Delta Naturalists Society

Roger, Mike, Lorna, Jonathan, Lorraine and Glen met at the Tsawwassen Ferry Jetty on a sunny Tuesday morning. Roger (of course) was seeking the Willet and Whimbrels that had been reported.  The rest of us were there because we didn’t fancy sleeping in.  The Whimbrels were found with help of the scope, mostly hiding in the tall grasses in the marshy bay surrounded by dozens of Great Blue Herons.  The Willet managed to avoid detection.  We later saw a brightly coloured Black Oystercatcher teaching 2 juveniles how to catch oysters. But then it was time to head to Reifel.

When we got there, we joined Johnny Mac, Lidia, Dottie, Jacquie and Brian deB for a trip around the perimeter. Roger (of course) was seeking the Wilson’s Phalarope that had been reported – he’d been there for the last 3 days looking for it.  Spoiler alert – two thirds of the way around the outer dike he finally found it and we all got good looks, explaining to passers-by just what we were all looking at.

The day progressed gradually from fairly silent but sunny to more and more birds as the clouds rolled over.  At one point, our major finds of the day were all plants – St John’s Wort, huge drifts of wonderful scent from the Honeysuckle, bright red Dock, and some Sea-witch.  We were blanked on Owls or Black-crowned Night Herons, or Sandhill Cranes, almost blanked on even Black-capped Chickadees, and the only raptors we saw were a few Bald Eagles.  The most predominant species we saw were the Canada Geese, with Mallards a close second. Many of the waterways seemed almost stagnant, almost devoid of ducks.

Many of the regulars did show up as we made our way around the trails – Wood Ducks, Great Blue Herons, Red-winged Blackbirds and Cedar Waxwings.  The Martin boxes out in the marsh had Purple Martins flying around and perching and nest building, though also some Blackbirds were out there. Lorna was rewarded with a Belted Kingfisher near the usual SW corner.  The muddy shore near the Phalarope rewarded us with some Greater Yellowlegs and Least Sandpipers.  Swallows were swooping all over (Tree and Barn certainly, not sure if there were any Violet Greens) feasting on the mosquitos that the humans found annoying.

The final big find was a Marsh Wren nest.  It seemed uncommon in construction (almost like a paper-wasp nest) and location (at the top of a small shrub just a foot off the path).  We could hear several Wrens in the area, and finally saw one go to the nest and enter.  The nest then wriggled around a little, and small peeps were heard until the adult popped out again and flew off making Marsh Wren calls.  Bryan even got a nice video of the activity.

It was quiet from there to the Exit, where Glen forced a small group of us to help make the eBird list.  The end count was 9 species at the Ferry Terminal, and 31 species at Reifel.

You can see the eBird lists at:

Tsawwassen Ferry Jetty https://ebird.org/canada/checklist/S113986911

Reifel Bird Sanctuary https://ebird.org/canada/checklist/S113985994

The pictures will be added to Flickr

Glen Bodie