July 18 - Flycatcher morning at Cheam Wetlands

I had a late golf game again at Chilliwack and met up with my friend Mary-Jean early to do some bird-watching. The highlights of the day were flycatchers. I managed some reasonably good photos of a few species.

As usual, Cheam Lake was beautiful in the early morning light.

The first creature of the day was not a bird, but a mammal. There are a number of Rabbits roaming the park.

But the title of the post hints at Flycatchers and it didn't take long for us to spot and photograph the common Willow Flycatcher. 

    Willow Flycatcher - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

The best way to identify this species is by its call, a two-syllable fitz-bew. The white throat and the bill colours (Orange underneath and Black on top) are also good field marks.

I  don't normally associate American Goldfinches with water, but this one seems to have an affinity for H2O.

   American Goldfinch - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

A commonly seen bird at Cheam is the Cedar Waxwing. If you see one, you know there am many more around the park.

   Cedar Waxwing - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

As always, there were Mallards on the lake, this female looks somewhat bedraggled, perhaps from raising a brood of ducklings recently.

   Mallard (F) - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

When we arrived at the end of the Western Loop trail, i was able to use my telephoto lens and get a reasonably good shot of the resident Trumpeter Swan. It was still on the rare bird alert as the only member of its species who had not gone north for breeding.

   Trumpeter Swan - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

Our next sighting was a larger flycatcher, the somewhat misnamed Eastern Kingbird. Although the Western Kingbird is restricted to the West, the Eastern can be seen in the Lower Mainland of BC on occasion. We always see at least one here at Cheam, about 100 km east of Vancouver.

  Eastern Kingbird - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

The next photo is a common bird in an unusual pose.

                            American Robin - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

The next two shots feature on of my favourite birds, a Belted Kingfisher darting over the lake.

Belted Kingfisher - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

Next are a couple of more shots of Cedar Waxwings, a truly photogenic bird.The second bird looks like a recently fledged juvenile.

   Cedar Waxwing - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

   Cedar Waxwing (Imm) - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

We encountered a couple more flycatchers, these one both appear to be Willows'.

    Willow Flycatcher - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

I took the next shot without really knowing what i was shooting. it appears to be a Marsh Wren taking a dust bath, probably to remove parasites.

    Marsh Wren - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

This next shot of a turtle swimming is one I quite like.

    Western Painted Turtle - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

As we were walking the South loop trail, we noticed a flycatcher high above moving around in the upper part of a large tree.It did not appear to be a Willow flycatcher, as the call was wrong. After looking at the photos, i believe this was a Hammond's Flycatcher.

    Hammond's Flycatcher - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

    Hammond's Flycatcher - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

If my ID is correct, this is species #118 for 2020 for me.I suspect it's a lifer for Mary-Jean.

I'm always on alert for Butterflies and got this shot of a Cabbage White along the same trail.

    Cabbage White Butterfly - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

Near the end of the trail, Mary-jean spotted  a possible Swainson's Thrush, a nemesis bird for me. I took a shot of a very murky shape in the bus, followed by this clear shot of a bird. I've concluded this is a juvenile Spotted Towhee, but there may have also been a Thrush in the area that eluded me.

   Spotted Towhee (Imm) - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

The last shot of the day was another Cedar Waxwing, possible an immature bird.

   Cedar Waxwing (Imm) - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

It was now time for me to head for the golf course, I have not been back to Cheam again as I write this on August 7th, maybe next weekend i can get back there.

July 12, 2020 - Sunday Morning at Cheam Wetlands

There was not golf scheduled on Saturday, so this weekend I met Mary-Jean at Cheam on the Sunday morning. My drive out there was a bit crazy, I was passed by a big pickup truck with dirt bikes on the back. They must have been doing 150 KM plus.

Within seconds of them passing me, they were pulled over by a ghost car who was running a radar trap. He must have called for backup, as I saw a marked cruiser pull a U-Turn on the freeway median to come back and assist. Justice was served very promptly.

On to the birding. It didn't take long for us to spot some colourful birds, first this male Grosbeak.


Black-headed Grosbeak - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

And then he was joined by another male, possibly an offspring or a sibling of the first one.


Black-headed Grosbeaks - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

The next photo is a Garter Snake as far as Mary-Jean and I can tell. The magnification of the camera lens makes it look much bigger than it actually was.


Garter Snake  - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

This American Goldfinch was in a colourful setting, I didn't quite nail the photo, but it's worth including.

American Goldfinch - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

I saw my first Vulture of the year last week, and once again here this week.

