Wednesday 6 November 2013

North Shore birding spots

 Two places to bird-watch on the North Shore, and two reasons for bird-watching: 1) A good excuse to get out on a beautiful day and not really do anything.  2) To see an exciting bird!  Maplewood Flats in North Vancouver was the bright sunny spot for lounging on the construction-debris-landfill beach on Sunday, with a view to the north and the recently snow-topped mountains.  Ambleside pond in West Vancouver had the exciting bird - a Harris's sparrow, which was a "lifer" for me today (#1201, if you care...).  They breed at treeline in Nunavut and the Northwest Territories, and winter in Texas and thereabouts, so they are rare visitors to the West Coast, worth the short ride from home on a cold damp day.  (Even worth withstanding the onslaught of off-leash dogs at the park - I love dogs, but I also enjoy the occasional dog-free moment, which was notably absent this morning.)  The lovely creature itself is at the bottom, looking like it was drawn from a photograph, which it was.



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