December 31, 2007
We went to Sardis Park this afternoon for a good walk, there were quite a few people walking around the park, as well as a lot of lovely birds.
Our first sighting was a very pretty White Duck swimming with a group of Mallards.
The Mallards were doing a lot of courting displays and rituals on the pond today as we walked around and there were a lot of them already paired off. They seem to like people at this park and when we were spotted by them, they would run or swim toward us.
There were a lot of Cackling Geese at the park today; we noticed one that had a very tawny chin strap compared to all the others.
At the far end of the park, we noticed Greater White Fronted Geese acting up among the Canada and Cackling Geese. They were also doing some sort of courting ritual.
Common Mergansers were among all the other residents of the pond as well as a few Scaup and Northern shovelers.
A very pretty female Belted Kingfisher sat for awhile above the pond while watching us to see what we were doing.
American Coots are always at the park and are so easy to photograph there; their voice is a lovely little bark.
Then just as we were rounding the end of the pond to head to the car, we spotted the highlight of the day for us. It was a pair of Eurasian Wigeon, they were sleeping while floating peacefully on the pond. They lifted their heads for a minute for us and we just loved the look of the pretty little birds. This was the first time that we had ever seen these birds and we were thrilled. Here are photos of them with their cousins the American Wigeon for comparison.
After that we came home to have a lazy afternoon and nice evening. Thanks for reading our journals this year. We are looking forward to more to come. May you all have Health, Wealth and Happiness in the New Year of 2008.
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December 29, 2007
Having a sort of cabin fever from a few days of bad weather, we decided that we just had to get out for a walk today. The weather co-operated and we had a nice long walk around the Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve.
The South Lagoon had a quite a few birds on it, most prominent were Common Mergansers, Hooded Mergansers, American Coots, Mallards and Ring-necked Ducks.
The North Lagoon had a few Buffleheads and Hooded Mergansers floating on it when we walked past.
There were quite a few Eagles at the reserve today; we heard that there were over a dozen of them near the gravel pit at the end of the dyke road. We saw at least five or six just walking around the Salwein Creek loop.
When we got to the East Bird Blind we counted at least eleven Great Blue Herons, some roosting, while some were flying. Behind the blind, we saw a few Mallards and an American Wigeon.
Song Sparrows, Chickadees and Juncos were interspersed along pathways and we managed to get a few photos of some of them.
There were four Double-crested Cormorants using a pair of logs on the North Lagoon to take a break from fishing, another young Cormorant came along and mounted the log with the rest of them. As soon as it got on the log, it lost its balance and as easy as falling off a log, it did just that. Splashing into the water, it swam around the log with looks from some of the others that seemed to show disdain for the mistake that it had made.
It started to climb back onto the log with one of the others giving it look that suggested that perhaps the other Cormorant was not pleased with it coming back. When it got back onto the log, it shook its head and sprayed the other Cormorant next to it, which managed to cause the other to pull its head back, while the one next to the end gave it a look of horror.
When all this was done, one of the Cormorants looked over at us with a look as if to say, I hope that you got all this with your camera! Of course, this is all in my imagination but fun to put a cute story to the event.
As we were leaving we saw five Swans flying over the reserve and ran into Scott and Connie with their sweet dog.
We stopped off to say hello to Eileen at the Rotary Interpretive Centre before heading home, it was an enjoyable walk after all the rain that we have had lately.
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The Week Of
December 18 to 22, 2007
Although, ‘tis the season to be jolly and busy, we did get out for a few walks this week. The weather hasn’t been all that co-operative and the dark days of late Autumn aren’t the best for photography but we did get a few photos that we are posting from the week.
We have made a few visits to the Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve and always find some birds hanging out there in the more sheltered areas in this cold weather.
The Great Blue Heron continue to roost in their usual favourite spot above the East Bird Blind, over the past week we have seen quite a few of them there with their shoulders hunched up against the cold.
Behind the East Bird Blind, we have encountered mostly Mallards and Wood Ducks, it always has some birds of interest hiding in the little cove behind the blind.
