Langley - Brydon Lagoon/High Knoll Park

[Randy]

Hi everyone,

I went for a walk through the areas mentioned in the title this afternoon. Not a ton of activity today compared to times earlier in the day, but still managed to see/hear a number of species.

The highlight was a peregrine falcon soaring over the Brydon Nature Park/floodplain. I was hoping to see the Western Tanager again, which I heard again a few days ago. I didn't see or hear it today unfortunately

Here's the rest of my list as per eBird:

Brydon Lagoon and surrounding area:

Canada Goose 20
Mallard 20
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Great Blue Heron 1
Peregrine Falcon 1
Long-billed Dowitcher 8
Bonaparte's Gull 4
Northwestern Crow 5
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 5
Violet-green Swallow 3
Barn Swallow 7
Cedar Waxwing 15
Common Yellowthroat 2
Song Sparrow 3
Red-winged Blackbird 12
House Finch 5
House Sparrow 10

High Knoll Park:
Hairy Woodpecker 1
Western Wood-Pewee 1 (heard)
Willow Flycatcher 1 (heard)
Pacific-slope Flycatcher 5 (heard)
Northwestern Crow 5
Common Raven 2
Black-capped Chickadee 5
Bushtit 12
Swainson's Thrush 6 (heard)
American Robin 5
Cedar Waxwing 10
Spotted Towhee 3
Song Sparrow 4
Red-winged Blackbird 10
House Sparrow 5

Hope everyone has a great long-weekend!!

Randy - Langley

[Chris]

Randy, nice list of species!

Thanks for taking the time to share it.

[Gord]

Randy, where is Brydon Lagoon?

Nice list of birds. You did much better than I when I was at High Knoll a few years back.

[beyondhope]

Its close to High Knoll Gord (can walk to it through the floodplains) But you get to it/park at a little parking lot on 53rd ave (south side) just west of 200th st (about 198th) the pond with the Dowitchers etc... is visible from 53rd & the parking area, you walk west down the gravel trail to get to the lagoon (about a 1/4mile), turn right over a little bridge and you are at the lagoon. I was there the other day, saw what Randy did (minus the Peregrine) also saw a couple Kildeer, couple Greater Yellowlegs, some Robins, Marsh Wrens (bathing in the gravel) etc... Not sure if the fountain scared me more or the birds when it came on in the morning!

Cheers

[Randy]

Those are pretty good directions, probably better than I could have given! Since I've only been in BC for two weeks and my place backs onto Brydon Park/Lagoon, this is the only place I've had a chance to bird. Nonetheless I've been fairly happy with it. I went to High Knoll park again this morning and it was pretty quiet, although I was there later in the morning. It seems like a more active area for birding within the park is West of the clearing with the power poles. If you follow the path to the top of the hill there is a trail that leads into a wooded area on the West side. This is where I have seen and heard the tanagers, and I've heard the flycatchers and pewees (although haven't been able to see these suckers yet). Walking up the hill through the open area with the power poles is nice as well.

Again, limited experience, but it's been nice so far because it has provided a few different ecosystems - the wooded area of high knoll park, the floodplain/Nicomekl river just north of this, Brydon Lagoon for waterfowl, and then the marsh at the most northeast point of this area where there have been some shorebirds (although this seems to be drying up quickly).

I'm looking for more places to bird and will post a message in a different section for some suggestions.

Randy

[Randy]

p.s.
Another good place to park seems to be on 50th Ave (aka. Colebrook Rd as far as I can tell) between 200th and 192nd street. There's a small parking lot on the north side of the street that gives great access to Brydon Park on the north and High Knoll park directly south.

Randy

[butterfly]

Welcome to the forum Randy. You have found a rather nice place to bird there. Good work! That's a super list of birds. Cheers Joanne and Bruce