White Rock and Iona - May 19, 2012

[Randy]

Hi everyone,

I hope everybody is enjoying their long weekend. Yesterday, Rocky and I did a cycle through White Rock and then up to Iona and back. The initial hope was for me to find a barred owl in White Rock, which would be a lifer for me, but unfortunately we struck out with that. It wasn't an overly birdy day at any of the locations but we still netted 60 species on the day.

Most of the highlights were at Iona, where we picked up Cinnamon teal (I'd only seen this once before and it was a number of years ago) and Rocky got a lifer with blue-winged teal. LOTS of pectorals at the sewage pond, but also a number of western and least. Here's a couple least sandpipers and a poor picture of one of the 2 male cinnamon teals that we saw:







A nice variety of other waterfowl species were present, including pintail, shoveler, GW teal, canvasback, scaup, bufflehead, gadwall...



We wandered around the end of Iona where there are actually some trees. We had hoped to pick up some warblers and songbirds, but only got a yellow warbler and common yellowthroat. We were entertained by a tree swallow tending its nest. It seemed quite proud of this lovely feather it found:





Purple martins were an easy find there too. I've seen lots in Sask, but this is a BC first for me.



Overall, despite being an apparently "quiet" day, we managed a good number of species. Best of all, the weather was fantastic!

Here's the complete list for the day if anyone is interested


Canada Goose
Gadwall
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Canvasback
Lesser Scaup
American Wigeon
Bufflehead
Great Blue Heron
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
American Kestrel
Killdeer
Spotted Sandpiper
Western Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
Glaucous-winged Gull
Caspian Tern
Eurasian Collared-Dove
Mourning Dove
Rufous Hummingbird
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Northwestern Crow
Northern Rough-winged Swallow
Purple Martin
Violet-green swallow
Tree Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Pacific Wren
Marsh Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Swainson's Thrush
American Robin
European Starling
Cedar Waxwing
Common Yellowthroat
Yellow Warbler
Spotted Towhee
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Black-headed Grosbeak
Red-winged Blackbird
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird
House Finch
Purple Finch
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch

Randy - Langley

[dpeppar]

nice report Randy

DaveP

[lensviews]

Wow! These are fabulous clear pictures Randy. You must have a very sophisticated camera or you are a skilled photographer.
Iona is that in Richmond? The swallow with the feather is a winner! Did you nuse a tripod and high speed for this?

[Randy]

Thanks lensviews. I actually don't consider myself a photographer. I was discussing this with Rocky yesterday. I'm definitely a birder first and often take pictures for ID help and photodocumentation. Don't get me wrong, I love getting nice clear pictures, but I certainly don't spend hours trying to get the right shot. Because of this, I prefer portability and currently use a Canon Powershot SX30IS, which is actually a larger point and shoot with a 35x zoom. I don't carry a tripod or any other accessories. The image stabilization technology in these makes a HUGE difference.

Here's a link:
www.canon.ca/inetCA/products?m=gp&pid=4812

Another key is small adjustments of exposure and some cropping on the computer. It's amazing how much of a difference this can make.

Anyway, now that you're a pro at posting, I think I can speak for everyone and say we're all looking forward to seeing some of your shots!

Randy

[Chris]

Great report Randy. Love those Martins! Haven't seen one up close like that yet.

[martin]

Great report and shots Randy, quite a bike ride too. Loved your shots great job a on PM.

[Randy]

Thanks Martin,

I was wondering about your "bike ride" comment...then I realized I said we did a "cycle". I would love to say we actually cycled/biked it. Unfortunately what I meant was we went that route...we were definitely lazy and drove though.

I have to be more careful about how I type!!!

Randy

[martin]

May 27, 2012 20:41:23 GMT -8 Randy said:

Thanks Martin,

I was wondering about your "bike ride" comment...then I realized I said we did a "cycle". I would love to say we actually cycled/biked it. Unfortunately what I meant was we went that route...we were definitely lazy and drove though.

I have to be more careful about how I type!!!

Randy

I get it now ;D ;D , anyway though it's nice to get out no matter your mode of transportation