Delta Naturalists Society

The weather forecast called for possible showers and we did encounter some drizzle as we departed Tsawwassen about 07:30, however, 7 intrepid birders turned up for our walk along the North side of the slough.  Marion was early, and the rest of us a bit late as the traffic was slow in spots. The group included Roger#1, Mike B1, PB Lorna, Janet H, Marion S, Noreen & David.

Although we started out skirting fairly fresh bear scat, birds were not plentiful, but the vocal ones like a Steller’s Jay and a vocal Brown Creeper by the path, and either a Pileated or Northern flicker in the distance caught our interest initially. Tall grass made it impossible to see all of the slough or ditch, but Wood Ducks, Mallards and a noisy Great Blue Heron were evident.  Although there were a few minutes with light rain, it did not amount to much and by the end it was warm and the sun made its presence felt.

We did not sight a Green Heron that is often present, but Roger encouraged us to move along towards the river where he assured us there would be a Gray Catbird.  Spotted Towhee, Song Sparrow, American Robin, Cedar Waxwing, and American Crows were in the bushes and tree tops, but as we neared the end of the slough it was a very large Black Bear that got us all excited.  Roger’s target for the day!  We had seen lots of blueberry-stained scat, but this was the real animal, and it headed down between the rows of blueberry bushes, quickly being obscured from view amongst the bushes.

As we arrived at the benches by the Pitt River, a Great Blue Heron was perched above the pump-house and there were gulls, an Osprey and a Double-crested Cormorant on the far shore, and several smaller birds (Song Sparrow, Common Yellowthroat, Yellow Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Cedar Waxwings, American Robin, and Downy Woodpecker) in the bushes along the shore.  A second Osprey along with some Ring-billed gulls and a Glaucous-winged gull crossed the river to our side improving our photo opportunities.  This second Osprey appeared to be a young one, and although it dipped its feet in the water a couple of times, we did not get treated to a strike.

Mike B1 headed back and we continued along the river dyke as two Turkey Vultures cruised overhead and smaller birds flitted in the brush.  A Willow Flycatcher and Hairy Woodpecker were seen, and we heard a “mew” repeated almost as if two Gray Catbirds were calling back and forth.  I recorded this interaction as they moved further into the brush and BirdNet gave 100% certainty for the recording, so although we did not see the bird, Roger had directed us to them at this precise area (Listen here: eBird Checklist – 8 Sep 2021 – DeBoville Slough, Coquitlam – 36 species).

As it was nearing 11:00, Lorna, Roger, and Janet headed back to join Mike, and the three of us continued a short ways to where we had seen a Turkey Vulture disappear, and we found a young one perched on a broken tree (white, not red head).  From here we retraced our steps, and off the bench where we first saw the Osprey there were now 2 on the close offshore pilings, and one appeared to now be eating a fish.

Further along we added 3 Belted Kingfishers, a pair of Northern Harriers who flushed a Killdeer, Purple Finches, an Orange-crowned Warbler, and we heard a noisy Red-tailed Hawk that remained out of sight.  We also photographed a Green Frog (Eastern – introduced) and then encouraged it to cross the path and avoid being road kill with the bicycles zipping past.

Near the entrance we encountered a smallish red “dragonfly” that Marion was certain was a Meadowhawk.  It paused long enough to be photographed and then identified as the White-faced Meadowhawk, one of the species in the soon to be printed Damselflies & Dragonflies in Delta brochure.   We three were back to the cars by 13:00 after an interesting morning with 36 bird species identified or heard.  Ebird list below.
David Hoar

DeBoville Slough, Coquitlam, Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, CA
Sep 8, 2021 8:47 AM - 12:39 PM
Protocol: Traveling
2.76 kilometer(s)
36 species

Canada Goose  6
Wood Duck  5
Mallard  16
Eurasian Collared-Dove  2
Anna's Hummingbird  2
Killdeer  1
Greater Yellowlegs  1
Ring-billed Gull  2
Glaucous-winged Gull  2
Double-crested Cormorant  1
Great Blue Heron  4
Turkey Vulture  4
Osprey  2
Northern Harrier  3
Red-tailed Hawk  1     Heard
Belted Kingfisher  3
Downy Woodpecker  1
Hairy Woodpecker  1
Northern Flicker  5
Willow Flycatcher  2
Steller's Jay  3
American Crow  6
Black-capped Chickadee  7
Brown Creeper  1     Heard
Gray Catbird  2     Heard only
American Robin  11
Cedar Waxwing  7
House Finch  1
Purple Finch  3
White-crowned Sparrow  2
Song Sparrow  9
Spotted Towhee  3
Orange-crowned Warbler  1
Common Yellowthroat  4
Yellow Warbler  1
Yellow-rumped Warbler  2

View this checklist and photos online