Cheam Lake May 16 - Swallows galore

[Gord]

Very birdy afternoon at the park. From the parking lot and the viewing platform at the picnic area enjoyed trying to estimate how many swallows (around 100) were feeding over the lake thanks to the unsettled weather making migration not a quick and easy process for the birds. Bank Swallows are back; I could hear them bickering at each other even before I went to look. I ended up with writing down 26 of them. Again, they seem to do a lot of chasing each other around over the lake like I've noted in the past. I think many of them are the local breeding birds that nest somewhere northish of the park. All of the other five swallow species were out there as well although I amused myself having to make an effort to spot just two Violet-green Swallows in all that. Not one swift. A Belted Kingfisher has returned. I think there was some discussion here recently about them not being very numerous this spring. I agree, the extended cold snap we had was responsible. They'll have moved to areas with open water before working their way back up our way. I saw my first Yellow Warbler of the spring and there seems to be about 2-3 pairs of Bullock's Oriole around the picnic area. They were very active flying back and forth and sitting down low as well at times. Today would be a great day to have taken someone new to birding to see some beauties up close. I can't remember the last number of Redhead reported at the park but I saw three drakes and a hen.

[nickinthegarden]

I was interested in your comments about the Swallows. I have noticed several times over this spring seeing large mixed flocks of Swallows over the parks in the Matsqui area. On Saturday morning while birding without my camera I was at Willband Creek Park and it was very confusing trying to count them and I wished they would land so I could see them clearly. Funny thing was that around 40 of the Violet-green Swallows landed in the willows bushes along the sides of the pond right in front me, and I did not have my camera! It was amazing to see and I could not record it. There was easily several times more other Swallows feeding above me. I could pick out Tree Swallows and Barn Swallows and I think a couple Cliff Swallows. With it raining and low clouds it was not possible for me to get a complete count. I went back later in the day and the only swallows I saw were the nesting Tree Swallows. It seems like it has been a weird spring for birding. I was blaming several years of huge forest fires, the intense heat event in early summer, just when so many babies were around and then so many of the plants dried up before setting fruit and seed, the rain and flooding and the 2 week cold spell did not help. The last year has had a lot of extreme weather events.