December 4, 2020 - Part 2 - Blackie Spit Park

 We made the short drive from Ladner to Crescent Beach, parked and walked along the shoreline path to Blackie Spit Park. As soon as we were out of the car, we saw some birds on the water. The first was this Common Goldeneye, which I believe was a lifer for Mary-Jean. This is likely an adult female.

Common Goldeneye (F) - Blackie Spit, Surrey BC

Another "Common" bird was close to shore and hunting for lunch.

Common Loon - Blackie Spit, Surrey BC

It submerged for a period and resurfaced with a catch.

We watched this drama for a while, and then made our way into the park.

I took this next shot of an Eurasian Wigeon, a bird I had hoped to see here. I should have brought it to Mary-Jean's attention as it would have been a lifer for her. I just assumed she had seen it. She'll have to wait for this one, as a subsequent visit the next week did not produce any sightings.

The male Eurasian Wigeon is the one with the reddish head and yellow stripe. 

Eurasian Wigeon - Blackie Spit, Surrey BC

As compensation for Mary-Jean, another lifer appears in the next shot, a White-winged Scoter. I think this is probably a first year male that was just beginning to change into adult plumage.

White-winged Scoter - Blackie Spit, Surrey BC

This shot didn't turn out as well as I hoped.  It features a pair of American Wigeon swimming in the reflection of a piling.

American Wigeon - Blackie Spit, Surrey BC

Similar to the Common Loon shot earlier, this one features a Gull that had managed to trap a crab out of the water. The crab was putting up a fight, but I don't think it escaped.

Glaucous-winged Gull (Imm)  - Blackie Spit, Surrey BC

Our next bird was another predator of ocean creatures. In this case we didn't see it catch anything. These birds are always photogenic.

Black Oystercatcher - Blackie Spit, Surrey BC

I love the eye colour of this bird.

We weren't done with Mary-Jean lifers yet. We ventured into an environmentally sensitive, but not restricted, area where we spotted a pair of red finches. I took the shots below and assumed they were House Finches. When I looked at the photos at home, I changed my ID to Purple Finches. This was yet another life bird for Mary-Jean.

Purple Finch - Blackie Spit, Surrey BC

The male above has a larger head than a House Finch and the red/purple colour is more spread over the sides of the bird. The female below has the white eyebrow, not seen on the female House Finch.

Mary-Jean confirmed the ID with the experts on the Birding in BC website.

Purple Finch (F) - Blackie Spit, Surrey BC

The diversity just kept on coming with this Northern Pintail just offshore.

Northern Pintail - Blackie Spit, Surrey BC

Our last bird of the day was a "new" one for Mary-Jean, but I won't get into the specifics.

Horned Grebe - Blackie Spit, Surrey BC

It had been a long day of birding at Ladner Harbour Park and then Blackie Spit. Mary-Jean still had to drive back to Chilliwack once we got back to my home in North Delta.

But she had a good collection of lifers to ponder on here trip back.