Birding, July 11, 2026: Abbreviated avian adventure

Where: Tlahutum Regional Park (Coquitlam)Weather: Mostly cloudy, 21°C I guess my Forerunner 265 wasn’t lying when it said take a rest day, because I was so pooped in the morning that I skipped Reifel and Boundary Bay. Nic swung by after, and we spent some quality time in the community garden at Tlahutum. Tlahutum Regional Park For the first part of the outing, we hit the trails, and it was mostly Song Sparrows and the occasional crow, but we did see a young, scowly Great Blue Heron sitting atop one of the bird boxes near the big pond. The big pond itself was looking a bit green, and seemed to be bird-free. On the way back, we spotted a small group of what were probably young Rough-winged Swallows hanging out in a few trees south of the trail, their extra-big mouths still not quite assuming adult form. One adult, and likely a parent, was sitting among them. Weirdly, we saw a couple of Barn Swallows just standing on the trail. Maybe they do it sometimes just to see what it feels like.…