October 14, 2018 - Rusty Blackbird at Burnaby Lake

A couple of days before this posting date I received an email from my friend Mary-Jean with a photo of a male Rusty Blackbird she had just seen at Burnaby Lake Park. I'd seen this species once before in December 2014, but had one crappy photo on that occasion.

I quickly checked the BC Rare Bird Alert and saw that both a male and a female had been sighted.

Here's two of the photos that Mary-Jean took:


Rusty Blackbird - Burnaby Lake Regional Park - Photo by Mary-Jean Payeur


Rusty Blackbird - Burnaby Lake Regional Park - Photo by Mary-Jean Payeur

I made my way to Burnaby Lake on the following Saturday and was fortunate to see the male bird as well.


Rusty Blackbird - Burnaby Lake Regional Park - October 2018
2018 Bird #198

I did not locate the plainer female bird, but did see the male interacting with the common Red-winged Blackbirds. The Rusty is quite a feisty species.


Red-winged and Rusty Blackbird - Burnaby Lake Regional Park - October 2018

I took a few more shots of the Rusty and then focused on some of the other birds found at the park.


Red-winged Blackbird - Burnaby Lake Regional Park - October 2018

As usual there were many Mallards on the lake.


Mallard - Burnaby Lake Regional Park - October 2018

Less numerous, but more striking were the Wood Ducks, both the male and female are very photogenic.


Wood Duck - Burnaby Lake Regional Park - October 2018

I especially like this picture as the male dabbles in the water.


Wood Duck - Burnaby Lake Regional Park - October 2018

The female was showing off her elegant colours.


Wood Duck (F) - Burnaby Lake Regional Park - October 2018

Here, she's scolding a male for some reason, he probably deserved it.


Wood Duck (F) - Burnaby Lake Regional Park - October 2018

This ended my day at Burnaby Lake. A big thanks to Mary-Jean for alerting me to the Rusty Blackbird.