Dee's Weekend!

Dee's 'American Bittern'

With the wife having to work the whole week while I've been out birding every day, this weekend was entirely devoted to Dee, and with a hire car at our disposal we had the perfect opportunity to go a little further afield.

Dee chose The Reifel Bird Sanctuary for our Saturday trip, somewhere I'd visited earlier in the week, and Squamish for Sunday. I must say she couldn't have picked a more perfect weekend weather wise!

I was delighted that Dee had chosen the Reifel Sanctuary, firstly because I was desperate for her to see Northern Saw-whet Owl, Owls being her favourite birds, and secondly, because it's such an amazing place to visit. I can report that she certainly wasn't disappointed, personally finding not one but two Owls, and coming up trumps yet again by finding my first American Bittern of this visit, which posed for her beautifully while she happily snapped away. I was really pleased that we'd managed to see all of the species I'd recorded here last Wednesday, and was even more grateful when I recorded a second addition of the day to my current list in the form of Violet-Green Swallow.

Today, Sunday, was a gorgeous day with the temperature up to a very balmy 15C. We took the hour long drive northwards up to Squamish, a place we'd stayed and enjoyed last September when completing the final stages of our RV tour from Calgary to Vancouver.

Rufous Hummingbird (Library Image)

The first surprise of the day was when we were enjoying a coffee in Starbucks, our second favourite pastime, when to my astonishment a small orange flighty shape sped past the window, a Rufous Hummingbird no less! The Rufous was high on my hit list for this visit to Canada but I never expected to connect in such a manner, but who's complaining!

We took the drive across to the estuary which, although the sun was shining, was extremely blustery with a biting wind coming off the mountains. Consequently the birding was poor by comparison to recent days, but we still managed, Bald Eagle, American Wigeon, Barrow's and Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser and Bufflehead. However the second surprise of the day was during the drive back along the causeway, when suddenly to our surprise what I first thought to be a Canadian Lynx walked out in front of us.

Our First Bobcat!

Although the whole thing happened so quickly, Dee managed to fire off a few camera shots, a cropped version of one is displayed here. Having investigated our sighting I'm now certain that what we have is a Bobcat! With a grey to brown coat, whiskered face, and black-tufted ears, the Bobcat resembles the other species of the mid-sized Lynx genus.

The Bobcat is smaller than the Canadian Lynx, with which it shares parts of its range, but is about twice as large as the domestic cat. It has distinctive black bars on its forelegs, which you can clearly see in Dee's shot, and a black-tipped, stubby tail, also visible, from which it derives its name. Still another welcome addition to our Canadian Species list and a wonderful animal to see out of the blue.

Different Kind Of day!

Black Turnstone Takes Flight

Just like in the U.K. the spring migration is well underway here in Canada too. With this in mind I hooked up once again with Rob Catchpole for a days birding with a difference. We arrived at the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal around 9.30am in the hope of catching a few early migrants in or around this deep water terminal.

The Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal is a major transportation facility in Delta, British Columbia. It is located on a 2 mile man-made causeway off the mainland at Tsawwassen, and is less than 550 yds from the 49th parallel, Canada's border with the United States.

With a strong easterly wind hammering the terminal we battled away for around an hour, much to the surprise of the many passengers setting off for the weekend to Victoria. This was hopefully a good opportunity to increase my Gull count but unfortunately the only additions were a Thayer's and California, the majority being Mew, Herring, and Glaucous Winged.

Brant Geese

The surrounding waters provided better results with large flocks of Brant Geese, plus among the many Scaup, Common Loons and Common Goldeneye a lone Red Necked Grebe, another welcome first for this visit.

After battling the wind for long enough we decided to take shelter and so took the 2 mile walk back across the causeway. The walk provided the first Waders of the day, firstly Black Oystercatcher, and then some 20 or so Black Turnstone (pictured above), their appearance is striking in flight, with white patches on the back, wings and tail, these birds are also high Arctic breeders and were definitely flighty and on the move.

Our next stop was Boundary Bay Regional Park a short distance away, renown for having Canada's largest population of wintering birds of prey. I can tell from today, having seen over 15 Northern Harrier, 12 Bald Eagle, Coopers Hawk, Red Tailed Hawk and Rough Legged Hawk, that the reputation is sound!

