Grebes, Gulls & Loons

After dropping off family that were visiting for the long weekend at the ferry, I noticed there were several Loons along the causeway. Not having been there in a while, thought I would give them a try today. Of course there were none in sight when I started my walk.

Horned Grebe
Horned Grebe

There were, however, good numbers of Horned Grebe.

Horned Grebe
Horned Grebe

They were busy diving and catching small fish. While a little leery initially,

Horned Grebe
Horned Grebe

… they went about their activities not too far off from the shoreline. I was not the only one interested in the Grebes.

Ring-billed Gull
Ring-billed Gull

This Ring-billed Gull was adhering to the old adage, why catch your own when you can take someone else’s.

Bonaparte's Gull
Bonaparte’s Gull

A couple of Bonapate’s Gulls hoping for the same did not fair as well. As I continued along the ferry causeway towards the terminal there were some Loons.

Common Loon
Common Loon

Unfortunately, despite the high tied they were not coming in that close this afternoon.

Black Oystercatcher
Black Oystercatcher

Of course there are always some of the regulars along the causeway to make up for this. Such as the Black Oystercatcher, of which there were about six around,

Great Blue Heron
Great Blue Heron

… and a few Great Blue Heron. Then on my way back with the sun going down,

Common Loon
Common Loon

… one last chance for a Common Loon with this juvenile.

Pecs, Least & Pipits

It was still fairly windy when I left home for my walk this afternoon, but no where near like the gusts we were getting last night and this morning. On arriving at Boundary Bay the breeze had pretty much subsided and it was quite pleasant. So while the conditions were great, once again it was fairly uneventful on the birding front.

Pectoral Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper

There were a pair of Pectoral Sandpipers,

Least Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper

… accompanied by a Least Sandpiper.

Least Sandpiper & Pectoral Sandpiper
Least Sandpiper & Pectoral Sandpiper

They eventually hunkered down together for a rest.

American Pipit
American Pipit

There were still several American Pipits around the pilings and along the shoreline. The odd man out this afternoon,

Pumpkin
Pumpkin

… was this pumpkin way out on the tidal flats. Not sure how it got there, perhaps an omen Halloween is on its way.

Pecs, Yellowlegs & Plover

While it was a little brighter at Boundary Bay today, which is good from the photography perspective, it was still fairly quiet on the birding front.

Pectoral Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper

At first I could only locate a handful of Pectoral Sandpipers.

Pectoral Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper

They were foraging close to the dyke along the high water mark.

Greater Yellowlegs
Greater Yellowlegs

In the tidal pools around the pilings,

Greater Yellowlegs
Greater Yellowlegs

… was this lone Greater Yellowlegs.

Greater Yellowlegs
Greater Yellowlegs

It was quite cooperative providing a few good photo opportunities.

Pectoral Sandpiper
Pectoral Sandpiper

As the afternoon progressed I noticed there were several more Pectoral Sandpipers tucked away amongst the clumps of eelgrass a little further out. Still no Sharp-tailed Sandpiper though.

Black-bellied Plover
Black-bellied Plover

On my way back I managed to get fairly close to this Black-bellied Plover which was on its own on the periphery of the main flock.

Mixed Shore Bird Flock
Mixed Shore Bird Flock

This larger flock had Black-bellied Plovers, Dunlin, Sanderling and Western Sandpipers.