Delta Naturalists Society

Five of us met at the ferry jetty parking spot as the clouds were just dispersing. The tide was mid-way between high and low. A noisy group of Black Oystercatchers had flown over shortly before I arrived – estimates varied, but 36 were on the far-side beach when we checked later. This species has become numerous here and in the Gulf Islands over the last few decades. Many Double-crested Cormorants (and perhaps both other local species) were clustered on the distant breakwater off the south side of the terminal. Great Blue Herons were plentiful and there were a fair number of scoter and other ducks well offshore. Common Loons and Horned Grebe were present in small numbers but the large flock of shorebirds that was present at high tide last week had moved away. The surprise sighting was two Virginia Rails that made a brief appearance over on the far side of the compensation lagoon. We decided it was time to drive to Reifel and meet up with the rest of the group.

The sun had emerged by 9:00am when the whole group gathered at Reifel carpark. Participants today were Marion, Stephanie, Colin, Chris, Deems, Richard, Dottie, Jacquie, John, Lee, Lidia, Lindly, Pat, Roger and me. It turned into a very chatty, social gathering as we made our way round the reserve. We took a look at the house lagoon’s flock of Long-billed Dowitchers and then started checking off songbirds and duck species as we moved west. The north trail was busy with the usual Black-capped Chickadees looking for hand-outs and Spotted Towhees skulking in the bushes. Gradually other species were added to the list: White-crowned and Golden-crowned Sparrows, Song Sparrows, and Brown-headed Cowbirds. There were a few Cedar Waxwings and Yellow-rumped Warblers left from the summer, and a Varied Thrush and Fox Sparrows arriving for the winter. A Bewick’s Wren showed briefly, after calling. While we were searching the big conifers at the northwest corner for owls, a Merlin and a Northern Harrier flew over. As we started to climb the tower, Marion and I spotted a Virginia Rail in the marsh. The top of the tower gave an excellent view of the marshes and there were huge flocks of Snow Geese lining the whole length. Few had been flying over and their calls were diminished by the distance, so we had been unaware of the thousands gathered on the shoreline.

Some people took a side detour to admire the large fungi near the portable washroom, and Stephanie and Colin had to leave early, so our group began to stretch out as we walked the outer dyke. The small bushes had a few Yellow-rumped Warblers flitting around and there was a scattering of ducks in each pond. Our group coalesced once more when we got to the pond with the 4 visiting Avocets. These spectacular rare-for-here birds were looking lovely as they waded around mid-pond in the sunshine. Walking back via the centre paths and lagoons, we picked up more species including six Ring-necked Duck, a large group of Gadwall and some Hooded Mergansers. Colin texted me to say he and Stephanie had seen a Barred Owl but by that stage of the walk my brain failed to understand his directions, and most of the group was heading determinedly for cars and lunch. It was a great morning, social, birdy and with an e-Bird tally of 45 (+1) species in Reifel and 11 species at the ferry terminal.
Anne Murray

Photos on flickr

Anne’s eBird checklists
Ferry causeway
Reifel