Post by Gord on Sept 15, 2006 12:22:42 GMT -8
I decided to take a trip to Delta for some birding. I hoped the weather would hold out.
Left home at 6:20 and decided since the tide was out, to check on the hedgerows and so forth for migrants until the tide started to come in.
First stop was this area near the Boundary Bay airport. What a birdy area! Lots of action with highlight being two great horned owls. Lots of orange-crowned warblers, Lincoln's sparrows and golden-crowned sparrows here. As I was heading back towards my car, I saw this small gull-sized bird flying in a westerly direction. During the time it took to raise the binoculars I first thought, based on strong, somewhat choppy wingbeats and direct flight, it was a falcon which merged into second thought of it being a caspian tern. All that went out the window when I got my binoculars on it. It was a slim, dark bird with light belly that contrasted lightly with barely darker flanks and that tapered into a long looking tail! A jaeger! Over land! As I havnt seen many jaegers in my time, and the look wasnt great anyway, I couldnt say which one, but it looked slim and I didnt notice any markings on the wing but could have missed that due to poor light especially since I also didnt notice any lighter markings on the head of this bird. I ran to get around the trees for a picture, but it was too far away. I tried to catch up in the car, but no luck.
One of the two great horned owls
A chilly dragonfly
Next stop at Reifel Sanctuary. At the beginning, very busy with migrants and friends, but nothing unreal...until I got close to the tower. Three purple martins were a bit of a surprise this late in the year. Not long after, I heard an approaching bird in flight. It was making a whistled "di-di-di-do" every few seconds. Nothing Ive ever heard before, maybe slightly like a greater yellowlegs, but much easier on the ear (not tinny and stridant; more smoothly whistled), and was 4 syllable calls each time. I then spotted it; yes, it's an obvious shorebird, light in colour with light browns and no obvious markings. It looked long tailed and had no beak (based on its flight, I was thinking at first curlew or godwit for some reason even though it was small and I was looking for a long bill). I took notes and quickly figured out it couldnt have been anything but an upland sandpiper based on what I saw and heard. ;D
After that, nothing out of the ordinary. There was a reported Reeve (female ruff) seen by John Ireland in the morning before I got there, but I didnt see it. Studied some dowitchers at close range at the tower, watched a peregrine falcon make a try at the shorebirds several times, sorted through a big flock of peeps finding a semipalmated sandpiper left a report of my upland sandpiper at the gift shop and decided that since the tide was on the way in, to go to Tswasswan checking hedgerows on the way.
Long-billed dowitchers
By the time I got there, the weather was coming in. Looked briefly, but nothing out of the ordinary aside from the old willet at the base. How many fall/winters has it been there now? 6 or 7?
The willet
Bonaparte's Gull
There were over 9 black oystercatchers that I saw.
On to the Bay and stopped at the Mansion and 104th. Weather was ugly by now, but managed to ID a small group of 5 red knots. There were lots of shorebirds, but hard to ID thanks to the wind and rain. Didnt see any godwits though. Must have been several hundred barn swallows there! Also lots of ducks at 104th. The godwit and stuff may have been in there as there were shorebirds mixed in, but the weather drove me away and I had to be home for 5 anyway.
On the way home, while avoiding the 13+ accidents reported on the radio (5 in Surrey itself...oh my goodness! It's raining! How do I drive in the rain again? You ram other cars right?
), got a Steller's jay on the highway and two Vaux's swift over the Vedder River to make an 86 species (counting the jaeger species) day. I think Ill pass on posting the species list for now! ;D
Left home at 6:20 and decided since the tide was out, to check on the hedgerows and so forth for migrants until the tide started to come in.
First stop was this area near the Boundary Bay airport. What a birdy area! Lots of action with highlight being two great horned owls. Lots of orange-crowned warblers, Lincoln's sparrows and golden-crowned sparrows here. As I was heading back towards my car, I saw this small gull-sized bird flying in a westerly direction. During the time it took to raise the binoculars I first thought, based on strong, somewhat choppy wingbeats and direct flight, it was a falcon which merged into second thought of it being a caspian tern. All that went out the window when I got my binoculars on it. It was a slim, dark bird with light belly that contrasted lightly with barely darker flanks and that tapered into a long looking tail! A jaeger! Over land! As I havnt seen many jaegers in my time, and the look wasnt great anyway, I couldnt say which one, but it looked slim and I didnt notice any markings on the wing but could have missed that due to poor light especially since I also didnt notice any lighter markings on the head of this bird. I ran to get around the trees for a picture, but it was too far away. I tried to catch up in the car, but no luck.
One of the two great horned owls
A chilly dragonfly
Next stop at Reifel Sanctuary. At the beginning, very busy with migrants and friends, but nothing unreal...until I got close to the tower. Three purple martins were a bit of a surprise this late in the year. Not long after, I heard an approaching bird in flight. It was making a whistled "di-di-di-do" every few seconds. Nothing Ive ever heard before, maybe slightly like a greater yellowlegs, but much easier on the ear (not tinny and stridant; more smoothly whistled), and was 4 syllable calls each time. I then spotted it; yes, it's an obvious shorebird, light in colour with light browns and no obvious markings. It looked long tailed and had no beak (based on its flight, I was thinking at first curlew or godwit for some reason even though it was small and I was looking for a long bill). I took notes and quickly figured out it couldnt have been anything but an upland sandpiper based on what I saw and heard. ;D
After that, nothing out of the ordinary. There was a reported Reeve (female ruff) seen by John Ireland in the morning before I got there, but I didnt see it. Studied some dowitchers at close range at the tower, watched a peregrine falcon make a try at the shorebirds several times, sorted through a big flock of peeps finding a semipalmated sandpiper left a report of my upland sandpiper at the gift shop and decided that since the tide was on the way in, to go to Tswasswan checking hedgerows on the way.
Long-billed dowitchers
By the time I got there, the weather was coming in. Looked briefly, but nothing out of the ordinary aside from the old willet at the base. How many fall/winters has it been there now? 6 or 7?
The willet
Bonaparte's Gull
There were over 9 black oystercatchers that I saw.
On to the Bay and stopped at the Mansion and 104th. Weather was ugly by now, but managed to ID a small group of 5 red knots. There were lots of shorebirds, but hard to ID thanks to the wind and rain. Didnt see any godwits though. Must have been several hundred barn swallows there! Also lots of ducks at 104th. The godwit and stuff may have been in there as there were shorebirds mixed in, but the weather drove me away and I had to be home for 5 anyway.
On the way home, while avoiding the 13+ accidents reported on the radio (5 in Surrey itself...oh my goodness! It's raining! How do I drive in the rain again? You ram other cars right?
), got a Steller's jay on the highway and two Vaux's swift over the Vedder River to make an 86 species (counting the jaeger species) day. I think Ill pass on posting the species list for now! ;D
