I spent several hours chasing birds at Fraser Foreshore Park in south Burnaby, BC, this morning.
Great Blue Heron
Junco
Spotted Towhee
Steller’s Jay
Male Wood Duck
Female Wood Duck
Gadwall
Black-capped Chickadee
Sparrows
Eurasian Collared Dove
Snowberries
Good gosh, but coho in their near-end-of-life spawning colours are gorgeous.
Look at these stunning coho that Byrne Creek Streamkeepers volunteers processed today for species, size, and spawning status in south Burnaby, BC.
Please note that it is illegal to interfere with spawning salmon, so if you come down to the creek to look for salmon, please stay out of the water and on established trails. Thanks!
Look at the tail of this female. It’s worn down to a nub. She worked hard to dig a nest in the gravel and cobble to deposit her eggs. What tenacity. . .
We spotted seven live coho and processed four dead ones on our patrol for spawning salmon on Byrne Creek in Burnaby, BC, today.
We also saw a Merlin for the first time, and a Red-Tailed Hawk munching on something with a crow looking on.
We debated an ID, and after I posted to iNaturalist got a confirmation of a Merlin.
UPDATE: Found a few more shots of the hawk on the other camera.
I try to get down to Centennial Beach in Delta, BC, part of Metro Vancouver’s wonderful regional parks system, every few months. I went down today, and was amply rewarded. . .
Bald Eagle
Great Blue Heron scratching an itch : -)
Great Blue Heron keeping watch
American Wigeon
Bufflehead
Bunny
Beetle
Crow
Northern Shoveler
Northern Harrier
American Robin
Cedar Waxwing
Spotted Towhee
We were blown away by the variety of fungi on the Jug Island Beach Trail in Belcarra Regional Park today. It seemed like every minute or two we’d encounter something new. Amazing!
We spent several hours rambling Iona Beach Regional Park near YVR. Lots to see!
There were several herons snoozing in the reeds. We’ve seen as many as few dozen there, but only a handful today.
Later in the afternoon they became more active
Just as we were about to leave, a hawk gave us a lovely flyby. . .
Northern Flicker
Spotted Towhee
We spotted a family of river otters in one of the ponds
Iona Beach Regional Park lunch menu. We saw a pair of Bald Eagles team up to take down a duck along the shoreline, and then take it out to a log in the water to eat.
I lugged a couple of cameras around Deer Lake in Burnaby, BC today. Here are some of the results:
Black-capped Chickadee
In addition to the eagles and the barn owl that were highlights of our day in Delta, BC, today, we also saw several Northern Harriers, Finches, Robins, and Towhees.
