Delta Naturalists Society

Fourteen enthusiastic birders gathered as the gates opened and headed west down the cedar-lined road looking for owls. Although we had no luck, sometime after we passed, a Barred Owl did pose for some photographers in the farthest west trees, something we learned at the end of our walk. Thea also found a fairly ancient owl pellet, which she pulled apart with her fingers, revealing the jaw of a long-dead rodent, among other anatomical features.

We looped around the buildings and encountered Black-capped Chickadee, a small flock of Barn Swallows, a few House Finches, an Anna’s Hummingbird perched high in a cedar, a buzzing Bewick’s Wren on the building steps, and a flyover of American Goldfinch. As we crossed the mowed grass, dozens of mosquitoes latched onto bare skin, and several of us quickly applied some bug repellent, which helped tremendously.

Lots of blackberries were ripe, and a few dragonflies zipped about. Continuing clockwise around the buildings, we had an overflight of Canada Geese and another Bewick’s Wren buzzing in the thicket but not revealing itself. Crossing the causeway, we saw a peculiar looking duck, which turned out to be an immature male Wood Duck. Proceeding to the south, we did the loop along the slough and encountered Greater Yellowlegs, the resident Belted Kingfisher, and more chickadees but little else; although a group of five Cedar Waxwings that had been chattering in their high-pitched chirps flew out of the top of an Alder tree and were briefly seen.

We encountered more chickadees and Cedar Waxwings as we continued, and along the river there were distant Canada Geese and Mallard Ducks on the mud flats. A few gulls flew past, and both Glaucous-winged and Ring-billed were identified. On the tower across the slough, a Bald Eagle was on the watch.

At the central road we decided to proceed further west to at least the outflow gate where we would double back to head to the cars. Chris decided to call it a day and headed to the cars. It was slim pickings for the birds, with a few gulls flying past along the river, so many turned back at the outflow, but five continued on in the hopes they could complete the loop to the west. After discussion with a staff member who drove past, they eventually did turn back near the west end of the trail rather than contend with the rough trail and its blackberry vines.

On our return along the central road, we encountered an American Goldfinch, several groups of Black-capped Chickadees and a pair of fly-catching birds high in skeletal branches of an Alder. After much discussion and examining photos, the best guess was Western Wood-Pewee which was subsequently confirmed when photos were called up on a computer. A few House Finches and an American Robin distracted us as we passed the barn and shed.

At the causeway, the strange duck was still there, along with a Wood Duck and another Belted Kingfisher. The strange looking duck was likely a juvenile Wood Duck transitioning to adult male plumage. As mentioned above, we returned to the cedars to look for the previously photographed owl without any success and called it a day at about 11:40.

Thea and Rosemary reported seeing two female Hooded Mergansers paddling in the
shadows of the foliage on the opposite shore of the pond in front of the carpark, as well as a Great Blue Heron perched in the fir tree closest to the cars. Also, as we waited for the gates to open, a Red-tailed Hawk flew over the group calling quite loudly in its iconic shrill cry!

Attendees: Bill, Carolyn, Chris, Christine, Colin, Stephanie, Douglas, Gabriele, Margaretha, Noreen, Rosemary, Thea, and myself, David.
David Hoar

Photos are on Flickr

Thea’s eBird list