We have seen the usual Towhees, Song Sparrows, Chickadees, Juncos and flocks of Bushtits. One afternoon we came across a flock of the Bushtits enjoying themselves in the long dry grass beside the pathway of the Salwein Creek Loop. Unfortunately, it was very dark and it was hard to catch them flitting quickly among the long grasses.
The mountains viewed from there are always magnificent and a couple of days gave us some really nice views of sun on their snow covered tops.
Of course, there are always the resident Double-crested Cormorants; they like to use logs to survey the water for fish.
One afternoon while we were wandering past the North Lagoon, the Buffleheads were performing a courting ritual, flipping water, wagging their heads, males motoring along after each other; the one in front would dive into the water for cover and pop up behind the one chasing it, then pull up beside the other one with a flourish of wings.
The pair of Bald Eagles seem to always be together, we often see them in the same Cottonwood near the Heron nests, perched close together, resting before another hunting expedition.
We stopped in at the library last week and while we were there, we took a few photos of the ducks in the pond. When we walked up to the edge of the pond, ducks came paddling towards us. There was the Crested Mallard with its top-knot, looking rakish compared to the other Mallards. There were a few different hybrid Mallards visiting that pond this week. One of our favourites is the Pintail/Mallard hybrid, it has to be one of the prettiest ducks around and it seems to know it.
A couple of Common Merganser males were paddling along at one edge of the pond, while two Ring-necked Ducks were closer to the library opposite them.
We also spent some time taking a walk around the pond at Sardis Park; Cackling Geese were among the Canada Geese on the pond. Numerous Gulls were there and one posed very close to us; we find that most of the birds here are not at all wary of people.
The pretty caramel coloured hybrid Mallard was there again as well as the Bibbed Mallard. Both of these birds are so very different and lovely to watch.
We took numerous Mallard photos along the way.
The Toulouse Goose and its offspring were wandering along the grassy areas, always ready to pose it seems.
There were American Coots everywhere as usual and the mountains from the park were splendid.
American Wigeon crossed a pathway in front of us; seemingly oblivious to our presence.
Double-crested Cormorants were on every log available, giving us baleful looks when we pointed our cameras at them. One of them showed us the true meaning of contortionist.
Buffleheads and Common Merganser graced the waters of the pond giving us another reason to pause in our walk to watch them while they are around for soon the weather will get warmer and they will migrate from here.
Ah, here it is December and we are thinking of warmer days and birds migrating, but it is only for a short time that we get to view these wonderful visitors before they fly off to another locale.
Now, we are sitting inside keeping warm from the snow and wishing you a very happy holiday ahead. Keep warm, safe and if you get a chance make someone else happy this season; with a smile or a nod you can change a person’s day.
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December 14, 2007
We stopped in at the Rotary Interpretive Centre for a minute to say hello to Leon and Walter before heading out on our walk.
We are always accompanied by Black-capped Chickadees around the Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve and today was no different. They like to follow along in the shrubs at the edge of the pathways, checking for insects and seeds; sometimes one will lend its voice to the other sounds of birds and let us know that they are nearby.
At first the only ducks that we saw on the lagoon were a pair of Common Merganser and the rest of the lagoon seemed totally empty of ducks but a few minutes later there were Buffleheads, Grebe and Mergansers popping up from the depths of the water. One little Grebe after popping up, saw us and just sunk down into the water, it didn’t dive just sunk. We’ve seen them do this before, if they sense someone around they will sink below the surface and come up somewhere far away from where they first were spotted.
Three Great Blue Heron were roosting in the trees near the East Bird Blind, they seem to like it there more than other spots because of it being so sheltered. We find that the wind dies down quite a bit in that area and we also find relief from the biting wind that seems to drop the temperatures in open areas.
There was a very pretty little Hooded Merganser paddling around the little cove with some Mallards and American Wigeon.
There were a lot of Towhees, Juncos and Song Sparrows along the pathways today as always; one of the Song Sparrows caught in our camera lens was busy at the edge of the Salwein Creek, dancing back and forth in the shallows of the water.