The bay also provided further additions to my birding day with Ring Billed Gull, Greater Yellowlegs, Pacific Loon and  2 Northern Shrike, a Virginia Rail was also heard but not see. Another wonderful day out, adding fifteen new species to my current visit list, which also included a small flock of Brewer's Blackbird seen while waiting for the bus back to Vancouver.

Reifel Bird Sanctuary

The Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary is situated on Western Island, just west of Ladner in Delta, B.C., a rural remnant of the once vast Fraser Estuary marshes, the sanctuary is comprised of 850 acres of managed habitat and estuarine marsh, preserving it as an area of crucial importance to the countless thousands of migratory birds which twice annually travel the path along North America's Pacific Flyway.

Black-crowned Night Heron

Without a car the sanctuary is quite difficult to get to from Downtown Vancouver and so after train, bus and taxi, and again meeting up with Rob Catchpole, we duly arrived around 9.30am. The first thing that strikes you as you approach the reserve are the thousands of Lesser Snow Geese that famously winter here, and which are now gathering before moving off to their northern breeding ground! Then it becomes even more astounding when before we actually reach the sanctuary entrance we've already recorded 6 Immature Bald Eagle, Bewick's Wren, Trumpeter Swan and Killdeer.

Once you enter the sanctuary it becomes clear to you that this is no ordinary reserve. Our attention is immediately drawn to a couple of figures visible within the trees, we soon realise that we have two Black-crowned Night Heron, a terrific start. Rob tells me that when he last visited in the late 80's and from what he remembered this species was here then. Using his prior knowledge we decided that from here our best bet was to continue by taking the route which leads to the sea path.

We continued on, passing through one of the many lagoons and marsh areas, recording Red-winged Blackbird, now arriving in good numbers, and looking stunning in the bright sunshine, Pintail, Gadwall and Shoveler, reminding me of home, plus various numbers of Green-winged Teal, Canvasback, American Wigeon, Common Merganser, Bufflehead, Lesser Scaup and Hooded Merganser.

Marsh Wren

Just prior to arriving at the sea path our first Tree Swallows were recorded, probably amongst the first arrivals, today's strong breeze from the south and glorious sunshine is great for migration. As I look out across the bay, surveying the many grounded logs which litter this area, I'm amazed at what greets me! I stopped counting when I got beyond 30 immature and adult Bald Eagle. Each log appeared to have one of these iconic birds perched on it, a truly astonishing and memorable sight.

As we progressed north along the sea path our first Marsh Wrens, more spring arrivals, were seen and heard singing, a very gratey song, not too dissimilar to our own Sedge warbler. A Short -eared Owl shot up at one stage being pestered by several Red-winged Blackbird and as we rounded a bend, the call of Sora from within the reeds. Unfortunately, despite a long stop and search, we never quite managed to connect.

More Tree Swallows were seen on or around the many nesting boxes, specifically designed for these birds, these boxes are placed within the reed bed and raised above by long poles. Before moving back to the interior of the reserve a number of Northern Harrier, plus a lingering Rough-legged Hawk, probably one of the few remaining as most have already moved further north.

Norther Saw-whet Owl

The remainder of our visit was spent in search of reported Northern Hawk Owl and Northern Saw-whet Owls. During this time our bird count of the day increased with of note: Golden-crowned Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, Downy Woodpecker, Wood Duck, Greater White-fronted Geese, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Northern Flicker, Great Blue heron and House Finch.

Despite our search we bombed on the Northern Hawk Owl, which we were told hadn't actually been seen for several days, but the best of the day for me was a lone Northern Saw-whet Owl found roosting deep within a Holly Tree. Seven or eight inches of sheer delight, this gorgeous little, mainly nocturnal Owl, is a regular here at Reifel and despite the other superb species encountered today was my absolute winner!

