Delta Naturalists Society

On a steely grey Saturday morning, 11 birders met at the entrance of North 40 Park Reserve to kick the weekend off with an injection of nature and fresh weather. They were: Bruce, Nicki, Christine, Susan, Kim (who discovered the DNS outings through Facebook), John, Catherine, Karen, Roger, yours truly (Thea, group leader), and the organization’s very own president, Syd Barber. I was surprised to learn that many members of our party had never been to North 40 before.

In the immediate vicinity of the car park, Savannah Sparrow trilled from their sentries in the embracing grasslands, Rufus Hummingbird adorned the tippy-tops of brambles like brightly-coloured Christmas baubles, and Golden-crowned and Fox Sparrows skulked in the undergrowth. Overhead soared Glaucous-winged Gulls, Ring-billed Gulls, and Bald Eagles of various ages, as well as the only two Great Blue Herons we saw that day.

We traced the periphery of the park against a musical score of Song Sparrow, Northern Flicker, American Goldfinch, and American Robin, winding our way through a mixture of open grassland (perfumed by the nearby marijuana farm) and thick wood, the bird list steadily ticking upwards with Black-capped Chickadee, Bushtit, White-crowned Sparrow, European Starling, and Red-winged Blackbirds.

One particular glade was especially productive with the beginning construction of a Bushtit nest at its entrance, which sharp-eyed Susan spotted; the birds coming to-and-fro with bits of fluff in their tiny bills. The surrounding trees were rich in birdsong and we added Dark-eyed Junco, Cedar Waxwing, and Purple Finch to the list, the latter identified by its ascending warbling trill. Downy Woodpeckers were particularly numerous and vociferous. Several members of our party heard Bewick’s Wren—which we didn’t see—and Pacific Wren—which we did eventually—sitting perky and flush in finely-barred chestnut coat on top of a dead stick, beating its chaotic twitter into the damp forest air.

Ruby-crowned Kinglets were in majority but with persistence, we discerned a single Golden-crowned Kinglet in the mix, which Kim managed to snap a photo of. Soon after, Nicki and Bruce spotted a Hermit Thrush restlessly flitting through the thick undergrowth.

A final highlight for the day was a Cooper’s Hawk, which was building a nest in a tree in a road adjacent to the car park.

Although Catherine and I did see (and hear) a Common Yellowthroat upon our arrival, the spring wave of warblers we had hoped for hadn’t yet arrived; however, the birdlife and song we did experience more than compensated and we all enjoyed a lovely, refreshing two-hour amble around North 40 Park Reserve. Total species list = 32!

Thea Beckman

Thea’s eBird list