Delta Naturalists Society

Photo by Jim Kneesch

Ten birders met at Lighthouse Marine Park in Point Roberts – Jonathan, Lorna, Bob, Dottie, Margaret, Chris, Terry, Mike, Lidia and Jim. We were pleasantly surprised that there was no rain all morning. However it was very windy and cold.

Black Turnstones by Chris McVittie

A group of Black Turnstones and one Sanderling were feeding along the shore. The very rough water meant that few birds were visible on the water. There were Horned Grebes, Common Goldeneye, Surf Scoters, Red-breasted Mergansers, one Common Loon and one female Harlequin. There were flybys by Double-crested and Pelagic Cormorants, Bald Eagles, Brant, and a single Long-tailed Duck. After walking along the shore, we headed out of the wind onto the inland paths. But all the songbirds must have been hunkered down because we did not see a single one on our walk back to the cars.

Our next stop was the west side of the marina. In this calmer water there were Horned Grebes, Bufflehead, Scaup, Common Goldeneye, Red-breasted Mergansers and a Common Loon. An Anna’s Hummingbird put in a brief appearance, but there was no sign of Lorna’s Kingfisher.

Female Red-breasted Mergansers by Terry Carr

We made our usual stop on the other side of the marina, but all the recently washed-in logs prevented us from getting to the beach. And the rough water did not reveal any birds. Some of us were tricked into thinking that piece of wood on top of a post was a bird. A closer look proved otherwise. The sheltered area did not have its usual collection of Harlequins. But there were a few Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Surf Scoters and Horned Grebes.

Seabright Farm was also out of the wind. There were Northern Flickers, a Downy Woodpecker and Anna’s Hummingbirds. A Bald Eagle was carrying large sticks to its nest. We took the stairs partway down to the beach, but again the rough water did not reveal any birds. We looked in vain for the American Kestrel seen here on our previous visit. We agreed that this had been another pleasant outing, but we decided to call it a day.

Terry Carr

Photos are on flickr.

Chris’s eBird checklist