**I've dedicated this post to Paul Norman chairman of the Brandon Marsh Volunteers back home, who kindly informed me of the first Sand Martins arriving at Brandon Marsh this morning. Many thanks Paul but can we PLEASE remember the time difference!!! A 2am text is somewhat beyond the cause :)

The Lost Lagoon

The Lost Lagoon, Vancouver

Only a short two minute walk from our apartment lies 'The Lost Lagoon', a 41 acre body of water near the entrance to Stanley Park. The lagoon is occasionally used as a safe haven for migrating birds that use the migratory route known as 'The Pacific Highway', a major north/south route of travel extending from Alaska to Patagonia.

The lagoon is full of small islands and marshy grasses, bulrushes along the edge of the lagoon make a protective cover and nesting areas for various species. Kind of like their own security system to protect their nests from the other wildlife you’ll find in Vancouver like Coyotes and Raccoons.

I thought I'd take the opportunity over the coming few weeks to make the lagoon my home patch so to speak and make regular visits, after all it's spring here too come the weekend and migration has already started.

Spotted Towhee

Today's weather has been quite rainy as per usual, but during my walk the rain eased sufficiently for me to have a good exploration of the lagoon. As with my previous visits the first thing you notice is the place is simply alive with wildlife! Both Chestnut-backed and Black-capped Chickadee's are in good numbers and are amongst the most friendliest species I've ever come across. If you extend your empty hand they will even land on it in complete confidence!

The lagoon itself contained good numbers of Lesser Scaup, American Wigeon, several Common Merganser, Common Goldeneye, 3 Barrow's Goldeneye, 3 Wood Duck and 2 Ringed Neck duck. This being my 3rd visit since arriving I was pleased to connect with my first Canvasback, a very flighty male out near the centre.

Curious Little Chap!

The surrounding habitat was alive throughout my walk with many Song Sparrow, which have a really gorgeous melodic song, Spotted Towhee, which seem to enjoy skulking within the undergrowth, and lots of American Robin, a lone Red-winged Blackbird was also recorded. On the southern side of the lagoon Golden-crowned Kinglet, Pacific Wren, Brown Creeper, White-crowned Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, and Fox Sparrow were all noted.

One particular species of note that I found staring up at me as I crossed one the small wooden bridges was a Raccoon. Be forewarned if you ever visit, there is a maximum $5000 penalty if you are caught feeding wildlife in this park. Having said that, many visitors and regulars have for years fed these docile creatures so they have no fear of humans as many of these species do in the wild, they in fact will come right up to most hikers throughout the park to the delight of many who have never seen these elusive night crawlers.

Vancouver Twitch



Western Scrub-jay

The world is such a small place. By a strange coincidence and through Bob Lee back in the UK I managed to meet up today with Rob Catchpole, once a regular Brandon Marsh birder and someone that I'd lost contact with when he moved back to Vancouver over 18 months ago.

Having met up at The Waterfront rail station at 10am it wasn't long before Rob had me on a bus heading for the east-side of town in search of a local rarity. Some 20 minutes later we arrived at what seemed to be a normal built up area with plenty of housing and playing fields. Within the area was a community allotment which surrounded a small pond and it was here that we began our search for a Western Scrub-Jay, which Rob had last seen in December.

The northernmost extent of the Western Scrub-Jay’s range is typically the southwestern region of Washington stretching up to Seattle, and so finding one this far north is highly unusual. You can view a map of this species 2010 distribution in Washington on eBird.

House Finch

During our 45 minutes searching for the illusive bird we managed 2 Northern Flicker, several House Finch, good numbers of American Robin, Song Sparrow, and one of my favorite small birds, Ruby Crown Kinglet. At one stage a Merlin was seen shooting through pursued by several Crows. What I found completely surreal about the whole thing, not least the species we were encountering, and baring in mind we were literally in a built up area of Vancouver, was when Rob pointed out a Bald Eagle nest, with a bird actually sitting within! I was in awe of the whole thing.

Our illusive Jay was finally located, much to my delight, skulking within a clutch of trees, Rob tells me roughly where he'd spotted it on his last visit, and so my first Canadian sighting of this colourful visitor was in the bag.

For our afternoon treat we took the bus back across to Stanley Park, which I later realised Rob knows extremely well, for a good scan around. On arrival we made our way towards Beaver Lake which is located within the interior of the park, picking up Brown Creeper, Varied Thrush, Golden Crowned-kinglet, Hairy Woodpecker and Spotted Towhee.

