Delta Naturalists Society

Last night was wet and windy, and the day started cloudy, with poor light. Not the least put off by these poor conditions, 17 Casual Birders gathered at Point Roberts.

A few of us stopped off at Kiniski’s beach first for a brief look. On the ocean there were White-winged and Surf Scoters, Horned Grebe, Common Loons and some Double-crested Cormorants. A Great Blue Heron stood quietly on the beach, and a couple of Bald Eagles pulled at a carcase on the pilings. A Cooper’s Hawk flew past, low and fast, and shortly afterwards a Belted Kingfisher took off, giving its rattly cry.

The group as a whole met at the carpark at Lighthouse Park, and it was a bigger than usual crowd. Fortunately, despite the overcast conditions, there was plenty to observe. It was a little unusual to see two Trumpeter Swans flying past close-by, and a sign that winter is on its way. As we walked to the “lighthouse” corner, we scanned the ground for two Lapland Longspurs seen yesterday. Sure enough, there they were, perfectly camouflaged in the grass, but walking around quite close to the path. We spent some time on the corner, watching the birds and chatting to each other and to other birders who were there. Grebes were in good supply, with Horned, Red-necked and a good flock of at least 20 Westerns seen. Ducks were predominant, with Surf Scoters, a few Common Goldeneye, Buffleheads, Harlequins, and flocks of wigeon, pintail and scaup flying high overhead. About 80 Red-breasted Mergansers were counted in total, and 20 or more Long-tailed Ducks. Eventually some of us saw Common Murre off in the distance, but other alcids were not in evidence.

Moving on to the east, we scanned the bushes where Black-capped Chickadees, sparrows, and several Varied Thrushes were sheltering. A total of 31 species was seen at the park, with most people getting good views of all of them.

We then headed to the jetties, on the east side of the marina. The beach here has been ruined by piles of logs washed up in a storm two years ago – they cover the sand and obscure the views of the water. The environment around this area has some habitat attractive to a variety of birds, however, and we spotted Mallard, Green-winged Teal, Greater Scaup and Red-breasted Mergansers, a single Horned Grebe and a Great Blue Heron. Glaucous-winged Gulls and a flock of Short-billed Gulls were seen, and a Belted Kingfisher called and flew over. A flock of 7 Ravens went by, followed by 3 (angry?) American Crows. There were one or two Steller’s Jays in this area too.

Our last stop of the day was at Seabright Farm. Here at last the sun came out and we began to warm up. We walked the cliff top trail which was initially rather quiet. At the eastern end, a number of species showed themselves: an Anna’s Hummingbird, a Downy Woodpecker, a Fox Sparrow among the Golden-crowned and Song Sparrows and the usual, noisy Spotted Towhees and the resident pair of Bald Eagles. Unfortunately, I was the only one to see the American Kestrel, as it stayed out of sight until everyone else had left the carpark. As the time was now 12:30pm, we decided not to go on to Lily Point park today.

Our group today was: Terry, Noreen, David, Alan, Chris, Jacquie, Lee, Lidia, Stephanie, Colin, Vicki, Christine, newbie Quinn, Margaretha, Lori, Pat and me.
Anne Murray

Photos on Flickr.

Anne’s eBird checklists
Kiniski’s
Lighthouse Marine Park
Marina Jetties
Seabright Farm

Next Tuesday & Wednesday we will go to
Iona Beach Regional Park in Richmond
via Templeton St & Ferguson Rd
Meet at 8:30am by the washrooms.

To sign up for future DNCB outings go to the signup form and put an x by your name.