July 08, 2007
Taylor Park Abounds With Birds
This afternoon Yumi discovered a patch of native blackberries on one of our regular walks around Byrne Creek, so I headed up the hill from the Southpoint Dr. cul-de-sac into the as yet undeveloped part of Taylor Park, a former landfill in Burnaby. When I got to the open area surrounded by brush I saw dozens of birds of various species. It's an optimal area for birds with lots of berry bushes transitioning into an open meadow-like area. I hope the city doesn't clear it all out and turn it into a monocultural "people" landscape. I saw robins, various sparrows, a red-tailed hawk, American goldfinches, cedar waxwings, chickadees, towhees, swallows and others that I couldn't identify. I'm not really happy with these shots -- they were all taken handheld at the full 432mm telephoto of my new Canon S5 IS -- and even with image stabilization they'd be a lot better with a tripod and a closer distance to the subjects. Live and learn...
American goldfinch -- I saw at least seven species using this perch tree.
Cedar waxwing.
A hummingbird and unidentified pal.
American robin with a berry.