Beaver Lake is a small lake, mostly covered by lily pads, home to fish and water birds. As of 1997, its surface area was 3.95 hectares, but the lake is slowly shrinking in size. Here we connected with Red Wing Blackbird, our first Wood Ducks of the day and 3 stunning Bufflehead. The biggest surprise though according to Rob were the 2 White Fronted Geese, which we located within a small flock of Canada.

Red Necked Sapsucker

We eventually arrived at a well elevated area of woodland which overlooks English Bay, and due to a storm destroying many trees a few years earlier, had opened up into a wonderful diverse habitat. The next 45 minutes, with the sun finally showing through, turned out to be an amazing birding experience. Four species of Woodpecker, Pileated, Downy, Hairy and Red-Necked Sapsucker, plus Red Breasted Nuthatch, more Bald Eagle and an amazing sight of Anna's Hummingbird, which for me came totally out of the blue, and produced my first lifer of this visit!

Finally, a walk around the bay area produced similar large flocks, as reported in my last post on Sunday, of Barrow's Goldeneye and Surf Scoter, plus Common and Red Breasted Merganser, Harlequin Duck, Lesser and Great Scaup, Common Loon, Double Crested and Pelagic Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, 20+ Black Oystercatcher and a small flock of around 20 Sanderling. Glaucous Winged Gull were in good numbers today along with Herring and Mew, a truly superb day out!

English Bay, Vancouver

Harlequin Duck (My new favourite)

The weather for this morning was looking reasonable, with heavy rain not forecast until the early afternoon, and so Dee and I decided to make an early start.

Our first stop 'The Lost Lagoon', which is literally 250 yards from our apartment and is an artificial, captive 16.6-hectare body of water near the entrance to Stanley Park. Surrounding the lake is a 1.1 mile trail, which in the summer is a nesting ground to many species of birds, including Great Blue Herons.

The first bird of the day astonishingly turned out to be a Turkey Vulture, which we noted soaring over the opposite side of the lake high above the huge Cedar's which form much of the park. The lake itself contained good numbers of Common Goldeneye, Wood Duck, American Wigeon, Common Merganser, Hooded Merganser, a dozen Scaup and good numbers of American Coot. Most of the Gull population consisted of Herring and Glaucous Winged, and I'm almost certain that an immature Franklin's, which mainly come to inland pools during the winter, was also present.

Delighted with our start we took the trail down towards our next stop of English Bay adding to our list with Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, Downy Woodpecker, Dark-eyed Junco, Black-caped and Chestnut-backed Chickadee, and of course the ever present American Robin.

English Bay, which is located west of the downtown peninsula, separates the bay from Burrard Inlet connecting to the northwest, and False Creek to the southeast. What greeted us here was nothing short of stunning! It turns out after researching that over 60% of the worlds population of Barrow's Goldeneye lives in British Columbia all year round. Thousands of them, sometimes up to 7,000, have been seen here and in the surrounding shores during winter. We stopped counting today after our less than generous estimate of 1,000, It's a sight I'll never forget and one I'll certainly be revisiting during my stay.

Black Oystercatcher

We continued our walk along the sea wall northwards passing Ferguson Point and heading on towards Prospect Point. With the sea conditions relatively slight we managed an array of diving and swimming wildfowl you'd simply die for. These included some decent flocks of Surf Scoter, which dive for mussels throughout the winter, shortly they will fly to their breeding grounds in northern Canada and Alaska. Also seen were Black Scoter, Buffleheads, Lesser Scaup, Long-tailed Duck, Red-breasted Merganser, and what has now become my favourite, Harlequin Duck!

Barrow's Goldeneye

One of the most breathtaking sights today away from the sheer volume of Barrow's was when we witnessed a Bald Eagle, the fourth of the day, diving for prey near Siwash Rock, despite missing out the bird appeared to stay on the water for at least 30 seconds before flying off. Also present and worth a mention on our birding day were good numbers of Double-crested Comorant and Glaucous-winged Gull, plus our first Waders of the trip when we connected with 9 Black Oystercatcher, my first for Canada.

