Birding in BC Community

Another one!

American Bittern
Adam Ross, on Flickr[/img]

Nice day today so I headed out to Brydon Lagoon in Langley and got 2 additions to the list plus a half addition there.

Lincoln's Sparrow by Jewill on Flickr

House Sparrow (Male & Female) by Jewill on Flickr

GMcD2008 posted the Male Lesser Scaup, so here's a Female (the half addition )
Lesser Scaup (Female) by Jewill on Flickr

And then, back home on the patio, finally one of the Pileated Woodpeckers made an appearance! I hear them all the time, both vocalizing and drumming, but rarely see them anymore (ever since the city cut down their nesting tree a few years ago). Another addition for the list.

Pileated Woodpecker (Female) by Jewill on Flickr

Where'd everybody go? Oh well, I'll just talk to myself (I do it all the time anyway).
I was at Brydon Lagoon again this morning and came away with these 2 additions:

Not in his usual location but closer to the path that goes around the lagoon. He was also in with a lot of Golden-crowned Sparrows so was, at times, a little hard to pick out.

White-throated Sparrow by Jewill on Flickr

1st of the year (for me) Yellow-rumped Warbler. It's not the best pic because he was quite far off, but I thought I'd better grab it while I had the chance.

Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's - Male) by Jewill on Flickr

Good additions Jewill. Not hiding, just ran out of local birds in my neighbourhood right now, plus battling one of the viruses making the rounds, and "life stuff" that takes up time. The Yellow Rumped Warbler is a great sign, I should keep my eyes open for the rest of the spring warbler migration.

As always, I am very impressed with the great photos being posted.
There's still quit a few Harlequin Ducks at Blue Heron Park near Ladysmith. I was so focused on the spectacular males that I didn't get any decent pics of the females. I will have to go back.
Harlequin Ducks by Bill Gyles, on Flickr

Some good bird-walk weather coming up. I went out to the West Dyke in Richmond this morning to see if the Say's Phoebe was still hanging out as noted in the Bird reports from the last couple of days. Alas, no Phoebe for me today, however I did find a bird that hasn't made the list yet: an invasive species, but still counts - Eurasian Collared Dove.
Eurasian Collared Dove by GMcD2008, on Flickr

Yellow-shafted Northern Flicker (Colaptes auratus) by Randy, on Flickr

I know the Red-Shafted Flicker is posted, but since it, and the Yellow Shafted are considered distinct sub-species I think we can count this as a new addition, right??

Saw this bird at Blackie Spit.

Another Blackie Spit contribution.

Violet-green Swallow (Tachycineta thalassina) by Randy, on Flickr

The Tree Swallows are all coming back to check out the birdhouses in Terra Nova Park in Richmond. We can now add Tree Swallows to the list:
Tree Swallows by GMcD2008, on Flickr

With the blooming of the Salmonberry and Red Currant bushes, comes the Rufous Hummingbirds. This fellow was guarding his favourite Red Currant bush at Terra Nova Park in Richmond.
Rufous Hummingbird by GMcD2008, on Flickr

IMG_6668 by GMcD2008, on Flickr

Goodness! I go away for 6 weeks and y'all load up the pages ... so many great images ... love all the pictures. It's really nice work, everyone!
Sorry, Judy, for leaving you hanging this month. I, like GMcD, got busy with miscellaneous other things. haha. However, I was able to get out this morning and found a couple of birds to add to our list
(which I will update immediately following this ...)
Here is a Ring-necked Pheasant I saw while driving over towards Roberts Lake in Kelowna.


I saw several varieties of ducks on different ponds, but most of them have already been posted! However, here is a Redhead (male/female) (for you Judy!)


Finally, here's a pair of Californial Quail (male/female) from the House. I didn't think we had the pair yet ...


Enjoy!
James

We are currently at 115 birds! Wow. Excellent work here in late winter/early springs. It seems like the birds are getting more and more active. I'll be out tomorrow looking to see if I can add to our number. Thanks everyone for the great participation!
James
Current List: viewtopic.php?p=92043#p92043

Here is a Cedar Waxwing from a few weeks back at Buttertubs Marsh. I think I have a few more missing from the new list. Too much birding, not enough editing.
Cedar Waxwing by Bill Gyles, on Flickr

No problem James...I was just starting to get a little concerned when it seemed that everyone had gone into hibernation or something .
I went out to Piper Spit at Burnaby Lake Regional Park and got 1 new addition for the list - a Sandhill Crane. There were 2 of them, and I'm assuming they are the local breeding pair who have been around for quite some time, but I couldn't get a good pic of them together.
Sandhill Crane by Jewill on Flickr

I also have a few "half" additions - either the male or female to complete what has already been posted ("yes" I still try to get both in the same shot James).

1st - a Male Brown-headed Cowbird.
Brown-headed Cowbird (Male) by Jewill on Flickr

2nd - a Female Greater Scaup
Greater Scaup (Female) by Jewill on Flickr

And finally - a Male Pileated Woodpecker
Pileated Woodpecker (Male) by Jewill on Flickr

Spring migration is upon us so I'm looking forward to seeing everyone's pictures of the beautiful warblers and other seasonal visitors. I'll try to get some in too!

The Mountain Bluebirds are travelling through the Island. This photo was taken yesterday at Nanaimo River Estuary, where there were about 10 of them. The Greater White-Fronted Geese flew over Quennell Lake while I was trying to get a decent picture of a flying swallow. I've never seen more than 2 or 3 GWFG together before.
Mountain Bluebird by Bill Gyles, on Flickr

Greater White-Fronted Geese by Bill Gyles, on Flickr