The 27th was a Sunday, and it was the day after I got back from my little trip to the north of Vancouver Island. I had thought that I would just rest and hang out at home, but then I made a mistake. I checked to see if there were any interesting birds in town.

It turned out that a few Ruddy Turnstones had been reported from the ferry jetty out in Tsawassen. Ruddy Turnstones would be a lifer for me, and it was a nice day, and so I decided to make a short jaunt out there to see if I could find them.

I stopped at the little parking lot that is on the left right before the traffic light at the end of the jetty. I put on my hat, to keep the sun out of my eyes, and got my camera and tripod out. Before I had a chance to put the camera on the tripod, though, I noticed a big bird circling. As I got the camera trained on it, I was a little surprised to find it was an Osprey; I had been expecting an eagle.

Next I scanned the compensation lagoon and the rocks below me for the turnstones. I had just located them when a pickup truck pulled into the lot. The pickup looked a bit familiar. When I saw my friend Carlo get out, I realized that this was no ordinary pickup...this was Fang. I'd first met Fang at Reifel, and I'd encountered him a few times since. It was good to see him again.

Carlo interrupted my thoughts of Fang and we talked a bit, going back over to the side of the lot so as to view the turnstones. There were four of them, and I took a number of photos. Here's one that shows all four.

The other kind of turnstone that we get is the Black Turnstone, and they also like to hang out at the jetty. Blacks are often quite plentiful and easy to find there. Ruddies only come through once or twice a year on average, it seems. I've tried to find them before, but always ended up missing them.

As Carlo and I stood talking, another familiar face arrived, this one on foot from the direction of the ferry terminal. It was Ilya, and he had come out to the jetty to look for Surfbirds and the Ruddy Turnstones. More chatting and turnstone-watching ensued.

Just as we were about to go, another birder, Roger, pulled up. I haven't spent as much time with Roger as I have with Ilya or Carlo, but I still know him well enough. He's a real gonzo birder, travelling great distances quite frequently in an effort to increase his list of birds seen in Canada.

We all spoke briefly, and pointed the turnstones out to him, before Carlo and Ilya loaded into Fang to head up to another part of the jetty. I jumped in my car and followed. The plan was to search the area near Berth One for Surfbirds.

We did that search, on both sides of the berth, but found nothing resembling a Surfbird. There were a few Harlequin Ducks hiding in the shadows there, though. These two are females.

But that was it for the jetty. Carlo headed off in Fang, and I offered Ilya a ride to where he was headed, the turf farm on 72nd Street. Ilya retrieved his bike from the bike rack and loaded it into my car.

I decided to follow my short-jaunt plan and dropped Ilya off at the turf farm rather than stopping to bird with him there. I was content with good views and good photos of my lifer Ruddy Turnstones, and I did need to rest at least a little before September rolled around and work got busy.

Regretting the passing of August,
Tom