Arrived Vancouver

Squamish Estuary, British Columbia

Finally touched down at Vancouver Airport at 3pm local time having been in the air for just short of 10 hours to the usual precipitation, but the temperature was quite mild at 10C.

Having watched the dreadful scenes emerging from Japan on TV at Heathrow we weren't surprised to see most of the west coast was on tsunami alert, fortunately Vancouver wasn't one of them. We were even more thankful to see that nearly all the coastal area's and Islands on alert escaped any major damage!

Our apartment suite at Lord Stanley, where we'll be staying for the next 2 to 5 weeks, is extremely comfortable and lies right next to the famous Stanley Park in downtown Vancouver, even more exciting is that it's only a two minute walk down to the harbour. The several visits I've made to Canada over the previous years have mainly been in the interior and so I'm really looking forward to adding to my coastal birding list during this stay.

Bald Eagle (Taken in 2010)

Having said that, this is also a working holiday for my wife Dee and so excursions further afield will be  limited to weekends, but we have several plans in place. One of the most exciting is to visit the Squamish estuary and wetlands which are just to the north of Vancouver.

The wetlands are created by the fresh water of the rivers entering into the salt water of the ocean. The waterways interacting creates fresh water and salt water Eco systems coexisting and changing with each tide. A natural environment ideal for many migratory birds. Unfortunately we're a little late to view one of the largest wintering populations of Bald Eagle, but we're hopeful that a few will still be around!

Canada Beckons!

Newlands Phase Three Project

With all the planning for tomorrows departure to Canada, this past week has been a hectic one to say the least. Fortunately I've still managed to fulfill all my chainsaw commitments at Brandon Marsh, and even managed to fit in a walk around my moorings and the marina grounds.

With only a few weeks left before the Brandon Conservation Team have to suspend work on the Newlands Reedbed Extension, this to allow for the arrival of breeding species, we're currently running two work parties a week to remain on schedule for the final stages of the project in the autumn/winter.

Green Sandpiper

Locally the Marina has been quite active this week with plenty of Tree Sparrow around, several Yellowhammer, the odd Brambling on the feeders, and even a brief visit from a lone Green Sandpiper on Wednesday morning. Our resident Little Owls were even out enjoying the evening sunshine on Tuesday, the local Ravens and Buzzards have also been very actively enjoying the thermals. As the migration starts to build a number of Skylark and Meadow Pipit have been on the move with several passing overhead, and a distant Curlew was heard while laying in bed reading on Wednesday night!

As the official start of Spring is only 11 days away lots of migration reports are starting to emerge. On Monday the first Redshank of the year was recorded at Brandon and on Tuesday our lonesome Ringed Plover was finally joined by a mate, although I personally recorded two briefly a few weeks ago. On the East Marsh Path, under the large Oak Tree, a huge colony of Mining Bees were out in force enjoying the spring sunshine on Tuesday afternoon. Two Kingfisher, which shot by the works party on the same day was a welcome sight, and an unconfirmed report of Lesser Spotted Woodpecker in Horstail Glade is an interesting one! Also of note was a Curlew on East Marsh Pool this morning, and I was delighted to see a half dozen Frogs with spawn while working on Newlands today. One of my coleagues who was also working nearby made contact with a least 6 Wood Mice, which quickly scurried away when he moved a log pile.

Other patch sightings such as a single Avocet at Draycote Water, plus a more unusual sighting of 15 in flight over Brandon on the same day. Two Swallows I noticed reported today in Devon and Somerset, and more Sand Martins are now beginning to appear nationally along with sightings of Osprey, Wheatear and Little Ringed Plover, the latter being Brandon's next imminent arrival.

Vancouver

Surprisingly I must say that my trip to Vancouver is somewhat of a bitter sweet event! The Spring in the UK is simply the most exciting time of the year on any birders calendar, and for me something that I live for, from a birding prospective that is! I'll be sorry to miss the start! Having said that, Canada in the spring migration can be a truly awesome place, and something that I'm once again very much looking forward to over the coming weeks.

Well that's about it for my UK birding for now, thanks to Graham and Hazel for 'boat sitting' in our absence (keep out of the wine chest!!!), and I look forward to posting my first update from Vancouver very soon, happy birding!

