Pt 3 White Rock Pier

Once we determined the direction we were headed, Kim and I made it to White Rock in record time. The last time I had been here was a couple of years ago with out of town guests and at that time the tide was way out.The group of us ventured out to the water's edge to watch a lone wind surfer and the gulls play in the breeze. If there was anything else there that day, it would have been out normal visibility.

On the drive there, Kim and I kept our fingers crossed that the gentleman we had met up with at Blackie Spit was not giving us a story to get us away from some special bird he had hiding and wanting all to himself..haha. We parked the car and went to pay at the meter only to find there would be no charge....for the month of February it was free parking Monday through Thursday....woohoo...it's already started off great. As we started the trek across the pier, we saw there were definitly lots out there but just a little to far yet to decide just what. It did not take long before we saw them, exactly what we had come here for...Black-winged Scoters, both male and female and they were awesome!

Female

Male

We were thrilled...another life bird and a very cool one at that. We learned later that day, that it is uncommon to almost rare to see scouters inland..well we were inland and we saw them, several of them...what a thrill!!

As I was watching the scouters, I noticed something large in the water but wasn't quite sure what it could be...there were two humps, kinda like the Loch Ness Monster....hmmmm. Pretty sure it was a seal, I snapped a few shots to have a closer look when I got home. The photo is not the best but you can see him blending in with the ripples of the water.

Harbor Seal

Along with our newly found life bird were a handful of Double Crested Cormorants....

Lots of pigeons of all colours.....

 Gulls galore.....

Some barnacles....

A cute Buffle head couple.....

A very proud Bufflehead with his head held high....

A lone Horned Grebe which had been a life bird earlier at Blackie Spit....

A Common Loon that entertained us for some time.....

Many homes and shops on the hillside in this very popular place to live...

And then of course there is the big white rock on the beach

The journey to White Rock had not been in the days agenda but it was a side trip that was well worth it. Our tummy's were starting to growl telling us it was time for the peanut butter sandwiches we had packed with us so we headed back along the pier to the beach. I love the ocean and I loved what I had been able to observe and was ready to head off to our fourth and final stop of the day. As we walked along the pier, I had my eyes peeled on a pair of birds near the shoreline.I wasn't sure if it was another Bufflehead couple or a pair of scouters that had come closer to land...it was neither....we had ourselves another life bird for the day...male and female Common Golden Eye...too cool!!!

Female

Male

Buckled back up in the car, peanut butter sandwiches devoured, thrilled with the day we were having, I put my hand in my pocket where the penny I had found early.......held it between my fingers wondering how this day could get any better..........and off we went.....next and final stop of the day, our favorite birding spot, the George Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary........................