Eighteen DNCBers braved a rainy Tuesday morning walking the Boundary Bay dyke trail from 104th almost to 88th and back. We saw thousands of shorebirds, waterfowl and other species; check out the photo evidence on our DNCB Flickr site (more coming).
Some left Petra’s at 7:30 am and we all met at 8:00 am at the entrance to the Delta Heritage AirPark on 104th Street. Following the customary introduction of Newbies, and the chatfest about “WTF are we doing here on a day like this?”, we wandered up to the dyke trail.
The tide was receding, and there were thousands of Dunlin and hundreds of Black-bellied Plovers fairly close to shore. There were thousands of ducks and Snow Geese along the water’s edge in the distance. The number of birds feeding here in the Bay was simply astronomical. We only had one scope, but everyone had good looks at the aforementioned species plus Greater Yellowlegs, the most numerous ducks, Green-winged Teal and Northern Pintail, and Bald Eagles which interestingly seemed to be singly posted among the shorebirds, about 50 metres apart all along the Bay.
With only one scope in the misty weather, we were unsuccessful picking out less-common species among the Dunlin and Plovers (e.g. Golden Plovers, Sandpiper species, Godwits, etc.), but we did see a couple of Sanderling. We spent a lot of time scouring the bushes and shrubs along the trail for “little birds” of which there were lots, but mostly common species like Sparrows (Song, White- & Golden-crowned, Fox), Finches (House) and Spotted Towhees. We did pick out one or two Lincoln’s Sparrows. David recorded 26 species on his eBird List for the outing.
The rain stopped, but it was still overcast and our bins occasionally fogged up. On the walk back, we finally got a Falcon (Peregrine, we think). Lots of Northern Harriers, some Eurasian Collared-Doves, tonnes of Redwings and Starlings.
Approaching 11:30 am, we aborted the outing and eleven of us retired to the Skyhawk Restaurant at nearby Boundary Bay Airport. Mike enjoyed the Denver Omelette (my recommendation from my yesterday’s Remembrance Day brunch there), Glen had the only Beer (Pale Ale, I had two delicious Honey Lagers yesterday), and I had a huge, scrumptious, Hot Roast Beef on Toast with Mushrooms, Onions & Gravy, Cube Fried Potatoes, and a Coffee (yes coffee, I was a bit chilly from carrying the scope and regrettably nixed the Beer). Anyhow, everyone enjoyed their brunch, and especially the affable Maddy’s service (She took our Group Photo too).
The 18 Weirdos were: Organizer Terry, Historian Mikey B, North Delta Pat & newbie Gloria, Worldly David & Noreen, Richmond Brian & Louise, White Rock Colin & Wazza, Johnny Mac, Chauffeur Roger Two, still newbie Vancouver’s Lori d’A, Ladner Pam Two & Matt, Langley Bob, our Flickr & Photog Guru Glen, and me. Despite the weather, it was another very enjoyable DNCB outing.
Next Tuesday, November 19, we will leave Petra’s at 7:30 am for Stanley Park. We’ll meet others at the 2ndBeach parking lot, by the swimming pool, around 8:15 to 8:30 am, depending on traffic.
For more info on this and other outings, reports and photos, check out our website. As always, your comments are welcome, and let me know if this weekly boring drivel annoys you and you want off my email list. Cheers: Tom
Tom Bearss, President, Delta Naturalists Society (Wow, quick report eh)
Boundary Bay, Delta Nov 12, 2019
26 species
Snow Goose 2130 Thousands offshore Tide out
Canada Goose 22
Northern Pintail 1000 Thousands of ducks offshore (falling tide) many are probably Northern Pintails
Green-winged Teal X Hundreds
Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) 3
Eurasian Collared-Dove 2
Black-bellied Plover 27
Sanderling 2
Dunlin X Thousands
Greater Yellowlegs 7
Ring-billed Gull 1
Glaucous-winged Gull X
Northern Harrier 4
Bald Eagle 15
Peregrine Falcon 1
Northwestern Crow 6
Black-capped Chickadee 7
American Robin 2
House Finch 5
Fox Sparrow 1
White-crowned Sparrow 28
Golden-crowned Sparrow 3
Song Sparrow 4
Lincoln’s Sparrow 2
Spotted Towhee 3
Red-winged Blackbird 215
Delta Naturalists Society 
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