Delta Naturalists Society

It was a damp and blustery morning for our birding trip to Point Roberts. Being Casual Birders, we gathered at the beach near Kiniski’s instead of the advertised spot. There was a vigorous wind and high waves, but the early morning rain had eased off. We managed to distinguish Buffleheads, Surf Scoters, Red-breasted Merganser and Horned Grebe as they were tossed around by the waves. Some Double-crested Cormorants sat on the pilings. Bald Eagles and Glaucous-winged Gulls glided by.

At two minutes to 9am, the advertised start time, we drove quickly to Lighthouse Marine Park where we met with the rest of the group. Positioned on the southwestern tip of Point Roberts where the outflow from the Fraser River meets the tidal waters of the Georgia Strait, the park is an ideal spot to sea watch for birds and marine mammals. But this morning it was a tough task with rough seas. Species slowly revealed themselves: a flock of well-disguised Black Turnstone and a solitary Sanderling, Common and Red-throated Loons, White-winged Scoters and Surf Scoters, male and female Common Goldeneye, Horned and Red-necked Grebes.

At the point, we were fortunate to meet up with renowned birder Kevin Louth. A couple of Marbled Murrelet flew past quite far out, and Long-tailed Duck also put in an appearance. A few gulls were seen, as well as all three species of Cormorant. We walked east along the waterfront, and then through the bushes which in springtime are full of bird song. All was quiet. Just three days ago, I had dozens of sparrows and robins in this area, but all that was found today were a couple of calling Spotted Towhees and a cooperative Ruby-crowned Kinglet, both of which I missed. However, I was able to show newbie Deems the lovely Black Turnstone group still foraging among the flotsam on the beach.

We moved on to the Marina, with a brief road stop at the pond (mostly Buffleheads) and parked on the west side. Unfortunately, the public washrooms here were closed. An Anna’s Hummingbird hovered nearby. We searched the marina waters for interesting diving birds, and found several Horned Grebe, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Red-breasted Mergansers, and one Common Loon. There was also a Crow, a Robin and a calling Song Sparrow, but again no Belted Kingfisher.

Next stop was the Point Robert Jetties area on the east side of the marina. On Kevin’s advice, we checked out the freshwater channel near the road, which was crowded with dozens of Mallard, but held two unusual birds that gave a few of us a brief view: a Ruddy Duck and a mystery grebe. The latter bird turned out on looking at David’s photo to be a Pied-billed Grebe. The Ruddy Duck went off further north and around the bend in the channel out of sight, while the Grebe swam into a shady spot under the bank brambles and stayed put, barely visible. The beach at the jetties has become covered with washed up logs and the water was urprisingly quiet. The dozens of Harlequin Ducks I saw just 3 days ago in the harbour channel were down to just 5. As the weather steadily but slowly cleared up, we saw somewhat more action off-shore: Long-tailed and Harlequin Ducks, White-winged and Surf Scoter, and a couple of Loons.

Our last stop of the morning was at Seabright Farm where those of us who had lasted this far walked the cliff top trail. Colin excelled by immediately spotting the discretely hidden Red-tailed Hawk in a distant tree, and then followed it up by spotting the local American Kestrel on a nearby tree. A flock of about 60 Snow Geese flew over the ocean, calling. An Anna’s Hummingbird perched on a high branch, and a group of chickadees appeared, as the sun almost emerged.

We went down one stage of the long stairway to the beach to get a view of the water which was at high tide. Loud tapping alerted us to a Downy Woodpecker, which was then spotted by Jacquie in one of the bare trees. Later we heard tapping coming from another tree further east; it was hard to locate until Lee spotted another Downy, right at the base of a tree.

While bird numbers were relatively low, there were some very interesting species for a winter casual birding trip. Our group was David and Noreen, Glen, Stephanie and Colin, Deems, Jacquie, Lee, Margaretha, and me. We forgot to take a group photo!
Anne Murray

Photos on flickr

Anne’s eBird checklists
Beach at Kiniskis
Lighthouse Marine Park
Jetties
Seabright Farm
Point Roberts Marina
8 Bufflehead
3 Common Goldeneye
4 Red-breasted Merganser
3 Horned Grebe
1 Common Loon
1 Bald Eagle
1 American Crow
1 Song Sparrow