First Days Birding in Canada 2011

One of many Bald Eagles

My first Snowy Owl!

I’ve been staying at the Super 8 Hotel near Vancouver Airport – a reasonable budget type motel closer to the Vancouver birding action as it is on the south of the city. I spent today - the 29 December with John Vooys [birdingpal.com] around the greater Boundary Bay – Tsawwassen area and it was, predictably enough, great. John was excellent company and knew both the birds and the geography very well.

Russ, Count 'em!!

We started the day near the Boundary Bay Airport and surrounds – reacquainting myself with large numbers of Bald Eagles. Soon however we found the main quarry; Snowy Owls – more than 15 birds had moved from their normal habitat a way north and had found a home among the bay side vegetation and the photographers that gathered there in even greater numbers! There were several recently erected signs advising people not to disturb the wildlife and while the majority obediently stayed their distance a few photographers got too close seeking the perfect shot. It was fantastic to see such a species and I count myself fortunate indeed to be here with the Snowies as they only make it down every five years or so. It was great too, to see so many people – clearly dudes – enjoying the rare spectacle of the owls. One of the odd features of birding around the bay was the occasional ‘boom’ of hunters’ guns bringing down one of the many ducks flocking in the bay’s waters. The swarms of ducks featured Mallard, Wigeon, Pintail, Lesser Scaup and Brant with Pintail being a major target spp judging from a hunter’s bag sighted on the way out.

Dark-eyed Junco

Golden crowned Sparrow

Small passerines included Purple and House Finches, Golden-crowned, White-crowned, Song and Fox Sparrows. Juncos and Spotted Towhees rounded out the smaller birds. Northern Flickers -  a flock of four – put in an appearance.

Fields in the area also held wildfowl; chief for me among them were Trumpeter Swan. Also great numbers of Northwestern Crow and Glaucous-winged Gulls and the occasional Herring.

The next stop was the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal. It is here that people make their way to Vancouver Island. Birding here was wonderful; again waterfowl dominated but this time featuring all three species of Scoter and Bufflehead and grebes [Horned and Western] plus Common Loons in their winter plumage. [Speaking of winter plumage, for me relatively little was needed as the temperature stayed in the positives all day. Having said that, it was still cool with a maximum of about 8 degrees Celcius.] The rock wall leading to the Terminal had a few pair of Black Turnstone – a major target for the day and another lifer!

Lunch was authentic American - McDonalds and it was here i encountered a clumsy Canadian who unintentionally shared his coffee with me and my jeans and then completed the picture with an equally clumsy attempt at my accent. An elderly gent, on hearing my accent, turned and revealed himself to be wearing a tucked in St George Rugby League jersey and claimed to have played with them many years previously. He bid me fair well by saying,"seeya Banana bender."

After a lunch we got a tip off of a recently sighted Gyrfalcon which we searched for in vain before calling it a day. All in all a tremendous day.

*** - lifers

Common Loon

Horned Grebe

Western Grebe

Double-crested Cormorant

Pelagic Cormorant

Great Blue Heron

Brant

Mallard

Northern Pintail

Northern Shoveler

American Wigeon

Lesser Scaup

Black Scoter***

Surf Scoter

White-winged Scoter

Common Goldeneye

Bufflehead

Red-breasted Merganser

Trumpeter Swan***

Bald Eagle

Northern Harrier

Red-tailed Hawk

Peregrine Falcon

Black Turnstone

Ring-necked Pheasant

Black Oystercatcher

Dunlin

Black Turnstone***

Mew Gull

Herring Gull

Glaucous-winged Gull

Eurasian Collared-Dove

Short-eared Owl

Snowy Owl***

Northern Flicker

Northwestern Crow

Marsh Wren

American Robin

European Starling

Spotted Towhee

John Vooys and very large kelp

Fox Sparrow

Song Sparrow

White-crowned Sparrow

Golden-crowned Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Red-winged Blackbird

Brewer's Blackbird

Purple Finch

House Finch

48 SPP

*** - lifers