Delta Naturalists Society

Just before the designated time of 9 AM, six of us convened at the Second Beach perking lot. It took Noreen and I about 55 minutes from Tsawwassen, and I must admit I certainly would not relish doing this as a daily commute. The parking pay station was a challenge, as the LCD back-lighting was not operating, and the screen was positioned for very short individuals. Glen resorted to his phone app, while the rest of us sorted through the choices more by feel than actual visual cues.

We headed to the seawall (Glen, Lee, Lindly, Noreen, Marion and myself) where a few Barrow’s Goldeneye were paddling inshore, and more distant we could see Double-crested Cormorants, gulls, Horned Grebe and a few Surf Scoter. Marion’s son Trevor was jogging the seawall and informed us that there were rafts of Scoter and Barrow’s Goldeneye towards Third Beach, and several Black Oystercatcher at Third, so we headed north along the seawall.

With the tip from Trevor, we found the rafts of Surf Scoters and Barrow’s Goldeneye as well as an Anna’s Hummingbird, and a Pacific Wren on the land side of the seawall. When we reached Third Beach a cluster of eight Black Oystercatchers could be seen at the far end on the only rock protruding above the high tide. We cut up to cross the road and head back through the trail that parallels the roadway where we first heard, then saw, another Anna’s Hummingbird, and heard a Common Raven, Bald Eagle, and distant Red-breasted Nuthatch as we moved past stumps displaying a variety of mushrooms, some looking much like tiny Oyster mushrooms whose size might have been compromised by the recent cold weather.

Glen photographing mushrooms (photo by David Hoar)

Circling back past the washrooms, there were only Mallards in the swimming pool, and we headed to the stream trail leading to Lost Lagoon. The large patch of mushrooms Terry had noted from Tuesday where a stump had been ground out got a careful scrutiny by Glen (who collected one for a spore print – possibly Tubaria sp.) and from the close by wooden bridge we could see Mallards, Wood Duck and two female Hooded Mergansers in the open water downstream of the beaver dam. More Wood Duck, Mallards, and a Pied-billed Grebe were below the stone bridge, and a small mixed flight of Golden-crowned Kinglet, Black-capped Chickadee, Dark-eyed Junco and Spotted Towhee greeted us as we headed along the shore to the next wooden bridge.

The usual Mallards, Canada Geese, and Wood Ducks were along the shore as we headed to the east, but further out on the lagoon we could see a couple of Common Merganser, and towards the fountain with its unlit Christmas Tree of lights were other ducks where we hoped to encounter the female Redhead that has been reported. Along the shore with the geese and ducks, several singleton Common Goldeneye, both male and female, swam past as we worked our way to the east end of the lagoon where we encountered another Anna’s Hummingbird and a group of over a dozen Golden-crowned Kinglet moving through the shrubs by the path. A little brown bird picking its way up a cedar trunk like a Creeper caught Noreen’s attention, and as it entered a clear stretch of the trunk it became apparent it was just a Pacific Wren gleaning like a Brown Creeper.

As it was approaching 11:30 and Marion had an appointment, she picked up her pace as the rest of us dawdled along, encountering the female Redhead, several Greater (I think) Scaup, American Wigeon, American Coot and another Anna’s Hummingbird chipping as we headed back along the north shore.

As we rounded the corner to head back to Second Beach, the rain seemed to threaten but never did anything more than spit. David noticed some interesting mushrooms (looks like Winter Oysters or Sarcomyxa sp.) on some cut Alder logs which Glen photographed up close to confirm the ID. There were signs of fresh beaver gnawing of unprotected willows along the north shore, and we encountered another Pied-billed Grebe with a Stickleback and a group of 5-6 American Coot before completing our circuit.

Now after 12 noon, we stopped at the pool area and finished off with a Selfie that captured the remains of our reduced group.

When we arrived back at the car park we met Debbie who had taken a different approach starting at Beaver Lake and ending at Third Beach. She had gathered an impressive list of 51 species including Pileated and Downy Woodpeckers, 2 White-throated Sparrows and, at Third Beach, White-winged Scoter (we had looked for these unsuccessfully), a female Long-tailed Duck, and a Western Grebe.

Our leisurely 10,000 steps (Noreen’s step counter) chocked up 32 species with the inclusion of the “heard only” Nuthatch. Other than a brief sprinkle, it was a dull sky for photography, but interesting day of birding with a good catch of mushrooms along the way.

David Hoar with input from Glen Bodie

Photos on flickr

eBird Checklist – 32 species (+1 other taxa)