Water Birds & Owls

It was still pretty grey when I headed out this afternoon, but at least it was not raining. My destination today was Brunswick Point. After arriving, and before heading out to the point, a quick check of Canoe Pass was in order as a couple of things caught my eye. Canoe Pass is that portion of the South Arm of the Fraser River that goes into Ladner Harbour. The first thing that I noticed,

Long-tailed Duck
Long-tailed Duck

… was this Long-tailed Duck. There were some Western Grebe out there as well, but they were even further off than the Long-tailed.

Red-breasted Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser

Next up were some Red-breasted Merganser.

Red-breasted Merganser
Red-breasted Merganser

It has been a few years since I last photographed one of these.

Barrow's Goldeneye
Barrow's Goldeneye

Bonus bird of the afternoon was this Barrow’s Goldeneye.

Barrow's Goldeneye
Barrow's Goldeneye

The Barrow’s Goldeneye is a new addition to my life photo list. So, some interesting waterfowl from the birding perspective, unfortunate the weather was not better from the photography side of things.

Double-crested Cormorant
Double-crested Cormorant

Of course the the usual Double-crested Cormorant were on the pilings of the old Brunswick Cannery (photo).

Once on the dyke trail around Brunswick Point things were fairly quiet. The usual Northern Harriers and one Short-eared Owl were active over the marsh. About half way along there was a change from what has been the norm.

Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl

There were four Snowy Owls roosting in closer to the dyke.

Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl

My last few visits to Brunswick Point they have always been some distance out.

Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl

While not as close as the ones at Boundary Bay have been of late,

Snowy Owl
Snowy Owl

… it was nice to see the ones here in closer providing better views. The numbers are not as great here either, I counted seven today. There is usually twenty plus in the bay area.