Delta Naturalists Society

Tsawwassen Ferry Causeway Report
Glen was already at the terminal pull-in stop when I arrived just after 8:30 am, and Bryan Debou joined us shortly after, arriving impressively by electric bicycle!  The tide was high, and Bufflehead flocks were the dominant feature on the north side: I estimated about 200 birds, total, in sight, both males and females.  Other than that, it was rather quiet, with few of the expected specialities and a very cold and biting wind.

We tallied a few Brant and Canada geese, a handful of Greater Scaup, a lone Surf Scoter, and a close flock of 8 White-winged Scoter.  Other ducks were offshore, and later at the landward end of the jetty, we saw a big flock of “peeps (small shorebirds) in the distance, but I had not bought my telescope today.  Carefully crossing the road, we checked out the other shore where a Horned Grebe, a couple of Gadwall, and 2  Common Goldeneye were nearby.  A Bald Eagle and 2 American Crows brought the tally of species to 18.

We stopped by the Great Blue Heron heronry on the way back down the jetty, and Glen got photos of the herons and their nests.  This heronry is traditionally the largest in the lower mainland, and has had up to 300 pairs.  We didn’t do a count, but it looked very busy as usual.  We then headed onto Reifel by our respective means of transport where we met with the rest of the gang.
Anne Murray

Reifel Bird Sanctuary Report
I’d like to convey right off the bat a most profound sense of smugness over the Tuesday group, which is typically the lucky group to spot all the owls.  It happened before at Reifel, when they saw the Great Horned Owl and then again at Serpentine Fen with a sighting of a Barred Owl.  Well, this time, while the Tuesday group was getting pelted by hail, we were treated to decent weather and the most incredible sighting of a Northern Saw-whet Owl, perched in an eye-level branch right next to the trail.

But I get ahead of myself.

Let me start at the beginning.  Earlier that morning, we arrived at Reifel Bird Sanctuary 20 minutes before opening, and so took the opportunity to get some birds on the list before the usual crazy rush at the entrance, where there is typically a diverse gathering of ducks and songbird species.  No sooner had we exited the car than three Sandhill Cranes flew overhead.  A Red-tailed Hawk perched in a nearby tree, and Tree Swallows in their dozens wheeled and dived in the sky above us.  Snow Geese in their thousands honked and cackled on the horizons, rising in vast murmurations, only to steadily settle again in whatever field or section of coast they had decided was home for the day.  We also managed to add European Starlings, Red-winged Blackbirds, American Robins, and House Sparrows to the list before the park manager opened the gates.

With summer (supposedly) on the way, I wasn’t expecting to see a great diversity of duck species on the main ponds, but we essentially saw them all: Mallards and Wood Ducks heckled us for seeds at the entrance to the sanctuary, and on the ponds were Northern Shovelers, American Wigeons, Northern Pintails, and Gadwalls.  There was also the usual Anna’s Hummingbird hanging around the entrance, as well as White-crowned Sparrows, Golden-crowned Sparrows, (chocolate-dipped) Fox Sparrows, Song Sparrows, House Sparrows, Spotted Towhees, and Black-capped Chickadees populating the seed feeders.  It never gets boring seeing, literally, six species of sparrows all within the space of a square meter.

Sadly, the Black-crowned Night Herons were nowhere to be seen.  Perhaps they’d embarked upon their annual migration (or were just taking the day off from being ogled by birders).  Further into the sanctuary, we saw Rufous Hummingbird, glistening crimson iridescence in the sun.  Ruby-crowned Kinglets were particularly vociferous, attracting our attention with their spring songs.  Actually, a lot of Reifel’s birds were rambunctious today, the rowdiest of which were the Canada Geese.  No surprises there.

American Coots and Bufflleheads were numerous; we saw Green-winged Teals and a decent-sized flock of Ring-necked Ducks, as well as a lone female Lesser Scaup.  (By the way, I hope that whoever named the Ring-necked Duck—whose ring is most decidedly on its BEAK – has since received successful cataract surgery.)

In terms of shorebirds, there were a few Greater Yellow-legs about, and some Killdeer popped up from their ground patrols to scold us.  On the outer periphery of the sanctuary, some of our party noted large flocks of small brown-and-white shorebirds, which we decided were Dunlin.  We also heard Marsh Wrens, Bewick’s Wrens, Common Yellowthroats, and Brown Creepers, the first two of which we also got good looks at.

Glaucous-winged Gulls haunted the outer ponds, while a lone female Northern Harrier patrolled the marshes beyond.  Great Blue Herons flew overhead, and Red-winged Blackbirds and Song Sparrows broadcasted an ever-present see-saw of song.  A male House Finch showed off his strawberry jam plumage before plummeting into the bushes below.  At this point, we had heard reports of a Great Horned Owl at the hide near the portable toilet, and so I was anxious to get over there to investigate.

Alas, yet again we were unlucky with owls at Reifel … or so I thought until we came upon the Northern Saw-whet Owl.  But wait, there’s more!  Because before Anne and the few that were with her could catch up to those of us who were fawning over the owl, they spotted a Townsend’s Solitaire perched on a bush on the other side of the stream!

At this point, our bird list was at a mighty 48 species (other birds for the day included Dark-eyed Juncos, Golden-crowned Kinglets, Bushtits, American Crows, a Northern Flicker, and a tiny sorority of Hooded Mergansers).  I was hoping for 50 so the challenge was to add two more species.  Not far beyond the owl, we stopped to hum-and-haw over a flock of what I hoped were Cackling Geese (so that we could add that extra species) but the real treasure was sequestered within the flock of what we ultimately determined to be Canada Geese: a lone Greater White-fronted Goose!  That brought us up to 49.

The question is: did we make our 50?

Well, not to rub it in, Tuesday group, but right outside of Reifel, perched atop a tree where it was clearly surveying its farmland kingdom was a gorgeous female American Kestrel!
Thea Beckman

Photos will be added to flickr

Anne’s Ferry Causeway eBird checklist

Thea’s Reifel eBird checklist