Despite the fact it tried to snow here again yesterday, signs of spring continue. This morning we walked over to the park...
there was lots of activity along the trail, lot's of Black Capped Chickadee's and
Gold-crowned Kinglets....none terribly cooperative for picture taking...
however the biggest sign of spring....
was a pair of Song Sparrows, nest building. Unfortunately I couldn't catch the female carrying nesting material but I know where the nest is being built at the base of some Pink Spirea bushes and only a couple of feet off of the trail, so a reminder - keep you pets, kids and yourselves on trails....it is that time of the year!
Here is the other half of the Song Sparrow pair.
In the afternoon we ventured a bit further afield to East Sector park near Harrison Hot Springs....wanted to see if there was any sign of Trillium yet - there wasn't, but did find one or two...
Skunk Cabbage in bloom...there were also a very few Salmon berries showing colour. Not actually in flower, yet, but close.
Tomorrow is a supposed to be sunny so will be watching the skies as Tree Swallows were reported in Delta today....we've usually seen there here by now...maybe tomorrow.
It took a while but after a showery morning, this afternoon was beautiful....
we decided to take the walk in the opposite direction from our usual, this one runs along the edge of the Harrison River, heading to where it joins the Fraser way out there.
It was pretty quiet for birds....
but the sun and scenery was lovely
and we found the first 'wild flowers' ....
the native 'Indian Plum' shrub was coming into flower.
Since it was so nice, we then continued on along the route we normally take and to show that spring is definitely on it's way....
this pair of Northwestern Crow were building a nest!
and there were lots of American Robin again.
we had seen one Downy Woodpecker down the other end of the walk (and heard a pair of Pileated), this male Downy was up the other way, mixed in with the robins.
Song Sparrow have been with us all winter, but are now venturing out from the shelter of the blackberry bushes.
Seems it has been a long time since it has been anything but dark, dreary and wet around here.
this is pretty much what it looks like pretty much every day, including this afternoon. There are pussy willows, so I guess that is a sign...
This morning however was a little more promising...
it wasn't brilliant sunshine but the best we've seen for sometime, which is why we walked this morning rather than at our usual time.
It has been about 5 days since we've been able to say 'the robins are back!'....today was the first day I've managed to get pictures of them
think there must have been close to a hundred American Robin, they seemed to be everywhere!
here is another.....
and another.
Also seen for the first time this season....
European Starlings. There have been flocks of them around occasionally, but today they were in the trees. Starling are cavity nesters and nest early so have been expecting to see them.
Here is another sign of spring....the catkins of the alder tree and if you look closely, there are also a couple of Black Cap Chickadee.
The surprise of the day was....
spotting a Brewer's Blackbird. We've been hearing some Red-wings for a couple of weeks, although not seeing very many but this is the first Brewer's for along time.
Now it is March, hopefully all kinds of things will be showing up - if the weather cooperates.
Almost the end of the month and we are still waiting for something exciting to happen.
This was the scene today over at Harrison Bay. Yesterday was a lovely day but unfortunately we had other commitments so couldn't get for a walk.
The day before that we had taken a walk and watched a large flock...
of mainly Cackling Geese, fly in and settle in one of the fields...
we are noticing that many of the Canada Geese are now pairing up.
Today's walk was in the other direction as they were grading the dike...
there were a couple of male Common Merganser snoozing on the beach (sort of right in the middle of this photo) but that was pretty much that except for spotting this guy...
a male Anna's Hummingbird....photo turned out pretty well considering what a dull day it was. They are promising some better weather for the weekend so maybe we will end the month with some sunshine.
Ten days since I last posted anything and I'm still waiting to have something to report! We've had some nice days.....
with the sun shining....log bay here....
Harrison Bay as well.....but birds continue to be elusive.....
The other day a number of swans joined the Canada Geese and Cackling Geese that are usually out in the fields.....
I cropped this one to show that there are Tundra Swan (one on left) as well as Trumpeter Swans still here for about another month.Usually by the end of March they have headed north.
There are a few hopeful signs that things will pick up soon...
this was the scene this morning as we managed a walk during a very brief break in the rain....the tiny dot in the far bush is one of the Red-wing Blackbirds that are now being heard calling on a regular basis and we are also starting to hear and see a few robins.
If weather improves we can start looking Tree Swallows soon as they have been known to show up as early as February 28th .....probably not this year but one never knows!
Haven't posted anything recently because there has been nothing to post! It is oh, so quiet!
With the next 4 days being the international Backyard Bird Count I'm hoping that will change but not holding my breath!
Weather has been pretty damp as well although there have been some nice days....so just to show where things are at....
this is the scene down at our boat launch....did hear a Killdeer out there the other evening. We've also been hearing Great Horned Owls in the evening.
An the general scene over at Harrison Bay. A pair of Common Loon way out there, have seen as many as 4 at a time.
there have been quite a few Canada Geese in the fields and the Bald Eagle pair are hanging about their nest.
Back up at the estuary, the recent high water has done some rearranging at the log bay....only reason the log hasn't floated away is it is chained at one end.
The weather doesn't look terribly promising but let's hope we can all get out and count some birds over the next 4 days.....hoping I'll have something to report!
February 2nd - Groundhog Day, Superbowl Sunday and World Wetland's Day - and boy do we have 'wet' wetlands!
The last day of January brought torrential rains that last for close to 24 hours, with the result that the estuary, that had been all grasslands and gravel bars, looked like this...
when we got up yesterday morning....2 1/2 to 3 feet of water over the entire area.
and it wasn't just the estuary....these are farm fields on the way to our usual afternoon walk at Harrison Bay.
Harrison Bay looked more like a muddy ocean! Wind was so strong there were huge waves out there.
Then this morning we got up to this....
yes, that is snow! Fortunately that is all we got although more is forecast for tonight. You'll note too that the water level has dropped a lot overnight as this was all under water the previous day.
Today actually turned into a lovely sunny day so another walk on the dike was in order...
much calmer out there today! Birding has been pretty quiet too, although out there you can just see...
this trio of female Common Merganser.
There are also lots of geese...most in the fields...
although a few were in the water today as well.
Oh, and look at this!
Pussy Willows!
One more sign of spring....we've had a shift in the hummingbirds in our yard....all winter we've had a male standing guard on the feeders, the last couple of days....
this female Anna's Hummingbird has taken possession of our yard. Hopefully she is thinking of nesting somewhere close by.