Above all this activity, we spotted more than one immature Bald Eagle and one fully mature Bald Eagle surveying the scene below from high up in various trees.
As we were walking past the log on the North Lagoon, three Double-crested Cormorants got out of the water after a fishing expedition to get a better view of things.
There was a lot of activity near the Viewing Tower with Northern Flickers, a Belted Kingfisher, Golden Crowned Kinglets and a Ruby Crowned Kinglet.
The South Lagoon had the usual flocks of waterfowl; an American Coot was closest to us for a quick photo. A Hooded Merganser flew out of a little cove with a Great Blue Heron close behind and a few minutes later the Great Blue Heron flew back into the cove out of range of our cameras behind a thicket of shrubs and bulrushes.
Snow graced the mountains behind the Rotary Interpretive Centre and we stopped for a few minutes to say hello to Val, Barb and Janet before heading home for some hot cocoa.
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December 10, 2007
The day was warmer than it had been lately and we decided to take a walk around the Salwein Creek Loop. As we were parking the car, we noticed a Bald Eagle enjoying a moment in a Cottonwood tree near the dyke road so we did a bit of a detour to get its photo.
As we were coming back from the detour that we made, Mount Cheam called for attention, its majestic peak recently frosted with snow.
The pathways were sprinkled with a skiff of snow left over from Sunday’s snowfall. There were beautiful icicles hanging from logs over the creek, a long row dangling down almost touching the water.
Chickadees followed us along the pathways as always, while Juncos flocked in the shrubs near the creek.
While we were taking photos of a pretty Hairy Woodpecker, Dick showed up and joined us for our walk.
We saw a Great Blue Heron roosting and napping in the trees above the East Bird Blind.
At the East Bird Blind we were lucky to see a flock of Bushtits stopping in the Blackberry, Hard Hack and Bullrush seed heads for a bite to eat. They always amaze us and get our attention for as long as they are around.
We started back along the pathway and Dick pointed out a Kestrel sitting on a snag of an old Cottonwood. This took our attention for a long, long time. They are such tiny little hawks and we love little birds.
We were interested in getting home to see our photos, so we stopped in the Rotary Interpretive Centre and said a quick hello to Leon, Val, Stella and Doug. We then headed to the parking lot, stopping on the way for a quick photo or three of some Finches in blackberries across the road from the parking lot. Then on to the road to get home to see our photos.
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December 8, 2007
We took a walk around the Great Blue Heron Nature Reserve today, the temperature was 1 C or 33.8 F and with the wind blowing we found it extremely cold. There were three Double-crested Cormorants at the edge of the North Lagoon sheltered from the wind by the East Bird Blind. They looked rather content standing there together, while a flock of Mallards, Wigeon, Green-winged Teal and a Grebe paddled towards the little cove behind the blind.
Along the pathway toward the East Bird Blind, we saw large chunks of broken ice on a puddle showing how thick the water had frozen; these chunks were placed there courtesy of a group of Young Naturalists on a field trip earlier in the day.
There were a couple of Great Blue Heron roosting and preening in the trees at the East Bird Blind. While we were photographing them, another couple of Great Blue Heron flew in to roost. The looks on the faces of these grand birds and the way they were hunched up gave us pause to wonder if they feel the cold as much as we do and we hope that they do not.
While we were in the East Bird Blind, which by the way was quite a bit warmer being sheltered from the wind, the flock of Wigeon and Mallards swam determinedly toward the shelter of the cove behind the blind.
Along the pathway, there is a small ditch where beads of ice have formed on the stalks of dried grass, the water starting to warm and the movement from the grass in the wind has caused the ice to melt slowly leaving these interesting beads.
As we were passing the Annex, a Flicker flew into the Cottonwoods along the dyke road drawing our attention and we went over to investigate a sound coming from the Cottonwoods. As we approached we found that the odd call was coming from a couple of Ravens in the trees.
