Delta Naturalists Society

PHOTO: Harlequin Ducks by Terry Carr…….

It was a hardy group of birders who met at Point Roberts this morning. The temperature was hovering down in the minus numbers, the ground was frozen, and even the fairly gentle wind off the ocean was enough to give finger-numbing wind chill. Some of us called in at Kiniski’s beach, but it was fairly quiet when I arrived there.

We met as a group at Lighthouse Park, where flocks of Black Turnstone and Sanderling were scuttling along the beach, and small numbers of Harlequin Duck, Common Goldeneye, Surf Scoter, Red-Breasted Merganser, plus a few Horned Grebe, were coasting on the waves. As usual, lines of Double-crested and Pelagic Cormorants flew to and fro offshore. A California Sea Lion popped its head up. There was a Belted Kingfisher on the pilings. The bushy areas of the park were rather quiet, just a handful of Golden-crowned, Fox and Song Sparrows, one Spotted Towhee and 3 Bald Eagles. A Red-breasted Sapsucker appearing on a carpark pine tree was a nice surprise. (Melissa identified this later as Red-naped x Red-breasted Sapsucker hybrid).

We then pushed on to the marina, with a brief stop at the pond on Edward’s Drive. Here Chris McV spotted a couple of Greater White-fronted Geese in with the large flock of Canada Geese. Parking being an issue here, a couple of us went back at the end of the trip to get a good sighting of these birds. At the marina, our next stop, a few duck were swimming near the far bank in the only open water, including a couple of Red-breasted Mergansers and a larger group of Bufflehead. No Kingfisher here, but another watchful Bald Eagle.

The jetties area was more productive, although the sandy beach here is still completely covered with huge logs and other debris from a storm several years ago. The sheltered waters inside the breakwater and around the marina entrance were attractive to numerous ducks today. We saw Greater Scaup, Surf Scoter, Common Goldeneye, Red-breasted Mergansers, and a single Red-necked Grebe. There were lots of shorebirds here too – a big flock of 30 Sanderling, 40 Dunlin, at least 17 Black Turnstone and 6 Greater Yellowlegs. A single Killdeer was on the grass, and a Belted Kingfisher called and flew over. The bushes had Fox, Song, White and Golden-crowned Sparrows, House Finches, and European Starlings.

The final stop, for those of us who had been able to stay the whole morning, was Seabright Farm, where we walked the cliff-top trail. The regular pair of Bald Eagles were near their nest site, but no sign of the American Kestrel or the Red-tailed Hawk which are often recorded here. A big surprise for me was spotting a Wilson’s Snipe flying over. I hadn’t seen one at this location previously. A Varied Thrush and an American Robin showed up, but the group was descending into the usual happy chitchat and thinking of warm drinks, so we called it a day. Midwinter birding on the West Coast had once again proven very fruitful with a total of 29 species, despite the icy conditions.

Participants today were Anne, Terry, Chris, Christine, David, Dirk, Lidia, Lindly, Lorna and Mike.

Report by Anne Murray

Photos are on flickr

Anne’s eBird checklists
Lighthouse Marine Park
Point Roberts jetties
Seabright Farm
Edwards Drive Pond