Delta Naturalists Society

Our group of 8 met at the High View lookout. It was cool and windy, and by the time I got there, early for a change, David and Noreen already had an impressive list of 8 or 9 species, including Band-tailed Pigeons, Warbling Vireo, Swainson’s and Hermit Thrush.

We managed to increase the list to 10, when sharp-eyed Noreen spotted a Western Tanager flying over. It likely kept going, as a search found nothing.

At the cross-country ski area we added a very vocal Hermit Thrush who sang it’s beautiful tinkly song for us for a long time. The Steller’s Jays and Dark-eyed Juncos there were happy to get peanuts, but other sightings were few and far between. Not even the dragonflies were active yet.

We made our way to the downhill skiing area, where we added a few exciting birds to our list, some of which were only heard. A Red-breasted Sapsucker entertained us for a while, easy to see down low,  but impossible to photograph. Several of us heard a bird in the old growth section of the trail, which was later identified as an Evening Grosbeak when we heard the same sound from a different location. Colin also picked up a Sooty Grouse while on the old growth trail, and when we returned to the main trail, found the rest of the group also listening to the grouse. We added Townsend’s Warblers (seen and heard), Chestnut-backed Chickadee,  Brown Creepers, Rufous Hummingbird, Pacific-slope Flycatcher.

The  Coral Root and White Bog Orchids were in full bloom, along with many other plants we do not get to see in town. The dragonflies were hunkered down for the day. We stopped at the power lines on the way down, but saw nothing except too much garbage and no receptacle for it.

All were disappointed not to see a Canada Jay, but the weather was nice, and we enjoyed the different settings. We got a total of 23 species seen and/or heard. 
Marion S.

Photos are on flickr