Chapter 8: August

By early August, the southbound shorebird migration is in full swing and there were still many species that I needed for my SemiPen year list. However, it seemed that the shorebird flocks were not visiting Blackie Spit much, other than yellowlegs which were often present in impressive numbers. I saw only small numbers of peeps and the plover flocks seemed to roost on the living dykes – the new flood protection structures – at Boundary Bay instead of gathering on the saltmarsh across from Blackie Spit. While birding at Boundary Bay, it was not unusual for me to see two or three shorebird species that I still needed for my SemiPen year list with the Semiahmoo Peninsula in the background. 

On August 10, I was pleased to find a Stilt Sandpiper with the yellowlegs at Blackie Spit.  The next day, I finally connected with a single Semipalmated Sandpiper there. On August 14 and 15, I noticed a sudden influx of Baird’s Sandpipers at Boundary Bay, so figured now was the time to try for one at Blackie Spit. In my experience they are most reliable on the actual spit during very high tides, which flood the remainder of Mud Bay. On such a tide on August 16, I observed two Baird’s Sandpipers at the end of the spit. As a bonus, there were also four Red-necked Phalaropes and a juvenile Franklin’s Gull visible from the end of the spit.  The latter was the same bird I found at Boundary Bay the day before and I saw it again on August 19, this time among a gull roost at Crescent Beach.

Stilt Sandpiper at Blackie Spit (August 11, 2024)

Elgin Heritage Park has good potential for three key SemiPen target birds in August. The first, Green Heron, I was lucky to observe on my first visit there on August 4. Solitary Sandpiper quickly followed on August 7.  Both birds stayed for over a week and I saw them repeatedly. My third key target was Northern Waterthrush. One has never been seen there, at least according to eBird, but there is a predictable passage of waterthrushes through Metro Vancouver in the second half of August and the habitat at Elgin Heritage Park seems perfect. Despite eight visits to Elgin Heritage Park throughout the month, and another two to Crescent Park which is where I have seen my one and only waterthrush on the SemiPen, I never connected with one. In fact, the fall of 2024 turned out to be very poor for Northern Waterthrushes throughout Metro Vancouver, with much fewer reports than in previous years.

Green Heron at Elgin Heritage Park (August 4, 2024)

Solitary Sandpiper at Elgin Heritage Park (August 7, 2024)

A much more common bird that I still needed, and one that time was running out for, was Cliff Swallow. Except for Barn Swallows, the other swallow species tend to disappear from Metro Vancouver early and inconspicuously. I was beginning to see large numbers of Barn Swallows feeding over the saltmarsh across from Blackie Spit, and with a scope could occasionally pick out all the other species except for Cliff. I suspected that most of these Barn Swallows roosted in the corn fields along 40^th Avenue and an evening visit to Elgin Heritage Park confirmed this when I saw several hundred swarming above and descending into the corn stalks across the river for the night. I was surprised to see a Short-eared Owl fly over, but still could not pick out a Cliff. Finally, on August 11, I again observed several hundred Barn Swallows wheeling above the same corn fields while scoping from Elgin Heritage Park. However, on this day, they frequently landed on the dirt bank of the newly raised dyke on the north side on the Nicomekl River. This allowed efficient scope views and I was able to pick out a single Cliff Swallow; a sooty brown and poorly patterned fresh juvenile that barely resembled a Cliff Swallow save for its buffy rump. This flock also contained many Bank Swallows. I counted nine perched on a single scan and there were surely more among the swallows that were airborne. I ended up seeing Cliff Swallows again on August 21, this time at Blackie Spit when many swallows were landing at the end of the spit on a blustery morning.

Cliff Swallows at Blackie Spit (August 21, 2024)

Bank Swallows at Blackie Spit (August 21, 2024)

Other notable odds and ends from August included a Bullock’s Oriole at Blackie Spit on the 10^th, a Chipping Sparrow at Blackie Spit on the 11^th, and a Great Horned Owl at Alderwood Park on the 14^th. 

Bullock's Oriole at Blackie Spit (August 10, 2024)