Back to Back Birds at Pt. Bob

After a bit of a lull, I got 252 + 1 and 252 + 2 both at Pt. Roberts.

You may recall from an earlier post that there are two versions of the Vancouver checklist area, one which includes the small peninsula of Pt. Roberts in Washington, and one that doesn't. Thus far I have made a (completely unnecessary) effort to keep both versions identical for numerical simplicity. However, after seeing a Rock Wren (#252 + 1) at Pt. Roberts on November 1st, my lists have once again diverged and will likely stay this way given the local rarity of this species. 

The main significance of this Rock Wren is that it was #250 for MEHA, the fourth person to join the 2015 250 Club. And so I would like to extend a big congratulations to someone who has greatly facilitated the rapid exchange of rare bird alerts and contributed immensely to everyone's Big Years. 

#252 + 1. Rock Wren. November 1, 2015. Pt. Roberts, WA.

After seeing several Ancient Murrelets (#252 + 2) at Pt. Roberts on November 15, I still felt compelled to make an effort to see them in the eBird Metro Vancouver county. My efforts since have included a sea watch from the end of the Iona south jetty, which produced only Marbled Murrelets, and a walk-on sailing on the Tsawassen-Duke Pt. ferry, which produced Ancient Murrelets only on the Vancouver Island side of the sailing, as determined by plugging GPS coordinates into eBird. It has been a great deal of (completely unnecessary) effort for a semi-year bird. Life would be much easier if birders ignored the international border across Pt. Roberts just the same as these murrelets do. 

 Count update: 252 + 2 on Nov 15.

October Briefly

October passed quickly with limited gains. The waning daylight impeded my birding before and after work, a whirlwind of rare birds outside Vancouver took my focus off the task at hand and field work took me out of town for a few days. Consequently, the effort I devoted to my Big Year was limited, as reflected by my piddly submission of only 13 eBird checklists from 9 days. However, there were two notable additions to the list.

A Clark's Grebe, which as rare birds always do, showed up while I was out of town. Fortunately it remained in the area for a couple weeks, swimming back and forth between the White Rock pier and offshore waters of Semiahmoo Bay. On some days it would thrill observers with close up views, while on others it was likely unresolvable among the distant flotilla of Western Grebes. I caught him somewhere in between.

#251 - Clark's Grebe - 9 October 2015 - White Rock Pier. The Clark's Grebe is on the right, with a Western Grebe on the left. With some stretch of imagination you may be able to see paler flanks and a narrower black stripe down the hind neck of the Clark's. And if you stare long enough, you may even be able to convince yourself that it has white lores. 

On October 12th a Tropical Kingbird was photographed along the Richmond West Dyke. Although this species has become of increasingly regular occurrence in recent years, it still remains an extremely rare bird for the area. According to the eFauna Checklist of Rare Birds of the Vancouver Area, there were only 3 records prior to 2008. This bird represents at least the 5th record since then, of which I've now gone 5/5.

#252 - Tropical Kingbird - 13 October 2015 -  Richmond West Dyke at Steveston Hwy.

But to balance these successes there was also great sorrow, the likes of which is known by few: on October 16 I missed a Blue-gray Gnatcatcher found by KELO at Boundary Bay. It was successfully twitched by several first responders¹, however, being the responsible employee that I am, I remained at the office until the afternoon by which point the gnatcatcher was never to be seen again.²

Two other birders joined the "2015 250 Club" in October and deserve special commendation: MITO on Oct 4 and ROLY on Oct 27. Well done both of you!

Count update: 252 as of Oct 31.

Footnotes:
¹Apparently I also missed quite a celebratory dance which I would have liked to see almost as much as the gnatcatcher.
²Despite blogging in anonymity, my blog has been discovered by some co-workers leading to suspicions about my priorities. Surely this sacrifice will alleviate all such concerns.

250



As of September 25, Phase 1 of the Big Year is complete. A Ruff at Boundary Bay was the big milestone bird. Unfortunately, 250 was reached early enough in the year that there remains considerable opportunity for the list to grow. I say "unfortunately" because this means that instead of sitting back with a cold glass of water and relaxing for the rest of the year, I now have to initiate Phase 2: 260-something. Below is a photographic recap of the recent year birds that haven't been featured on my blog

#250 - Ruff - 25 Sep 2015 - Boundary Bay. The Ruff is on the far right end of the island, and an American Golden-Plover is third from the left end.

#249 - Clay-colored Sparrow - 22 Sep 2015 - Stanley Park Rose Garden.

#248 - Sharp-tailed Sandpiper - 22 Sep 2015 - Reifel Bird Sanctuary. 

#246 - Vesper Sparrow - 8 Sep 2015 - Colony Farm.

#243 - Horned Lark - 6 Sep 2015 - Iona Island. Photo taken at the Tsawassen Ferry Jetty on Sep 17, 2015. 

As a tribute to the action-packed fall of shore birding at Boundary Bay, I would like to welcome you to the Boundary Bay Shorebird Simulator. Can you find the Bar-tailed Godwit? And if you're really bored, look for a Red Knot.

