Delta Naturalists Society

10 of us gathered at Colony Farm at 7:30 am on a cloudy but dry morning. We were locals Jonathan and Lorraine, Warren and Lynne, Stephanie and Colin, Brian and Louise, Janet, and me. I had arrived 45 minutes earlier to check out the field to the west which had singing Willow Flycatchers, a Ring-necked Pheasant calling, 2 flyover Mourning Doves, and a handful of little sparrows, towhees and the usual songbirds found in shrubby habitat. No Lazuli Buntings.

Jonathan and Lorraine led our group off around the south edge of the garden plots and along the river. The weather brightened up as we walked and lots of birds were singing. Swallows swooped overhead, mostly Tree Swallows using the nest boxes provided, but also Violet-greens, and we later had a close up view of a Northern Rough-winged Swallow. Willow Flycatchers called from bushes, a lovely male Northern Harrier gave a flyby, and a Turkey Vulture soared overhead.

Band-tailed Pigeons were flying over in flocks, and seemed to be circling around. We listed 33 total, but there may have been more. Ring-necked Pheasants called out of sight. A Wood Duck with ducklings, and a few Mallard were on the river. Two Eastern Kingbird pairs were seen, one pair at its nest in the tree at the junction.

Swainson’s Thrush, Western Tanager and Black-headed Grosbeak were calling at the wooded area near the pond, and Red-winged Blackbirds were occupying the reed beds. Jonathan did his magic and found us not one, but two, American Bitterns: the first one was tricky to spot as it stretched its neck upwards pretending to be grass. A couple of singing Yellow Warblers showed themselves well in this area too.

Feeling pleased with our tally of 39 bird species, we were still missing one special bird: Lazuli Bunting. We met with one of the park’s bird banders who reported “loads of them” in the closed off area. Heading back, Janet reckoned that checking an area she had seen them on a previous trip would be a good idea, so we walked through the garden plots to the northeast corner. There, singing on the top of a tall tree, was a beautiful male, gorgeously coloured against the blue sky! A great finale for a fun morning birding together again.
Anne Murray

Photos are on Flickr