Delta Naturalists Society

Glen got to Joe Brown a few minutes before our 8am scheduled arrival and turned on Merlin Sound ID. In a few minutes it had identified 15 birds while just standing there at the entrance to the trail. But most of them were never seen as we walked through the park perhaps because all the trees are now in leaf. Warren and Lynne, Colin and Stephanie, Brian and Louise, and Glen made up our little group this morning, and we ran in to Liz Stuart on the trails as we often do in Joe Brown.

We wandered along the Jim Arnold trail to the baseball diamond (no birds, but 2 mushroom species) and then along the road. We had a look around the bridge to the houses but no Tanager there. Then down the hill towards the Delta-South Surrey Regional Greenway seeing a bunny, lots of Robins and a female Brown-headed Cowbird at the top of a tree near the dog enclosure. As we walked the last stretch towards Colebrook Rd we finally saw some activity in the trees along the stream: Tree Swallow, Rufous Hummingbird, Starling, Goldfinch, Warbling Vireo.

Many other species were heard, either by our own ears or by Merlin and they are included in our count for the outing, such as: Swainson’s Thrush, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Western Tanager, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Red Crossbill, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Orange-crowned Warbler, Wilson’s Warbler.

On the return trip we also saw some nice aerial displays from Bald Eagles, Red-tailed Hawk being chased by Crows, Cooper’s Hawk and Merlin. After we finished at Joe Brown, some may have gone to take a look at Colebrook Park.

Glen Bodie

Photos on Flickr

Here is Brian’s eBird list with 41 species:

1 Gadwall
2 Mallard
1 Anna’s Hummingbird
3 Rufous Hummingbird
2 Great Blue Heron (Great Blue)
1 Cooper’s Hawk
6 Bald Eagle
1 Red-tailed Hawk
1 Merlin
3 Pacific-slope Flycatcher — Heard, confirmed by Merlin
2 Warbling Vireo
1 Steller’s Jay
6 American Crow
1 Common Raven
5 Black-capped Chickadee
2 Chestnut-backed Chickadee
12 Tree Swallow
1 Violet-green Swallow — Heard by Merlin
1 Bushtit
1 Golden-crowned Kinglet
2 Red-breasted Nuthatch
1 Brown Creeper
1 Bewick’s Wren
12 European Starling
1 Swainson’s Thrush
16 American Robin
6 House Finch
1 Purple Finch
1 Red Crossbill — Heard by Merlin on several phones
10 American Goldfinch
2 Dark-eyed Junco
1 White-crowned Sparrow
6 Song Sparrow
12 Spotted Towhee
5 Brown-headed Cowbird
4 Orange-crowned Warbler
3 Common Yellowthroat
1 Black-throated Gray Warbler — Heard by Merlin
1 Townsend’s Warbler
5 Wilson’s Warbler
3 Western Tanager