- Oct 15 9:24 pm
#86460
Hello Birders!
I had a great day of birding in the lower mainland and I was happy to see one of my nemesis birds, the American Tree Sparrow, and I was even able to get some okay shots.
I started at Iona, where after walking till marker 149, found it bathing, drinking and feeding near a small puddle of water. I watched the bird for almost two hours, and kept coming back even though a dog nearly ran it over!
Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis) by Adam Dhalla, on Flickr
Then, we headed over to Cecil Green at UBC to try to find the ATSP. I had doubts since it was a large area but we walked to the totem poles behind the museum and we saw a different sparrow perching on some tall grass, which we were pretty sure was it. It then flew over the pond and we re-located it in a flock of other sparrows like Songs, Golden-Crowned and White-Crowneds. It was the smallest sparrow there and it was quite grey and had a rufous crest. It was a lifer!
American Tree Sparrow (Spizella arborea) by Adam Dhalla, on Flickr
I heard so many Pacific Tree Frogs but I finally got to actually see one, I have never seen one before so it was great to see one sitting nearby the ATSP on some ivy.
Pacific Tree Frog (Pseudacris regilla) by Adam Dhalla, on Flickr
Finally, we went to Richmond Nature Park to end the day. It was relatively quiet and only a few birds were present but I got to see a very colorful Garter Snake in the bushes which was at eye level, and was the best I've seen one before.
All in all, it was a good day and seeing all of the things was a treat!
I had a great day of birding in the lower mainland and I was happy to see one of my nemesis birds, the American Tree Sparrow, and I was even able to get some okay shots.
I started at Iona, where after walking till marker 149, found it bathing, drinking and feeding near a small puddle of water. I watched the bird for almost two hours, and kept coming back even though a dog nearly ran it over!
Snow Bunting (Plectrophenax nivalis) by Adam Dhalla, on Flickr
Then, we headed over to Cecil Green at UBC to try to find the ATSP. I had doubts since it was a large area but we walked to the totem poles behind the museum and we saw a different sparrow perching on some tall grass, which we were pretty sure was it. It then flew over the pond and we re-located it in a flock of other sparrows like Songs, Golden-Crowned and White-Crowneds. It was the smallest sparrow there and it was quite grey and had a rufous crest. It was a lifer!
American Tree Sparrow (Spizella arborea) by Adam Dhalla, on Flickr
I heard so many Pacific Tree Frogs but I finally got to actually see one, I have never seen one before so it was great to see one sitting nearby the ATSP on some ivy.
Pacific Tree Frog (Pseudacris regilla) by Adam Dhalla, on Flickr
Finally, we went to Richmond Nature Park to end the day. It was relatively quiet and only a few birds were present but I got to see a very colorful Garter Snake in the bushes which was at eye level, and was the best I've seen one before.
All in all, it was a good day and seeing all of the things was a treat!