Delta Naturalists Society

On a morning with threatening skies, 13 DNCBers ventured forth in the wilds north of Pitt Meadows in search of 2 target birds: the Yellow-breasted Chat and the Lazuli Bunting – both seen before, and known to frequent Sturgeon Slough.  The 13 were Terry, Brian and Louise, Mike, Lorna, Gabriele, Lidia, Jonathan, Roger, Richard, Margaretha, Stephanie (without an under-the-weather Colin) and Glen.  Lorraine and Marion were signed up, but apparently, missed the bus.  Terry was the brave one wearing no rain gear or extra layers, but he turned out to have it right as some had to shed layers by the time we got back to the cars.

We were challenged on all sides by Common Yellowthroats – just behind that bush, down in those grasses, on the other side of the slough, but we never got a picture.  At least we had good looks at Song Sparrows filling the air with their calls.  I used Merlin Sound ID for a sound I couldn’t quite identify and it said “Diesel Truck” – explained by all the noisy gravel loads from that rapidly shrinking mountain.

A little further down that first leg of the route we found our first target bird, the Lazuli Bunting.  But it was a shy thing, hiding in bushes and then flitting back the way we had come and disappearing.  We carried on, but (spoiler alert) we saw it again at the end of the trip and got much better looks then.

As we came to the end of the first leg, we were rewarded with lots of action in the trees and bushes – swallows, Swifts, Cedar Waxwings, Willow Flycatchers, hummingbirds (Rufous?), Robins, and Bullock’s Orioles.  A Turkey Vulture flew overhead.  Lorna was blessed with the first sighting of her favourite bird, the Belted Kingfisher.

We passed a very busy bush on the Blueberry side of the path.  It was a Red Elderberry, and there were 4 (at least) Cedar Waxwings in it eating the berries.  Not sure if there were adults feeding full-plumage offspring or if it was some mating ritual, but some were picking berries and feeding them to others.  And just past them was a Black-headed Grosbeak also working on the Elderberries.

As we approached the golf course, the pond had Wood Ducks (young and old) leaping from the trees and landing in the pond.  No bears or dragonflies were seen, so maybe not the right time of the season.  And then, right at the bend, we heard the Chat, and a little further on, finally saw it in the same bare branched tree across the slough where it (apparently) always sits, and where we had seen it the last time we came up here.  It then came briefly to our side of the slough before going back across the slough and then disappearing down into the bush.  We didn’t see or hear it again.  The only “chat” after that was a flock of DNCBers standing around and talking about it.

In the trees around there we also saw some Yellow Warblers, Robins, Eastern Kingbirds and more Willow Flycatchers.  Having achieved our targets, we turned and headed back.  It’s funny how the return trip rarely shows off as many species as the outbound trip, but that’s how it goes.  We did get a few more looks at Belted Kingfishers and an Osprey.  When we returned to our starting point, there was the Lazuli Bunting up in a tree singing away.

A few people then went up to Catbird Slough because we’d come all this way, but it was fairly quiet there.  Brian reports that the only new species seen there was Great Blue Heron.
Glen Bodie

Photos on Flickr

Brian’s eBird lists
Number of Checklists: 2
Number of Taxa: 32
Checklists included in this summary:
(1): Pitt Meadows–Sturgeon Slough
Date: Jun 22, 2022 at 8:22 AM
(2): Pitt Meadows–Catbird Slough
Date: Jun 22, 2022 at 11:48 AM

15 Wood Duck — (1)
4 Mallard — (1)
6 Vaux’s Swift — (1)
3 Rufous Hummingbird — (1)
5 Double-crested Cormorant — (1)
1 Great Blue Heron (Great Blue) — (2)
1 Turkey Vulture — (1)
1 Osprey — (1)
2 Bald Eagle — (1)
2 Belted Kingfisher — (1)
4 Northern Flicker (Red-shafted) — (1)
5 Willow Flycatcher — (1)
4 Eastern Kingbird — (1),(2)
9 American Crow — (1),(2)
1 Black-capped Chickadee — (1)
6 Tree Swallow — (1),(2)
3 Violet-green Swallow — (1)
X Barn Swallow — (1)
3 Cliff Swallow — (1)
70 European Starling — (1)
9 American Robin — (1)
56 Cedar Waxwing — (1),(2)
4 Chipping Sparrow — (1)
3 White-crowned Sparrow — (1)
12 Song Sparrow — (1)
1 Yellow-breasted Chat — (1)
4 Bullock’s Oriole — (1)
6 Brown-headed Cowbird — (1)
13 Common Yellowthroat — (1),(2)
8 Yellow Warbler — (1),(2)
6 Black-headed Grosbeak — (1),(2)
3 Lazuli Bunting — (1)