Slimbridge

Slimbridge WWT

The last time I visited Slimbridge Wildfowl and Wetlands I was cruising the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal in 2007. Today Dee and I decided to make the journey by road and arrived in hours as opposed to days, personally I prefer the cruise to the drive!

For those who've not visited this 3 square kilometer reserve, a little history: The reserve exists to care for and study ducks, geese and swans of the world. To cater for the many bird and duck watchers sixteen hides overlook the fields streams and lakes which border the River Severn and the Gloucester and Sharpness Canal.

The reserve was the first WWT reserve to be opened in 1946 thanks to the vision of artist and naturalist Peter Scott. Winter is a great time to visit with large flocks of White Fronted Geese, sometimes with the rare Lesser amongst them. Bewick's Swans are a main feature in Winter, arriving from Russia to enjoy the milder climate of southern England.

Spoonbill

The weather was reasonably kind for our visit today, dry with the occasional sunny interval. For a wildfowl lover it's difficult not to get swept away with the hundreds of specimens from every continent, and so the camera got a real bashing before I finally managed to drag Dee away to the hides.

The first 'wild' bird of note was the recently arrived Spoonbill which was showing well from the Zeiss Hide. Here we enjoyed a nice picnic lunch and during this we had good numbers of White Fronted Geese, several Bewick's, and before moving on made contact with 2-Ruff, which arrived with a small flock of Lapwing, Curlew and several Pintail were also on the pools.

Bewick's in Flight

After visiting the remaining hides, checking out the various bird feeders and a good scan of the Severn Estuary, we achieved an excellent haul for the day. Both the female Lesser Scaup and Greater Scaup, which have been around for a while, were showing well, and I also managed my first Redshank of the year.

The White Fronted Geese were in excellent numbers, so too Wigeon and Pochard, plus several Oystercatcher were also seen. If your planning a visit, I would suggest sooner rather than later, as the Bewick's are now heading back towards the continent and the weather conditions are looking perfect for the coming weeks migration. If your on Twitter you can follow James and Martin two of the reserve wardens for the latest updates.

Nice Day Out!

Many Goosander today!

As another week draws to a close I was glad I decided to pick today for a hike around Draycote Water. Finally the sun broke through the persistent low cloud which has dogged us all week and the sun shone on what has been a glorious day.

Trolling around my local patch and Brandon Marsh hasn't thrown up anything new over the last several days on the birding front. The Conservation Team managed to prepare the Islands at Brandon for the forthcoming breeding season in break neck speed on Thursday, we'd cleared off by midday causing only minimal disruption. We also managed to complete works on the Sand Martin structure, this has been slightly altered with a surround to prevent predation from Mink and other species such as Stoat and Weasel.

Reifel Migratory Santuary, Vancouver

On a personal note I received some great news today and it's now definate that my next trip to Canada begins in a weeks time! Five weeks out there and I'm really excited that it's come together so quickly. I'm hoping as part of my visit to work alongside some of the volunteers at the George C Reifel Migratory Sanctuary in Delta, Vancouver.

The Sanctuary is a popular bird watching locale with hiking trails, bird blinds, lookouts and is a wide ranging habitat for hundreds of species of permanent and migratory birds. Species such as Sandhill Cranes, Bald Eagles and various Owls nest and raise their young on the marshlands and dikes, while birds such as Lesser Snow Geese, Chickadees, Western Sandpipers and Long-billed Dowitchers can be spotted during their migratory journeys!

Back to Draycote today, accompanied by Jim Rushforth and Alvin Burton and I'm glad to say that we managed to make contact with the male Smew and both male and female Scaup. Although the Scaup were not that obliging and managed to stay asleep the whole time they were in view. Three Grey Wagtails are also worth a mention, plus lots of Goosander and good numbers of Goldeneye. A little debate regarding a possible Yellow-legged Gull among the many hundreds did however remain unresolved. No signs today of the Finch flock containing the Brambling behind the Inlet, and we also drew a blank on the recent Rock Pipit which apparently only appeared for one day. Our thanks to Bob Hazell for his absolute knowledge of Draycote once again, I don't think I've ever visited and not seen him around!