Turkey Vulture - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

Here's the first Cedar Waxwing of the day, just in launch mode.

Cedar Waxwing - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

Earlier there was a snake, now here's a slug. I captured the detail on this one pretty well.

Slug - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

The light was gradually getting better as the morning went on.  This Song Sparrow shot was an example of how good light improves image quality.

Song Sparrow - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

It's still difficult to get a good shot of an Eastern Kingbird, their contrasting dark and light plumage 

seems to cause exposure issues. This is one of my better results for this species.

Eastern Kingbird - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

Here's a couple of scenery shots to show what a special place this is.

That's rock, it looks a little bit like an Owl.

This next shot is not of a rock, but a colourful turtle.

Western Painted Turtle - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

The next bird was the early highlight of the day, especially for Mary-Jean. And she "spotted" it first.

Spotted Sandpiper - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

Spotted Sandpiper - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

I thought the Spotted was a new bird for me for 2020, but I checked my list at home. I had seen one in May at Iona Regional Park, on the inner sewage ponds. This location was much more aesthetically pleasing.

I quite like the tones on this Robin, probably a female with the lighter plumage.

American Robin (F?) - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

We were just completing the southeast loop trail when we spotted a male Bullock's Oriole close by in the bushes.

Bullock's Oriole - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

An interesting drama unfolded as a female came into the area. I don't think this was a prelude to mating.

Bullock's Orioles - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

These next shots are my first ever good ones of a female Bullock's Oriole. She looks like she survived the run-in with the male.

Bullock's Oriole (F) - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

Bullock's Oriole (F) - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

And the last bird of the day was another Cedar Waxwing.

Cedar Waxwing - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

After 3+ hours of birding it was time to head back home. As it was a Sunday in the summer, the trip was over two hours. But the birds were worth it, especially the Spotted Sandpiper and the Bullock's Orioles.

July 4 - Another visit to Cheam Wetlands and Great Blue Heron Reserve

Once again, I had a late afternoon tee time at Chilliwack Golf course and took the opportunity to meet Mary-Jean at Cheam in the morning. Unfortunately, she had forgotten to charge her camera batteries the night before, so she had only an hour or so of camera life.

Cheam Wetlands Regional Park

We started by scanning the lake, where I captured this Wood Duck. The item in front of him is a rock, but it looks like a giant acorn in the shot.


Wood Duck - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

Nearby were a flock of Mallards dabbling on the lake.


Mallards - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

A Turkey Vulture was soaring overhead, I'd seen my first of the year as I drove into the Park. This was probably the same bird.


Turkey Vulture - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC - 2020 Bird #102



One of my better shots of the day was of this colourful female Blackbird.

Red-winged Blackbird (F) - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

I'd seen my first Cowbird of the year the previous week. There were a couple more today. These both look like males, perhaps father and son?

Brown-headed Cowbird - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

I'd seen my first Eastern Kingbird of 2020 here last week, but only had one poor photo. Today, I had a few better shots.  It is tough to get great photos of this species unless they are close and the light is good. Today's shots are somewhat better.

Eastern Kingbird - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

This next one shows the distinctive tail pattern. Unfortunately the bird is a bit out of focus.

We briefly saw a common Warbler and once again, the shot was not great. 

Yellow-rumped Warbler - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

Here's a better shot of a slower moving target.

Western Painted Turtle - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

When the Cedar Waxwings appear, the photography gets easier.

Cedar Waxwing - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

We were on a roll now as a Yellow Warbler put in a brief appearance.

Yellow Warbler - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

My last shot at Cheam was one of the best, a small unidentified Frog.

Frog (sp)  - Cheam Lake Regional Park, Chilliwack BC

Great Blue Heron Reserve

I didn't have too much time to spend here, but there were a few highlights. This turtle looks very similar to the one we saw at Cheam. But this is a better photo.

Western Painted Turtle - Great Blue Heron Reserve, Chilliwack BC

There were also Cedar Waxwings here. I like the interaction in this shot. I am not sure if this was a parent/child interaction or maybe male/female.

Cedar Waxwings - Great Blue Heron Reserve, Chilliwack BC

There were a few other birds around, here's a Chickadee.

Black-capped Chickadee - Great Blue Heron Reserve, Chilliwack BC

And next was a Downy Woodpecker.

Downy Woodpecker - Great Blue Heron Reserve, Chilliwack BC

And finally the bird the Reserve is named after:

Great Blue Heron - Great Blue Heron Reserve, Chilliwack BC

That was the and of birding for the day., I was off to the nearby Chilliwack Golf Course, where birds and birdies were both scarce.