple of seconds, it was very young and made a loud hissing noise.

#173 Swainson's Thrush Date - June 15.  Location: Avalon Golf Course, Burlington WA.
Status: Abundant
This was the day where we play golf all day, 54 holes worth of torture. As we approached our first hole early in the morning, I heard the musical fluty song of a Swainson's Thrush and then saw it fly out of a nearby tree. No photo and no other sightings for the year. This photo of a young thrush was taken at Pitt Lake in August 2014.


#174 Common Nighthawk Date - June 23.  Location: Above our Front yard, Delta BC. Status: Abundant
Many nights in the summer I head out to the front yard to listen for Nighthawks coming out of Burns Bog. The numbers have decreased and I am lucky to hear and maybe see one bird as I did on this night.
However, a birder in Coquitlam has been reporting good numbers of this bird over the dike trail in the Coquitlam Indian band reserve. On August 24 I made the trip and did see about ten nighthawks. Since they come out at dusk, it is challenging to get a good photo. The one below is cropped quite a bit, it is the best I could do on this night.

The rest of this post covers the birds seen in Newfoundland in late June. 

#175 Great Black-backed Gull Date - June 27.  Location: Signal Hill, St. John's NL. Status: Abundant

My first new species on our trip. I had seen this large gull before in Nova Scotia, so it was not a lifer. I love the distinctive dark colouring of this gull. We'd see them in many locations during our stay in Newfoundland. The pair below were photographed in the North-western corner of the province in St. Anthony.

#176 Red Crossbill Gull Date - June 27.  Location: Bay Bulls, NL. Status: Abundant

This was a real surprise to see. We were having dinner in a pub near our bed and breakfast. We sat at the back of the building and had a small window looking out on a bird feeder. The waitress informed us that someone had seen some red birds at the feeder and thought they were Pine Grosbeaks. When they appeared, they were Red Crossbills, a similar and related species. This is an IPhone photo that turned out quite well since we were so close. The male is the reddish orange bird, the female is the yellowish one.

#177 Common Murre Date - June 28.  Location: Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, NL. Status: Abundant

Our first sunny day in Newfoundland, a perfect day for a bird and whale watching cruise. The first stop was one of the four islands in the reserve where we were guaranteed to see large nesting colonies of Atlantic Puffins and other sea birds. The first bird spotted was the Common Murre, which as its name suggests, is plentiful. This bird can be seen locally off the deck of a BC Ferry as it leaves harbour. The first photo is from this tour and shows a Murre in flight. These birds are shaped to fly through the water when they dive after small fish such as Capelin.


The photo below shows Murres from a different nesting colony named St. Mary's Ecological Reserve. There will be more on this location in the July post. Here, the eggs have hatched and the nestlings are out in the open. This is an IPhone photo taken through my spotting scope from above.

#178 Black-legged Kittiwake Date - June 28.  Location: Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, NL. Status: Abundant

This gull species also nest on the island. They get their name from the sound of the call that they make. There is a theory that they provide some protection for the other species that nest on the same island. They are the only Gull species adapted to nesting on the high rock faces.

Once again, the first photo is from the cruise on this day.

The second photo is from St. Mary's in July. The St. Mary's photos were taken form a plateau above the cliffs, not from a boat. This shows an adult with two chicks, one which is practising some wing stretches.

#179 Atlantic Puffin Date - June 28.  Location: Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, NL. Status: Abundant

The Murres and Kittiwakes were great, but everyone on the cruise was looking for Puffins. It is ironic that there are two species of Puffin available on the west coast (Tufted and Horned) but the Atlantic seem like the real ones. Better marketing, I suppose. The Puffins did come into view and now the challenge was to take some decent photos on a moving boat. The first shot shows a small group on Bird Island, the second one shows one in flight. The tour guide stated that they look like flying potatoes, as they are shaped similarly to the Murres.

The Puffins were added to  my life list as #402.

#180 Razorbill Date - June 28.  Location: Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, NL. Status: Abundant

I had hoped to see this species as well and was snapping some photos of birds on the rocks, probably thinking they were Common Murres. When I reviewed my photos that night, I saw that I had one photo of some Razorbills. You can tell by looking at their bill how they got their name. This was lifer #403.

#181 Northern Gannet Date - June 28.  Location: Witless Bay Ecological Reserve, NL. Status: Abundant

These are a very common sea bird, but they don't nest in the same location as the Puffins. However, there were a few strays out on the water seen from the boat. The big nesting colony is at St' Mary's Ecological Reserve, which we would visit two weeks later. I've included three photos, the first from this day, and the next two at St. Mary's. The second shows a nest gathering activity. The third is self evident.

