During Sunday's visit to Stanley Park in Vancouver I saw a number of interesting birds aside from the Mute Swans and American Coots. The duck in the photo above is called a Wood Duck, Aix sponsa, with a length of 18.5 inches, a wingspan of 30 inches and a weight of 1.3 pounds (600 g). This is a male duck seen near the shoreline in Lost Lagoon. A pair of these birds has been seen on one previous visit to the lagoon.After the visit to the lagoon I spent some time at the stone bridge located between the lagoon and two smaller ponds. There was all kinds of activity in the brush located near the one end of the bridge. I spotted several Pacific Northwest Spotted Towhees (Pipilo maculatus). There are also two other Spotted Towhees, the Southwest Spotted Towhee and the Plains Spotted Towhee. Also seen were several Song Sparrows, the Oregon Dark-eyed Junco and the Chestnut-backed Chickadee. In Surrey where I live I see many Black-capped Chickadees that everyone is familiar with. A little red squirrel was also seen. It came within an inch of my feet and would have eaten out of hand if I had something with me like peanuts or sunflower seeds. Then at the water's edge below a family was feeding the many mallard ducks and swans that had congregated there. There is always something to see in the park if you pay close attention.
Before leaving the park, here is another photo of the heron nests near the tennis courts. The fence for the courts can be seen in the lower right-hand corner of the image.
After I left the park, I saw a father playing the fiddle and his twelve year old son playing the bagpipes, and rather good I might add. This was just off the road near the main beach on English Bay. A small crowd of people had congregated around the boy to listen to him play the pipes. So, you never know what might be seen around the corner or over the hill when visiting the area. If you live in the area, think about visiting the park on one of those rainless days. The sun is an added bonus!
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