Boundary Bay – Page 4 – CrazyM Bird & Nature Photography

Harrier, Short-eared + Lincoln’s

It was a half decent day with a light overcast and I decided to head out for a late afternoon walk. The destination was the Boundary Bay area to look for migrating and overwintering sparrows. I started form 72 St. and made my way east along the dyke. While checking for songbirds,

… there was the expected Northern Harriers,

… and Short-eared Owls active over the marsh. Beyond the end of the golf course I eventually found a group of active sparrows. They were busy going back and forth from the tree line to the marsh. It was a mix of White-crowned, Golden-crowned and Song Sparrows.

Then one of my target birds made an appearance. This Lincoln’s Sparrow popped up from the ground and posed nicely on the side of the trail for me. This area is also a good spot to see American Tree Sparrows, but I could not locate any today.

Sharp-tailed Sandpiper

Not having been getting out as much as I used to, I headed out to Boundary Bay this afternoon. It was mixed sun and cloud and the tide was out when starting my walk along the mud flats. Not seeing much initially,

… I did come across a small group of Long-billed Dowitchers that were quite cooperative.

There were a few Baird’s Sandpiper present as well. Then things started to pick up,

… with hundreds of Pectoral Sandpipers arriving. With all of the Pectoral Sandpiper present, the search was then on for a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper. A Northern Harrier kept hampering these efforts hunting along the dyke and flushing the shorebirds.

My patience was eventually rewarded when I found this lone Sharp-tailed Sandpiper.

Mountain Bluebird

With signs of spring in the air and local birds starting to nest, migration is also underway. One such migrant that regularly passes through the lower mainland at this time of year is the Mountain Bluebird. Boundary Bay Regional Park in Tsawwassen is usually a reliable location for them to make an appearance and the destination for today’s walk.

There were several other birders and photographers out there today to see this lone male Mountain Bluebird first spotted yesterday.

This afternoon the Bluebird was active both north and south of the observation tower,

… foraging for food amongst the logs. It will be interesting to see if it is joined by any others before moving on. Also of note from the morning a Say’s Phoebe had been sighted, but no longer present when I arrived.