Those of us from south of the Fraser were reminded again why we’re glad not to be commuting in to the city every day! But these 11 were all glad to be at Burnaby Lake today – David and Noreen, Warren and Lynn, Colin and Stephanie, Marion, Pat, Susan, Lindly and Glen. The sun was out, and it gradually warmed us from an early morning chill, almost finishing the job of melting the last heavy snowfall that had laid low most of the brush alongside the walking trail.
It’s interesting how the duck varieties change from year to year and visit to visit as we walk out along the spit. This time, no more Dowitchers or Snipe in the shallows, and seemingly fewer Red-winged Blackbirds. Instead, there were many more Coots and Pintails than have often been seen, also some Lesser Scaup and some tiny Green-winged Teal. Of course, there were the usual Mallards and Wood Ducks though, sadly, no more Mandarin. The light was excellent for good pictures of all of these.
We made our way down the trail towards the dam on the river. There are great snags all along the way, and we searched desperately for woodpeckers. Marion saw a Downy and David had a Flicker, but we mostly struck out. There were lots of sparrows, mainly Song and Fox. We heard a few Purple Finches calling from the tree tops. Chickadees (mostly Black-capped) and Spotted Towhees were everywhere.
A grey blob in a far-off tree looked like a hawk, and was confirmed a Cooper’s once we came round the corner and could see the bird more clearly from the front. A group of Douglas Squirrels arguing over seeds and chasing each other around a stump kept some of us busy for a while.
Walking along the river we searched for a Kingfisher, and once on the dam we searched for a Dipper, but in both cases they were not to be found, not today. On the return leg we got separated a little as some left quickly for other appointments, and some turned onto side trails which all end up back at the start. That variety of routes gave us a White-throated Sparrow, two Golden-crowned Kinglets, a few Varied Thrush, a Pacific Wren and some Bushtits … so, time well spent.
Other than the ubiquitous Fomitopsis betulina or maybe it is Fomes fomentarius (often called the Birch Polypore, those white blobs on the side of dead Birch trees and stumps), Glen was blanked on interesting fungi. David was keeping an eBird list and we ended our walk with 37 species.
Delta Naturalists Society 
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