Birding in BC Community

My goodness. The group is really off and running with so many birds already captured. Let me add one more.

Juvenile? Harris's Sparrow (Zonotrichia querula) by Randy, on Flickr

_H3A1040-Taiga Flycatcher by Patrick Covello, on Flickr

A rare one. The arrival of the Taiga Flycatcher, a native of Asia, to Downtown Vancouver represents the first recorded sighting of it in Canada...

Pat

I took advantage of the good weather yesterday to go to Deep Bay. Here are males and females of Black Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Surf Scoter and Long-tailed Duck.

Black Scoters by Bill Gyles, on Flickr

White-winged Scoters by Bill Gyles, on Flickr

Long-tailed Ducks with Surf Scoters by Bill Gyles, on Flickr

Male Long-tailed Duck by Bill Gyles, on Flickr

Lots of great photos coming in. I found a picture of a Short-billed gull from yesterday too.

Short-billed Gull by Bill Gyles, on Flickr

Wow! Great photos everyone! Really fast start ... Guess I need to get the list going already and it's only the 10th of January. Haha. I was going to post the Red-tailed Hawk, but Patrick beat me to it. lol. Here's a White-breasted Nuthatch, at least.



I'm gonna have to find a new site to host my photos soon ... my Flickr account is almost tapped out and it's really gotten super ad-heavy lately ... (oh, and Pat -- Thanks for that Tiaga Flycatcher this year ... I was hoping someone got it before it left ...)
Enjoy!
James

James, I was actually at the Aquatic Centre in Vancouver 3 times to see the Taiga Flycatcher. The first two times there were about 50 people there and it was difficult to shoot.. The last time, I was the only one there, I had the bird "to myself".

Pat

I guess the new has worn off, Pat. Haha. I can add a couple of more birds to our early list! This guy was a tough photo for me last year because they are always flying away before I'm set. Hiking in Knox Mountain park, I got this Black-billed Magpie.


We were walking down near the lake and saw this pair of Horned Grebes ... They were fishing away! I was able to capture them together.


Enjoy!
James

In spite of the weather reports indicating clear sunshine this morning, the low clouds stayed around in southwest Richmond all morning. I went out to the West Dyke hoping that the clouds would dissipate, alas, nope. But I did manage some distant low light, noisy shots of a Northern Harrier male and a Short Eared Owl, good enough for positive ID:

Northern Harrier male by GMcD2008, on Flickr

Short Eared Owl by GMcD2008, on Flickr

The sun was shining at Iona Beach Park, so I drove over there to spend the rest of the day to see what I could find that was interesting. Some Ring Necked Ducks on the outer pond, a Ruby Crowned Kinglet, and a Bewicke's Wren.

Ruby Crowned Kinglet by GMcD2008, on Flickr

Ring Necked Duck pair by GMcD2008, on Flickr

Bewicke's Wren by GMcD2008, on Flickr

The predicted "sunny" weather failed to materialize here in Richmond until later in the day. I went out to the west dyke for a dawn patrol, hoping that the fog and low marine clouds would burn off - nope, a very grey morning on the dyke. Lots of activity though, just no light. I did manage a decent Great Blue Heron sitting in the grass looking dour. So here's your improved image of the GBH.

Great Blue Heron by GMcD2008, on Flickr

After giving up on the west dyke, I headed back home to do a few adulting errands and then the clouds began to clear by early afternoon in south Richmond, so I headed down to the pier to see if anything was happening. Had many gulls flying by on their missions, and among them I managed to tag a Thayer's Gull and a Glaucous Winged gull to add to the list. A bonus was a small flock of Snow Geese flew overhead, so we can add the Snow Goose to the list too.

Thayers Gull by GMcD2008, on Flickr

Glaucous Winged Gull by GMcD2008, on Flickr

Snow Geese by GMcD2008, on Flickr

_H3A1890-Cooper's Hawk Juvenile by Patrick Covello, on Flickr

A Juvenile Cooper's Hawk at Colony Farm,

Pat

Once again, the weather app showing bright sunshine was leading to excitement, but waking up to more thick fog here in Richmond meant that no Dawn Patrol on the west dyke was gonna happen. Did some chores, the fog hadn't lifted, but enough diffuse light to rationalize a walk around Terra Nova Park to see what I could find. Standing in a bushy area, pshing to see what moved - Song Sparrows, Towhees, Fox Sparrows, Juncos, all the usual suspects. Hey, what was that little brown flash down in the brambles. 10 minutes of waiting and finally the tiny wee Pacific Wren showed itself long enough for a photo. Low shutter speed, Image Stabilization on, and managed a decent ID photo. We can add the Pacific Wren to the list:

Pacific Wren by GMcD2008, on Flickr

DSC_0121a by R Varga, on Flickr

Varied Thrush, at Surrey Lake Park.

Another foggy day in Richmond, but worth a walk around Terra Nova Park for some fresh air and see if there's anything interesting. Nope, all the usual birds, but I tagged this American Crow to put on the list.

American Crow by GMcD2008, on Flickr