April 4 and 5 - Colony Farms Regional Park

With most places shutdown , I decided to try this regional park in Port Coquitlam. There had been reports of Mountain Bluebird here, which is a story in itself. I'll just say that that bird is still missing from my 2020 list as write this in May.

I was there on the Saturday and Sunday on this weekend.

The park is quite large with a network of trails that take you into different areas of the park. It is divided by the Coquitlam River and has a good marsh habitat along one trail. This is where the bluebirds had been spotted.


Colony Farm Regional Park, Coquitlam BC

I made my way to the marsh area where  the bluebirds had been seen. On the way I saw a few birds.


Golden-crowned Sparrow - Colony Farm Regional Park, Coquitlam BC

I'm always happy to see a Kestrel. but the local birds are not too pleased.

American Kestrel - Colony Farm Regional Park, Coquitlam BC

I've said a lot in my posts about Gadwall being one of my favourite ducks. They were common here and I had to take a few shots.

Gadwall - Colony Farm Regional Park, Coquitlam BC

Gadwall - Colony Farm Regional Park, Coquitlam BC

And here's a female:

Gadwall  (F) - Colony Farm Regional Park, Coquitlam BC

Once I reached the Marsh area, there were a few good photo opportunities.

Bufflehead - Colony Farm Regional Park, Coquitlam BC

And in a marsh there are always Blackbirds, especially these ones.

Red-winged Blackbird - Colony Farm Regional Park, Coquitlam BC

I checked all the nesting boxes but they were all occupied by Tree Swallows . I was informed by a local expert on my next visit that they Bluebirds don't nest here, they just stop over on their way south.

Tree Swallow - Colony Farm Regional Park, Coquitlam BC

The Gadwall liked this small lake.pond in the marsh:

Gadwall - Colony Farm Regional Park, Coquitlam BC

Across the lake, someone pointed out some Turtles on the far shore. I was able to get this shot with my my telephoto lens.

Western Painted Turtle - Colony Farm Regional Park, Coquitlam BC

One final scenery shot as i left, looking north. This might be Coquitlam Mountain, but I'm open to corrections.

With most places being closed, I'd be back here in subsequent weekends.

Footnote:

One one of these days, while I was being told the Mountain Bluebirds had moved on, there were two people about 100 meters away looking at some. By the time I got there, they were gone.!