January 25 and 26 - Point Roberts, Delta and Backyard

This is another combination post featuring Point Roberts on both days, Highway 91 in North Delta, and in our backyard in North Delta. I am splitting them by location and rather than by date.

Point Roberts  - Lighthouse Marine Park

January 25

The great thing about this location is that there is always the chance of seeing something special. January 25 was no exception. The day started with a common duck.

Common Goldeneye - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

And then things got interesting. I see this bird here a few times a year, never quite as close to shore as I would like. This is probably my favorite duck.

Long-tailed Duck - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA - 2020 Species #51

A rare shot of the front of the bird. This one is a male. The long tail is usually underwater, it is very long but also thin.This bird used to be known as the Oldsquaw. Fortunately the name was changed about 20 years ago.

Long-tailed Duck - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

January 26

Back again on the Sunday with a different set of creatures. I like this shot, every once in a while one gets lucky with a common bird.

Northwestern Crow - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

Out on the surf, a Horned Grebe had caught a meal, probably a Sculpin.

Horned Grebe - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

It was my day as a Sea Lion was seen quite close to shore. At first I thought Harbor Seal, but it seems too big for that.

Stellers Sea Lion - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

Stellers Sea Lion - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

And finally, the last shot at the Point, a pair of Goldeneye in flight, male in front.

Common Goldeneye - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

North Delta

January 25

On my way back from Point Roberts I spotted a Red-tailed Hawk alongside the highway. I was able to safely pull over and snap a couple of shots. It's scary when they notice you looking at them!

Red-tailed Hawk - Highway 91, Delta BC

Fortunately,it decided I wasn't worth the trouble.



Upon arriving home, I saw my first of year American Goldfinches at our feeder, still in their basic (non-breeding) plumage. They're still present in late March as I write this post.


American Goldfinch - Backyard, North Delta BC - 2020 Species #52

Here's a better shot. On the left is another first of year, a Pine Siskin.


Pine Siskin (Left) - Backyard, North Delta BC - 2020 Species #53

January 26

On this Sunday afternoon we had a real treat looking out into the back yard from the living room. It was a Pileated Woodpecker in all its glory.

Pileated Woodpecker - Backyard, North Delta BC

2020 Bird #54

Pileated Woodpecker - Backyard, North Delta BC

And just for good measure, our local Downy Woodpecker put in an appearance.

Downy Woodpecker - Backyard, North Delta BC

This ended the birding for January. February would be quite productive as well.

January 18 and 19 - Backyard, Point Roberts and Boundary Bay

This post is a bit of a hodgepodge of birds, starting and ending in our back yard.

January 18 - Backyard

My friend Mary-Jean had been sending me photos from Cultus Lake of numerous of Varied Thrushes she was seeing in her yard. I was tempted to make a quick trip out there on the weekend if I didn't see one at home first.

I was working at home on this day, probably due to snowy conditions. Edith called me into the living room as she'd seen a Thrush through the window. I grabbed my camera and snapped off four or five shots. I'd like to have opened the window but was afraid of scaring the bird. However, these shots turned out fairly well.

Varied Thrush - Backyard, North Delta BC

January 2020 - 2020 Bird #43

Our resident Black Squirrel was up in the same area as the bird.

Black Squirrel  - Backyard, North Delta BC

January 18 - Point Roberts

My weekly visit resulted in a couple of new birds for the year. Photo conditions were not great, although this Gull turned out okay. It helps to be close, and these birds are not shy.

Glaucous-winged Gull - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

I had not seen Harlequin Ducks yet this year, so I was happy to see this pair.

Harlequin Duck (F) - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA - 2020 Bird #44

And here's the male:

Harlequin Duck - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

And here's a nice shot of a male Surf Scoter in bright breeding plumage.

Surf Scoter - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA

There wasn't too much else going on. I decided to check out Boundary Bay in South Delta.

January 18 - Boundary Bay, 72 Street

It was my lucky day. I saw my first Short-eared Owl of the year quickly after arrival. It was about 500 meters away, so the photo is not that good.

Short-eared Owl - Boundary Bay, Delta BC - 2020 Bird #46

Another first for the year, but not as exciting was a White-crowned Sparrow in Basic plumage.

White-crowned Sparrow - Boundary Bay, Delta BC - 2020 Bird #47

This Flicker shows how chilly it was on this day.

Northern Flicker - Boundary Bay, Delta BC - 2020 Bird #46

I also liked this Junco shot that I took before leaving.

Dark-eyed Junco - Boundary Bay, Delta BC 

I left Boundary Bay and headed for home. There was still more birding to be done.

January 19 - Backyard

When I got home I had a quick look at the bird feeder and grabbed my camera. There was a nice collection of birds feeding. I'd missed our resident Chestnut-backed Chickadee so far, but it showed up today.

Black-capped and Chestnut-backed Chickadee - Backyard, North Delta BC - 2020 Bird #48

A bit later there were Finches and Juncos at the feeder. The bird on the upper left is a female House Finch. I believe the one on the upper right is a female Purple Finch based on the eyebrow and the notched tail.

Dark-eyed Juncos, House Finches and Purple Finch (F),

Backyard, North Delta BC

House Finch 2020 Bird #49

Purple Finch is 2020 Bird #50

That's it for this post. I've still got one or two more January posts to do.

