Delta Naturalists Society

Twelve DNCBers were signed up for this walk, but only three of us bravely turned up: Chris McV, Jim K, and me. Interestingly, we are all from Tsawwassen which was probably the only area south of Vancouver with snow on the ground this morning. Warmly wrapped up, ready for the weather, we were very pleased to have clear blue skies for our morning stroll around the varied habitats of Terra Nova Park.

The area was once part of Richmond’s extensive farmland and then the subject of citizen environmental action to protect it when a major subdivision was proposed. Some houses were built in the northwestern corner of Richmond, but fortunately this important wetland and treed area was retained as a nature park. Together with the marshes outside the dyke, this habitat is part of the Fraser Estuary Important Bird Area.

First sightings were three Buffleheads and a Coot in the freshwater ponds, and a Great Blue Heron studying something in the water rather carefully. Sparrows gradually came from their roost sites under the bushes – mostly Golden-crowned and Song Sparrows at first, with some Fox Sparrows in the more densely-vegetated areas. A Peregrine Falcon sat quietly in a tree, and two Bald Eagles posed nicely for their photograph. We ambled through to the public gardens area, reminiscing about flocks of Snow Geese seen in previous years and other such delights. Spotted Towhees began calling and sitting up on bushes, and a few Robins began flying into treetops. The world was slowly waking up. Maybe we could have come an hour later at this time of year?

For some reason, a winding path through a little woodland seemed to have appeared behind the gardens since last time I was here, so of course we went down it. This was a good idea until a fallen tree trunk led to some gymnastics to get under it. Emerging on the far side, in various ways, we had views of a variety of birds: a tight flock of about 40 calling Pine Siskin overhead, a Hermit Thrush hopping in the undergrowth, a Red-breasted Nuthatch busy on a conifer, and a female Anna’s Hummingbird just above our heads.

We walked inland along a trail and counted the same Black-capped Chickadees, Song Sparrows and Fox Sparrows several times over as they followed us along. Feeling rather cold, and perhaps doing more chatting than birding (my fault), we turned around and headed to the West Dyke. A big flock of Snow Geese were out at the edge of the marshes, and duck of various species were flying in the distance. A Northern Harrier cruised by a couple of times, but no sign of any Rough-leggeds today. A flock of Dunlin flew past in tight formation, and American Wigeon grazed in the shallows. The last bird for the list, a lone Rock Pigeon, was pecking on the ground at the edge of the car park, giving us a tally of 31 species for the 2-hour walk.
Anne Murray

Photos on Flickr

Anne’s eBird list