#182 Common Tern Date - June 29.  Location: St Vincent's-St. Stephen's-Peter's River, NL. Status: Abundant

This tern species was seen in a few different locations in Newfoundland. The first photo was taken in Cornerbrook early in July. The second was taken near the end of our vacation at Middle Cove in St. John's.

#183 Common Loon Date - June 29.  Location: St Vincent's-St. Stephen's-Peter's River, NL. Status: Abundant

Somehow, I had missed this species on the West Coast, where they are very easily seen in the winter. However, seeing one here meant that I got a nice photo of the Loon in breeding plumage.

#184 Arctic Tern Date - June 29.  Location: St Vincent's-St. Stephen's-Peter's River, NL. Status: Abundant

When I took this photo I assumed it was more Common Terns, as we had seen them just before we saw the terns pictured below. These are definitely Arctic Terns, the best indicators are the short bill and short bright red legs. It's interesting that the town where we saw them has three names, one for each of three settlements that were amalgamated.

These terns were lifer #403.

This ends the June Blog. There's more Newfoundland birds in the July Blog, plus some seen in Calgary and back home in the Lower Mainland.

#7 Birds of May

May 2015 was like April in reverse. The first 3 weeks of the month were spent birding in the Lower Mainland and the last 10 days were in the Okanagan, this time on my annual golf vacation. The total for the month was 30 species.

#139 Red-breasted Sapsucker Date - May 2  Location: Sandpiper Golf Course, Deroche BC.
Status: Abundant
I saw this bird while walking from the 10th green to the 11th tee box at Sandpiper Golf course. Although I had a small camera with me, the bird disappeared before I could get a photo. It was my only sighting for the year, so the photo below is from Christmas Eve in 2008, when I had one on the big Douglas Fir tree in my front yard.


#140 Whimbrel Date - May 3  Location: 8th Ave. and 168 St., Surrey BC.
Status: Abundant
The Whimbrel is a  large shorebird that is seen in the Lower Mainland in the spring and fall. Usually in May a good size flock accumulates in South Surrey along 8th Avenue. Like some other shorebirds, Whimbrel prefer grassy fields in breeding season. The photo below shows one of a flock of 30 at this location.


#141 White-winged Scoter Date - May 3  Location: White Rock Pier,  White Rock BC.
Status: Abundant
The pier in White Rock is a good location to get close-up photos of Scoters, Grebes and Loons from Autumn to Spring. The White-winged Scoter is less common than the Surf Scoter, but is usually seen here during this period. On this day, they were a bit far out on the water. The males have the unique white markings around the eyes.


#142 Greater Scaup Date - May 3  Location: White Rock Pier,  White Rock BC.
Status: Abundant
Another good bird to see here. The Greater Scaup prefer salt water to fresh, the opposite of the Lesser Scaup. There are some other subtle ID marks, the best of which is the slope at the rear of the crown.


#143 Western Sandpiper Date - May 3  Location: Blackie's Spit,  Surrey BC.
Status: Abundant
After the pier, the next stop was Starbucks and then on to Blackie's spit. I was able to approach a mixed flock of Western Sandpipers and Dunlin. It was a sunny day and photo conditions were great. Both of these photos were taken on this day.




#144 Purple Martin Date - May 3  Location: Blackie's Spit,  Surrey BC.
Status: Abundant
Every year these birds take advantage of the off-shore nesting boxes at Blackie's Spit. There are similar boxes in Richmond at Iona and in North Vancouver at Maplewood Conservation area. With the boxes offshore, there is less risk of land based predators getting access to the chicks.  This photo was taken with my IPhone through the spotting scope.

#145 Cinnamon Teal Date - May 3  Location: Serpentine Fen,  Surrey BC.
Status: Abundant
My last stop of the day was at Serpentine Fen where I was hoping to see Orange-crowned Warbler, Common Yellowthroat and Cinnamon Teal. I only had success with the latter. Although very colourful, this bird is difficult to photograph. They seem to be very aware of people and head in the opposite direction as soon as someone approaches. I got very lucky to catch this male posing later in the month at Colony Farm Regional Park in Coquitlam.


#146 Sooty Grouse Date - May 10 Location: Sea to Sky Gondola, Squamish BC.
Status: Common
It was Mother's day and Edith and I took advantage of her BC tourism pass to take this gondola ride high up above Squamish. After a very nice brunch we hiked some of the trails atop the plateau. Some kids coming from the other direction stopped and pointed down at something. I saw it and grabbed a few quick shots and told them it was a Sooty Grouse. This was the best of the shots.
This was the only bird seen in May with a Common Status.