January 4 and 12 - Reifel Bird Sanctuary and Point Roberts

I'm putting these two two dates in one post for convenience as I only have one photo from the 12th for a new 2020 species.

January 4 - Reifel Bird Sanctuary

I picked up a few new species on this day, including everyone's favourite falcon.

But the first species seen were these attractive small ducks. I like the subtle effect of the reflections in the water. I'd seen them on the 1st so they weren't a new 2020 species.

Green-winged Teal - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC



Somehow I missed seeing Hooded Mergansers on the first. But I made up for that on this day.

Hooded Merganser - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC - 2020 Bird #38

It's unusual to see this bird out in the open at Reifel, I sure all the ducks were aware of it.


Peregrine Falcon - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC - 2020 Bird #39

It's worth another photo:

A couple of more from January 4th at Reifel.


Northern Harrier - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

And this elegant male Gadwall.


Gadwall - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC - 2020 Bird #40

January 4th - Point Roberts

Only one photo for this section. The Red-breasted Mergansers are fast flyers and are usually quite far from shore, so I had to crop this quite a bit.

Red-breasted Merganser - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA - 2020 Bird #41

January 12th - Reifel Bird Sanctuary

One last photo for this post. this was a very brief trip to Reifel for some reason, I only nine photos in total over a period of about 3 minutes. It was a Saturday and may have been too busy to stay.

These birds are residents of the sanctuary and I saw them close to the entrance gate. This was the best photo I managed.

Sandhill Crane - Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC

2020 Bird #42

January 1 Part 1 - Backyard, Serpentine Fen and Point Roberts

Welcome to my 2020 Birding Blog. It took me a while to finalize the format, so the look may change going forward.

Each year on New Year's day I try to have a "Big Day"  to kick start my year. This year I picked up 37 species at in Delta, Surrey and Point Roberts. This post covers the first half of the day.

The very first bird of the year was a Junco in my back yard.

Dark-eyed Junco - Backyard, North Delta BC - 2020 Bird #1

Up on the deck an Anna's Hummingbird was at the feeder.

Anna's Hummingbird - Backyard, North Delta BC - 2020 Bird #2

It was time to head off to some birding locations. As I was leaving the neighborhood, there was one more common bird to record.

Northwestern Crow - Davie Way, North Delta BC - 2020 Bird #3

For some reason I thought Serpentine Fen would be a good place to visit, but it was quiet except for a couple of ducks overhead.


Northern Pintail - Serpentine Fen, Surrey BC - 2020 Bird # 4


Mallard - Serpentine Fen, Surrey BC - 2020 Bird # 5

Point Roberts. Lighthouse Marine Park

This location was better, but not great. I spotted some of the regulars there for the first time in 2020. Some of the photos turned out poorly. The light on the water made up for the scarcity of birds.

The first bird seen here was a Greater Scaup. The rounder peak of the head differentiates it from the Lesser Scaup. The other factor is Greater is more likely to be seen in salt water, the Lesser prefers fresh water.

Greater Scaup - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA - 2020  Bird #6

The next shot was not quite as attractive. The Scoters stay farther out, so I had to crop this a bit. I see groups of Surf Scoters on most visits to this location.


Surf Scoter - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA - 2020  Bird #7

This next shot was even worse, and this bird was far out as well. Normally they are along the shoreline or on land.


Glaucous-winged Gull - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA - 2020  Bird #8

There are two species of Cormorant seen here on most visits. This first one is definitely a Double-crested, based on the face pattern and bent neck in flight..


Double-crested Cormorant - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA - 2020  Bird #9 

 This one is a Pelagic Cormorant based on the straight neck in flight. It is a little bulkier than usual, so it may be a Double-crested as well.


Pelagic Cormorant - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA - 2020  Bird #10

A common sight in Winter here is the Horned Grebe. It's usually solitary, as was the case on this day. The water is nice in this shot but the bird could be sharper.


Horned Grebe - Lighthouse Marine Park, Point Roberts WA - 2020  Bird #11

I left the park and took the long way back along Marine Drive past the Marina and then onto Tyee Drive. I saw a car stopped along the way. A woman was looking at birds with her binoculars. I stopped and chatted and she told me she'd seen an American Kestrel ahead in the direction I was traveling.

There were some Canada Geese in the area. I took a few shots of them before heading for the Kestrel.


Canada Geese - Tyee Drive, Point Roberts WA - 2020  Bird #12

A bit further up the road I did see a bird with some Orange but it turned out to be a more common species.

American Robin - Tyee Drive, Point Roberts WA - 2020  Bird #13

I carried on and saw a larger bird perched in a tree. Still not the Kestrel, but a Red-tailed Hawk.

Red-tailed Hawk - Tyee Drive, Point Roberts WA - 2020  Bird #14

Finally, just a bit further along, I spotted the Kestrel. I was glad to see this bird so early in the year as they can be hard to find sometimes. 

American Kestrel - Tyee Drive, Point Roberts WA - 2020  Bird #15

That was the end of part one of the January 1st post. A second post detailing birds seen traveling to and visiting Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta follows this one.