Looking back toward the Rotary Interpretive Centre, we could see Mount Cheam looming majestically over it with its recent snowfall diminished by last week’s heavy rains.
A pretty little Song Sparrow jumped onto a stump and chirped at us, calling our attention. It seemed to be intent on getting us to look at it, coming closer into a small Alder to give us a better look.
The South Lagoon had a flock of American Wigeon, Ring-necked Ducks and Bufflehead floating nonchalantly, seemingly unconcerned that the weather was beyond chilly.
One of the Double-crested Cormorants had taken to a log in the centre of the North Lagoon when we were on our way back to the Rotary Interpretive Centre.
We stopped in at the Rotary Interpretive Centre and had a chat with Judy, Leon, Dick and Janet before heading home to hot cocoa and a warm house.
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December 6, 2007
We decided to take a walk around Sardis Pond today, the sun was shining and the sky was blue. The temperature wasn’t so bad for December so there we were, the park was empty of people but there were Common Mergansers socializing with each other on the pond.
A young female Belted Kingfisher was sitting over the edge of the pond observing the water for something yummy.
A Gull speared a nice looking fish on its bill and proceeded to have lunch while other birds around moved closer for a look.
The Northern shovelers were swimming with their heads up instead of circling each other with bills buried in the water, a nice change to be able to photograph them without having to wait for them to bring their heads out of the water.
There were Hooded Merganser swimming in groups and pairs, adding some colourful interest for us.
American Coots were on the pond and grazing in small flocks around the park, as we wandered the pathways they never moved far out of our way or worried much about us being near them.
There were at least four Grebes on the pond today, we find them rather different than the rest of the waterfowl; they seem almost furry and are tiny in comparison to the other birds.
A Great Blue Heron standing in the reeds at the edge of the pond was rather well camouflaged, he later moved to another spot on land next to the pond where he was quite visible and spent some time grooming there.
A grey squirrel gleefully pranced across our path to see what it could find up a Douglas Fir Tree.
There was at least one pair of Lesser Scaup keeping company together on the pond.
Four Double-crested Cormorants shared a log and spent time fishing near to the group.
Mallards were the largest flocks there today and they always are pretty with their deep rich colours.
The Toulouse Goose was touring the pond with her young “Tou-Can” in tow. They are always together even though the young hybrid must be over a year old now.
A pair of American Wigeon were sleeping under a willow tree with a group of Mallards.
There were the usual Canada and Cackling Geese scattered around the pond. As we were leaving another large flock came in honking; I’m sure announcing their arrival for the other birds on the pond to move out of their way.
Having other things to do today, including grocery shopping, we headed home for lunch.
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December 5, 2007
After staying inside Sunday during the incredible snowfall and dreadful low temperatures of 26F or -3C and being too busy Monday and Tuesday, it was time to go for a walk even though the sky was grey and rain was still threatening. We headed out for a walk along the South Lagoon at the Great Blue Heron Reserve, as we passed the bridge, we looked back toward the East Bird Blind and saw a Great Blue Heron sitting in a tree above the blind.
The South Lagoon had flocks of Ring-necked Ducks, American Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Buffleheads, a Grebe and a couple of Double-crested Cormorants.
After a quick peek at the inlet behind the West Bird Blind we headed up the path to the East Bird Blind and North Lagoon. Some way along the path we turned and saw the Kingfisher fly away from a tree just by the West Bird Blind.
There was a Bald Eagle sitting in a tree overlooking the reserve, somewhere just past the North Lagoon.
At the East Bird Blind we found a pair of Wood Ducks, some Mallards and a Grebe.
Along the pathways, little song birds flitted by, they were mainly Chickadees but there were also Song Sparrows, Kinglets, and Juncos.
A group of Starlings was hanging out in an old snag just above the Salwein Creek Loop. A Hawk was skulking in another tree; hoping to find lunch before sunset.
The sun came out as we were leaving just in time to catch a few House Finches and a Chickadee with its light.
Off home again, after a nice walk in fresh air with temperatures in the bearable range for awhile.
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