#147 House Finch Date - May 15  Location: Blackie's Spit,  Surrey BC.
Status: Abundant
The last of the red finches to be seen this year. There was a nesting pair in our backyard a few years ago, but they are either gone or I have missed them. This bird was seen in the parking lot by the tennis courts at Blackie's spit. This rear view shot was the best of the year.


#148 Snow Goose Date - May 15  Location: Brunswick Point, Delta BC.
Status: Abundant
A late flock of Snow Geese were seen as they headed north towards Alaska. What made this flock special was the presence of two specific birds in the flock. One was a dark morph, a snow goose with blackish plumage. It is shown below. The other goose is described in the next entry.


#149 Ross's Goose Date - May 15  Location: Brunswick Point, Delta BC.
Status: Abundant
The other goose in the flock was a member of this species. It is similar to the Snow Goose, but has a shorter bill and is smaller overall. The first photo below shows the Ross's by itself. The second shows the Ross's on the left and highlights the differences from the Snow Goose. This was lifer #400,  a good bird for this special number.

#150 Black-headed Grosbeak Date - May 16  Location: Colony Farm Regional Park, Coquitlam BC. Status: Abundant
The great thing about spring is all the bird alerts that come in. My destination today was Colony Farms as there were reports of Lazuli Bunting and Western Kingbird there. As i was driving in I heard a loud song coming from the tops of some trees. It was a male Black-headed Grosbeak. A bit later in the day I saw a female, which is shown below. I've also included a photo of a Male taken later in the month in the Okanagan.

#151 Lazuli Bunting Date - May 16  Location: Colony Farm Regional Park, Coquitlam BC. Status: Abundant
In North America, there are two separate groups of birds that are named Bunting, which is British in origin. The Lark and Snow Buntings are more closely related to sparrows and Longspurs. The colourful Painted, Indigo, Varied and Lazuli Buntings are more closely related to Cardinals and Tanagers. The Lazuli is the only Bunting that is seen in the West.

Near to Colony Farms is the Forensic Psychiatric Unit, and it was near the fences of that place that I photographed this bird. This was my only sighting for the year.


#152 Western Kingbird Date - May 16  Location: Colony Farm Regional Park, Coquitlam BC. Status: Abundant
I had no luck finding this bird close to the trails and had spent some time talking to other birders who had also not see it. I expected to see a few in the Okanagan later in the month, so I headed for home. On my way out I met up with two more birders who had seen it far off in the distance. The took me to that spot and I was able to get a good scope view. I pointed my camera in the general direction and took the photo below, heavily cropped but recognizable. I did not see any of these birds on my trip,



#153 Yellow Warbler Date - May 18  Location: Pitt Lake,  Pitt Meadows, BC. Status: Abundant
This was my last outing before returning to the Okanagan for my annual Golf trip. I had hoped to see some migrant songbirds but my only success was this very common Warbler. I only got a few record shots on this day. The photo below was taken in the town of Trepassey in Newfoundland in June.


#154 Yellow-headed Blackbird Date - May 21  Location: Shannon Lake Golf Course, West Kelowna BC. Status: Abundant
This is the same golf course that I saw the Greater White-fronted Goose back in April. I think it's probably the location where I first saw the this Blackbird in previous years. The lower part of this golf course on the lake offers habitat for many birds.


#155 House Wren Date - May 22  Location: Predator Ridge Golf Resort, Vernon BC. Status: Abundant
The four of us stay in a "cottage" at Predator Ridge for three nights during our golf vacation. the cottage is near water and it's not unusual to see and hear many birds. This was our first morning here and I awoke to hear a very loud series of calls. I got my camera out and snapped a few shots and identified the bird as a House Wren. These are rare on the coast, but they are the most common wren in the rest of the country. This shot was taken six days later in Osoyoos.


#156 Bullock's Oriole Date - May 22  Location: Predator Ridge Golf Resort, Vernon BC. Status: Abundant
After golfing at another course in the morning, we returned to Predator Ridge and played there in the afternoon. I saw a Bullock's Oriole on the course, but did not get a very good photo. I saw the bird about a week later near Oliver and took this one.


#157 Mourning Dove Date - May 23  Location: Black Mountain Golf Course, Kelowna BC. Status: Abundant
Formerly common in Delta, even in my backyard, it seems that these doves have been displaced by the Eurasian Collared Dove. In the Okanagan, the Mourning Dove is still present. this photo was taken on the golf course that morning.