New Nemesis Bird

Move over Ruddy Turnstone, there’s a new nemesis bird in town: Red-naped Sapsucker. I spent 9.5 hours over four days looking for three separate Red-naped Sapsuckers during the last week! This species occurs rarely in Vancouver during spring migration, with one or two reported most years. They are reported even less often in the fall, and each repeated opportunity to look for one was highly unexpected. I will again present select excerpts from my Birder’s Diary to tell this grand tale.

Monday, September 14: I am forwarded photos of a “mystery” sapsucker from a private residence in North Vancouver. Though certainly a Red-naped/Yellow-bellied-type, which, or whether a hybrid, cannot be ascertained. I am told I will be informed if it reappears.

Tuesday, September 15: The mystery sapsucker is not seen by the homeowner.

Checking all sapsuckers carefully. (This Red-breasted Sapsucker was found dead on the side of a Douglas fir trunk. It appeared to have gotten its bill stuck in the tree and unable to dislodge it. A very horrible and unlikely fate. Photo: 22 Sep 2015, Stanley Park.) 

Wednesday, September 16: Just as I arrive at Iona in the evening to pursue a reported Brewer’s Sparrow, I receive a phone call alerting me that the mystery sapsucker is back, well photographed and looking very much like a hatch year female Red-naped! The better news still is that the homeowner is willing to let me and a couple crazies come try for it. I consider driving to North Vancouver then, but that would put me through some of the city’s most congested traffic during peak rush hour and would also require abandoning the Brewer’s Sparrow without even looking. Both birds represent good year birds, but I have never seen Brewer’s Sparrow in Vancouver, whereas I have seen Red-naped Sapsucker, so I opt to stay at Iona. No Brewer’s.

Thursday, September 17: Today is a day off work on account of the presence of rare birds. I feel that arriving at the sapsucker property early in the morning is an imposition on the homeowner, so I return to Iona for a second unsuccessful attempt at the Brewer’s Sparrow. We arrive in North Van at mid-day, learn the sapsucker was present earlier in the morning, and wait for 4 hours for its reappearance, which never happens. We leave the property with a new qualifier added to the competition, which is now officially a “No Backyard Birds Big Year”.

Friday, September 18: Half an hour after I finish my pre-work routine (a lap around Queen Elizabeth Park) and arrive at the office, a Red-naped Sapsucker is found at the park. Ouch! Despite receiving news of this bird very promptly, I am unable to find time to twitch it during working hours. I search for two hours after work with MEHA’s help but we are unable to relocate it.  

Saturday, September 19: I spend three hours in the non-stop rain at QE this morning. It seems as if the inclement weather kept many of the migrants present yesterday from leaving; about the same number of thrushes feast on berries by the duck pond, and a mixed flock of similar composition to the day before is moving along the slope of the quarry gardens. But alas, I do not find my sapsucker.  

Monday, September 21: To my disbelief I receive notice of another Red-naped Sapsucker, this one reported from Burnaby Mountain. Curses! For I am at the office without Beatrice (my car) to get me there. Fortunately, I have a very loyal big year support network, and MEHA comes to my rescue, picking me up from work and driving me to Burnaby Mountain with less than an hour of light remaining to find this ‘sucker. As I stick my head in to the foliage of the very first birch tree I find myself looking at the object of my despair. Final score: RNSA 3 vs ILPO 1. Only in the birding world does this translate to a winning score.   

#247. Red-naped Sapsucker. 21 Sep 2015. Burnaby Mountain. Photo: Melissa H.

  

Strait of Georgia Pelagic

No big year is complete without a pelagic trip, even if there aren't any pelagic waters in the checklist area. Sporadic reports of Long-tailed Jaegers and Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels from ferry crossings between the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island offer tantalizing possibilities of what lies beyond reach of a scope on land. And so, to explore those possibilities, a group of us decided to take a boat ride through the Strait of Georgia on September 6.

My primary target was Heermann’s Gull, which I had already seen at Point Roberts, WA, but the objective was now to get one in Canadian waters. Wandering Tattler was target number two, since we are gradually passing their period of peak occurrence and there still have been no sightings in the Vancouver checklist area! But, lastly, Parasitic Jaeger was the only target I truly expected.

Our trip took us from Point Grey to Point Roberts, through waters three fathoms deep and alongside inaccessible breakwaters known only to the hardiest seafarers. It also offered a very different perspective on Vancouver birding, offering novelty in an otherwise thoroughly birded landscape.

Figure 1: Strait of Georgia pelagic route.

Our first stop along the tip of the Iona north jetty produced 11 Surfbirds, 4 Black Turnstones and 60 Sanderling. Offshore from Sturgeon Bank we observed our first Parasitic Jaeger, giving chase to a feeding flock of Common Terns.

#244 - Parasitic Jaeger - 6 Sep 2015 - Strait of Georgia.

