Delta Naturalists Society

“Hutton’s Vireo, Purple Finch, Western Tanager, Swainson’s Thrush, Black-headed Grosbeak, Chipping Sparrow, Hammond’s Flycatcher…” said the latest eBird checklists from Queen Elizabeth Park. And so, 12 birders arrived at our usual meeting point at the Pitch n’ Putt, practically salivating at the prospect of great springtime birding… only to encounter that a most eerie quiet had befallen this usually bustling destination.

Attendees were Thea, Rosemary, and Richard Beckman; Chris, Bruce, Nicki, Derek, Lidia, Nick, Mary-Anne, Mary, and Lauren, who took two hours to slowly stroll through the DNCB’s usual route through the park, starting at the rose garden and culminating in a commiserating coffee at the Blue Parrot café.

Northern Flicker, Dark-eyed Junco, White-crowned Sparrow, Spotted Towhee, Glaucous-winged Gull… the sightings were sparse, spread out, and of exceedingly common birds. “Any minute now…” I kept thinking. “…any minute the bushes are going to burst into the songs of sparrows, tanagers, and Empidonax flycatchers. The warblers are going to warble, the grosbeaks tease us from the tops of trees, and the Barred Owl materialize against the bole of a cedar.”

Nothing. Persistent quiet. Almost as if Nature herself was holding her breath. 

And then something started happening: we chased Black-capped Chickadees, stopped for an American Robin, and drank in the melodies of Song Sparrows. A handsome Spotted Towhee got the appreciation s/he deserved; we laughed at a fledgling Song Sparrow pestering its parent for food; and Anna’s Hummingbirds, which scoured rockfaces for insects, became a nature documentary we watched for ages before moving on. A male American Goldfinch singing from the top of a tree was an utter show-stopper, and between scarce bird sightings, we caressed the late blooms of springtime flowers and dipped to sample their fragrance. 

In two hours, we racked up a bird count of 15, with the highlight being a Pacific-slope Flycatcher, which we heard calling but didn’t actually see. Yet, none of us felt disappointed, not even me: someone who can become a little too invested in the sport of birdwatching, craving numbers and species diversity and rarity. And so our Saturday outing to Queen Elizabeth Park felt like a reminder: to stop and appreciate the common birds we take for granted, which we did happily.

Thea Beckman

Photos on flickr

Thea’s eBird checklist