March 29 - Iona Regional Park

For whatever reason, all the Metro Vancouver regional parks have remained open to the public. I decided to give Iona a try on a busy Sunday. I did my best to stay away from people as much as possible, which might be my normal modus operandi when birding anyway.

Upon arrival, it was very crowded with cars, people, and Snow Geese!


Snow Geese - Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

Here's a close-up of one individual. The orange on the face and head comes from rooting around in the soil for plants to consume.

Snow Goose - Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

My first photo of a Tree Swallow at Blakeburn Lagoons Park was not very good. This one is somewhat better.

 

Tree Swallow - Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

The Red-winged Blackbirds are numerous and noisy here. They are easy to photograph.

Red-winged Blackbird - Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

Red-winged Blackbird - Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

Juvenile Male

I thought the shot above was a female, but did my homework before publishing this post. There are no indications that females ever have red on the sides. This is a juvenile male. It's also a really good photo in my humble opinion.

Another shot I quite like is this first winter Golden-crowned Sparrow. Shooting conditions were good on this sunny day.

Golden-crowned Sparrow (Imm) - Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

I was now quite far from the crowds, exploring the area north of the outer ponds and heading east towards the fenced inner sewage ponds. I saw a colourful bird in a blackberry bush, my first warbler of 2020. It's also a rare photo of the yellow rump.

Yellow-rumped Warbler - Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC - 2020 Bird #72

Here's a more dignified pose. This is the western Audubon's race of this species. The Eastern Myrtle race has a white throat and less white on the wings.

Yellow-rumped Warbler - Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

I was making my way back to the parking area by the outer ponds and took some more shots of birds I'd already seen.

Tree Swallow - Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

Red-winged Blackbird (F) - Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

I'm pretty sure this is a female when compared to the earlier photo of the immature male.

This snow goose is having some shut-eye. the earlier chaos has calmed down.

Snow Goose - Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

This next bird was a great catch, Violet-green Swallows can be tough to find among all the Tree Swallows.

Violet-green Swallow - Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC - 2020 Bird #73

I had one more look at a Warbler near the large outer pond.

Yellow-rumped Warbler - Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

And the birds kept popping up, including this Chickadee

    Black-capped Chickadee - Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC

This next shot has puzzled me, but my only conclusion is that it's a female Barn Swallow in a gust of wind. I wonder if it had that stick or branch stuck on it's right side. 

Barn Swallow - Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC - 2020 Bird #74

And finally, I had hoped and expected to see a Marsh Wren here. I waited for a while by the outer pond, and finally heard one. It was fairly easy to locate from the sound, and I took a couple of shots (both of the rear of the bird) to end the day.

Marsh Wren - Iona Regional Park, Richmond BC - 2020 Bird #75

Here's looking at you...