At the end of the Sand Heads jetty, which sticks out some 6 km to the west of Steveston, sat my primary target: Heermann's Gull. We observed a second Heermann's Gull closer to the base of the Sand Heads jetty with a gull and tern roost on a sandbar (which contained some 90 Caspian Terns). We estimated 3,000 Western Sandpipers roosting along the outer two thirds of the jetty, and 200 Black-bellied Plovers closer to the base, which also had 2 Red Knots mixed in. I can only imagine all the rare birds that have sat on these rocks over the years! 

#245 - Heermann's Gull - 6 Sep 2015 - Sand Heads Jetty,  Strait of Georgia.

We observed a second Parasitic Jaeger offshore from Roberts Bank, which displaced a group of Common Terns roosting on a floating log. The highly anticipated loop around the 'backside' of the Tsawwassen ferry jetty breakwater was tattlerless, but afforded close views of 60 Brandt's Cormorants. A third Parasitic Jaeger was observed just south of the Iona south jetty on our return trip and close views were had of Common Terns roosting on a floating tern mattress.   

Parasitic Jaeger - 6 Sep 2015 - Strait of Georgia.

Common Tern - 6 Sep 2015 - Floating Tern Mattress, Strait of Georgia.

Many thanks to Melissa for organizing the trip and skipper John for piloting!

Count update: 245 on Sep 6. 

The Hunt for Ruddy

As we approached the mid-way point of August, one of my easier remaining target birds was Ruddy Turnstone. A couple adults had been seen in Boundary Bay while I was out of town in late July, and the juveniles were due to arrive any day. This year they made me work for them. The following are excerpts from my Birder's Diary. 

Friday, August 14: I headed for Boundary Bay during the passage of a low pressure system, hopeful that it would bring the next batch of shorebirds. There I found KELO, and we took turns using each other as a wind shelter while staring teary-eyed through our scopes. Final Ruddy count: 0.

Saturday, August 15: Two juvenile Ruddy Turnstones are found by KELO at Boundary Bay. Meanwhile I'm in West Vancouver, celebrating a successful tattler hunt that unknowingly took me out of checklist bounds.

Sunday, August 16: I'm back at Boundary Bay where the shorebird showing is poor.

Monday, August 17: My third attempt for Ruddys yields the exact same number. But I found a consolation prize better than my primary target: a Buff-breasted Sandpiper (#239). Views were distant but good, but no photos were obtained because the tide shuffled the birds as I approached closer and the Buff was not to be seen again. 

Tuesday, August 18: Together with a foolish cohort in pursuit of the same goal, I staked out a private hummingbird feeder where a Calliope Hummingbird had been photographed. It turns out we are two days too late. As I try to drown my woes in a bowl of pasta, text messages start coming in about Ruddy Turnstones showing well at Boundary Bay. A mad dash from Coquitlam to Boundary Bay gets me there right at sunset (made possible only by MEHA's twitching-mode driving). In the failing light I desperately plead to borrow a dejected shore-birder's scope, then proceed to falsely exclaim "Buff-breasted Sandpiper!", and miss Ruddy Turnstone for the fourth time in five days. These were a productive 15 minutes. 

Wednesday, August 19: I head back to Boundary Bay with a case of twitch-dip blues and a hurt pride. My Ruddy record diminishes further to 0/5, but I find a redemption bird: three Hudsonian Godwits feeding with a plover flock. They were observed simultaneously by MITA from further west, and then they buggered off, not to be relocated again on the rising tide. If I hadn't seen one earlier in August, this would have been another huge score.

Saturday, August 22: A successful connect with a Great Egret (#240) in Tsawassen encourages another attempt for Ruddy. But another evening high tide is shaping up like another Ruddy dip. I stand at the foot of 96th St. with MAWY, as two motorized paragliders make low flights over the mudflats spooking all shorebirds. As their activity subsides, I spot a turnstone a long way out and a long way west. While MAWY stays on the bird, I race further west and lock on to it for closer views: white throat, dark necklace and orange legs clinch the ID as a Ruddy (#241). I snap a record shot and MAWY comes over for a closer look, thereby satisfying MITO's earlier request to have all my birds verified in light of the Buff incident. At last, I'm 1/6. Victory! 

#240. Great Egret. 22 August 2015. Tsawassen, BC.

#241. Ruddy Turnstone. 20 August 2015. Boundary Bay, BC. Long-range, in-the-dark, shorebird photography; my specialty.

Count update: 241 + 1 on August 22.

Waterthrush

Northern Waterthrush is an uncommon fall migrant through our area, with their passage peaking in the second half of August (I. Povalyaev 2015, anecdotal data).  In anticipation of their arrival I had already started checking places like Reifel where I have previously seen them just as the reports started coming in according to schedule. I took my birding kit (bins, scope, camera, census shoes) to work on Monday with the intention of going to Stanley Park that evening to look for a NOWA reported there the previous day. Instead, I got word of another report from Hastings Park that morning. This is just up the street from my office, so, by the end of my lunch break I had waterthrush on my year list. 

#238 - Northern Waterthrush - 17 Aug 2015 - Hastings Park, Vancouver.