PHOTO: Barrow’s Goldeneye by Terry Carr……..
The sun may have been firmly behind the clouds but the weather was truly fine—mild and not a breath of wind—for a Wednesday outing to Stanley Park. Eight Delta Nats Thea, Terry, Nicki, Christine, Colin, Stephanie, Pat, and Manli met on the seawall below the Second Beach pool, where a large mixed flock of Surf Scoter, Common Goldeneye, Barrow’s Goldeneye, and Bufflehead paddled and dove close enough to the shore to afford us fabulous views of their striking markings.
Scouring the ocean further out with the scope yielded Pelagic Cormorant, Horned Grebe, and Common Loon but nothing more exotic than these species (like a Yellow-billed Loon, perhaps). Glaucous-winged Gull, Short-billed Gull, and Double-Crested Cormorant coursed overhead in that busy way that seabirds fly. We also had a rapid Bald Eagle fly-by but aside from hearing their tell-tale tittering a little later on in our walk, we didn’t see any others.
To our right, Stanley Park’s deep and verdant forests were quiet for most of our amble along the seawall toward Third Beach, with the exception of a few Song Sparrow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Dark-eyed Junco, Anna’s Hummingbird, and a pretty bossy Pacific Wren that scolded us loudly “tick! tick!” as we passed. After adding a handful of Greater Scaup to the list, we turned around.
Back at the car, we deposited the scope before continuing on to Lost Lagoon and along the south shore. A pair of Red-breasted Merganser drifted side-by-side just off the beach adjacent to the pool; American Wigeon, Mallard, and Wood Duck dabbled in the saturated grass and shrubbery to the side of the path; and a juvenile Cooper’s Hawk preened its long, banded tail feathers in the diffuse winter sunlight.
On the lake, there was a small flock of Ruddy Duck—we counted 9—and a much larger flock of Lesser Scaup, their purple iridescence and narrow, peaked heads eliminating the headache of identification for once. American Coot, Hooded Merganser, and Bufflehead hunted the fringes of the lake, while a handsome male Common Merganser with his harem of five females drifted further out. Along our walk, we stopped to admire an assortment of fungi, as well as the devastating handiwork of the neighbourhood beaver. We searched in vain for Redhead and Ring-necked Duck, but happily took the Ruddy Duck in compensation.
Our penultimate stop was the Vancouver Rowing Club, where we watched a rowdy huddle of California Sea Lions fan their fins in Coal Harbour. With all cameras and binoculars focused on the water, we attracted quite a few people who stopped to ask what the fuss was. On the way back along the north side of Lost Lagoon to Second Beach, we came upon a mixed flock of cheeky Black-capped and Chestnut-backed Chickadee that were obviously accustomed to being fed by humans. Golden-Crowned Kinglet and Bushtit moved restlessly about the bushes, and Fox Sparrow, Song Sparrow, and Spotted Towhee kicked about in the undergrowth.
Thea’s Stanley Park & Sea Wall eBird List
Finally, we climbed back in our cars and made a pitstop at Beaver Lake, where we added Brown Creeper, Steller’s Jay, Red-breasted Nuthatch, and Varied Thrush to the list (in addition to the already-seen Mallard, American Wigeon, Wood Duck, and Hooded Merganser). If we thought the chickadees back at Lost Lagoon were cheeky, the flock at Beaver Lake was positively anarchistic by comparison, alighting on our hands and phones while we were editing the ebird list! We drifted through the buzzing flock with smiles on our faces.
It was a longer-than-usual outing, but the weather was absolutely perfect, and with 43 bird species to show for our efforts, it was an excellent and most profitable day out!
Report by Thea Beckman
Next week December 26 & 27 the outings are to Centennial Beach, Tsawwassen. Meet at 9:00 AM in the concession/washroom parking lot.
Delta Naturalists Society 
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