#158 Calliope Hummingbird Date - May 25  Location: Red Roost Gift Shop, Kaleden BC. Status: Abundant
We played our last round of golf on the morning of the 25th, and then I said so long to my fellow golfers. They were going home, but I had booked two extra nights in the Okanagan for birding. I had a bit of time after golf and was close to the Red Roost gift shop, the spot where our biding tour always finishes. There had been no hummingbirds there in April, but now there should be plenty. I have already featured a Rufous Hummingbird photo from this afternoon in my February 2015 post.

I also got some memorable shots of the Calliope Hummingbird, a bird not seen back home. Both of these were taken on this day, first the female and then the male.




#159 Ring-necked Pheasant Date - May 26  Location: River Road, Oliver BC. Status: Abundant
The next morning, I headed out for River Road in Oliver. It is quite close to the Gallagher Lake Lodge where I was staying. The first bird of the day was a Pheasant in someone's front yard.


#160 Eastern Kingbird Date - May 26  Location: Horsetail Road, Oliver BC. Status: Abundant
River Road turns into a smaller road which has some marshy areas in an area formerly used as a garbage dump. The Eastern Kingbird is a large flycatcher that is quite common in the Okanagan and can be seen in the Lower Mainland, especially at Colony Farm Regional Park. This photo was take later on this day on the Osoyoos river Oxbows near Road 22 in Oliver.


#161 Gray Catbird Date - May 26  Location: Horsetail Rd, Oliver BC. Status: Abundant
This bird gets its name from the cat-like sound of its call, it has a definite Mew in there. It is a member of the Mimid family, closely related to the Northern Mockingbird of the Southern US States (although there is one in Ladner currently as I write this.


#162 Bank Swallow Date - May 26  Location: Horsetail Rd, Oliver BC. Status: Abundant
I saw a number of Bank Swallows nesting here last year in the muddy banks beside the marsh. This year there were only two birds, hopefully a nesting pair.




#163 Western Bluebird Date - May 26  Location: Willowbrook Rd, Oliver BC. Status: Abundant
Later in the day I drove in the area west of Oliver known as the White Lake Basin. The first part of it is named Willowbrook Rd, which eventually becomes White Lake Rd. The first photo is a female I saw on the side of the road on a fence.


The next photo was taken in the White Lake Grasslands Protected area and shows a male near a nest box. This is one of my favourite photos of the year.


#164 Evening Grosbeak Date - May 26  Location: Red Roost Gift Shop, Kaleden BC. Status: Abundant
I returned to the Red Roost to end my afternoon and was lucky to pick up a couple more species that I had missed the previous day. The first was this Grosbeak, which was my only sighting for the year.


#165 Willow Flycatcher Date - May 26  Location: Red Roost Gift Shop, Kaleden BC. Status: Abundant
I also saw this flycatcher with the Grosbeak. It is the most common fly catcher we see out west. The first photo shows the two species together.

This photo shows a juvenile Willow Flycatcher seen in June in the Columbia Valley near Cultus Lake.


#166 Vesper Sparrow Date - May 27  Location: Camp McKinney Rd, Osoyoos BC. Status: Abundant
On my last day I decided to head east out of Oliver on Camp McKinney Rd. The first part of the drive was through the Osoyoos Band reserve, where stopping was not allowed. I was generally disappointed with the lack of bird life along the way, but made one side trip where I encountered this sparrow. This is a grasslands resident that occasionally visits the lower mainland. This one was very cooperative and posed on this post for quite a while.


I also saw a Vesper Sparrow in July at Frank Lake in Alberta. This one also gave me quite a good shot.



#167 Western Wood-Peewe Date - May 27  Location: Camp McKinney Rd, Osoyoos BC. Status: Abundant
I also got a photo of this flycatcher on my little side-trip. I did not identify it until examining the photo on my return home. I assumed it was a Willow Flycatcher when I took the shot.


#168 Lark Sparrow Date - May 27  Location: Nighthawk Rd, Osoyoos BC. Status: Abundant
My trip east ended at Mt. Baldy ski area where there was a scarcity of birds. I returned to Highway 3 and started the westward journey home. I took one more side-trip south to the Nighthawk border crossing, which is only about 5 km south of the highway. On my way back I noticed a small bird on the telephone wire and stopped a took a photo. Only then did I notice it was a Lark Sparrow. I had not seen one for more than 10 years since my last birding visit to Dinosaur Provincial Park in Alberta. This is a lovely sparrow of the grasslands, and a great bird to end the trip and the month.

That's it for May, next up is June where the pace slows down until we head for Newfoundland near the end of the month.