PHOTO: Snow Geese by Glen Bodie…….
There’s nothing like some nice weather. No sooner had the forecast improved than our expected group of 5 die-hards swelled to 14: Angela, Moira, Christine, Jacquie, Lee, Warren and Lynne, Jonathan and Lorraine, Lindly, Louise, Deems, Stephanie and Glen. The weather cooperated with a sunny day, blue skies and moderate (winter) temperatures. Now all we needed was some birds!
Right from the parking lot we had views of Wigeon, Mallard, Green-winged Teal, Pelagic Cormorant and Trumpeter Swans out in the water. As we entered the playground two Bald Eagles called out from the top of a nearby tree. On the bridge the water was completely still except for a few Gadwall sliding along, Black-capped Chickadees in the bushes and some Tree Swallows, which had been seen earlier by some, appeared to have moved on (but we found them later down at Westminster Highway). As we moved around the pond we saw Golden-crowned Sparrows, Spotted Towhees, Red-winged Blackbirds and some little things that might have been Kinglets. There were more Gadwall further down the pond and also the resident Pied-billed Grebe. We were serenaded by a fellow singing Chinese opera from the far end of the pond.
Moving through the trails we saw more Golden-crowned Sparrows (some with leg bands), Spotted Towhees, Robins, Anna’s Hummingbird and a few Fox Sparrows scratching away. There was little to see in the gardens but on the trail through to the Sharing Farm we were rewarded with the loud call of a Pacific Wren. In the trees above, a flock of Crows was harassing a Red-tailed Hawk. The Crows left and then 2 Ravens pushed the Hawk off his perch. We then went to find Owls, looking in the trees where they are commonly found. Christine had been there recently and knew where we might find a roosting pair of Barred Owls, and she was right.
We decided to go around the southern section counter-clockwise on the newly opened “chip” trail. We could hear nothing in the bushes because of the racket from the Red-winged Blackbirds, but we could at least see the Black-capped Chickadees and Spotted Towhees. Moving along the trail we were serenaded by “what’s that?”. Merlin helped us out – one of the MANY calls of the Bewick’s Wren. We got a quick look at it before it took off into the thicket. At the beaver dam there were some Northern Flickers far off. Continuing on the non-chip part of the trail we looked for the Great Horned Owl where it had been seen before, but the trees were empty. All along that stretch there are a lot of Birch trees, and we were hoping to see Redpolls there, but no luck – perhaps they ate everything and moved on.
We crossed over the dike and went out on the foreshore. We had been hearing huge flocks of Snow Geese off and on, and getting glimpses through the trees, so we were ready for the whole flock, probably thousands, to just lift into the air! But they seemed quite content, plenty of chatter from them just over the lip at the water’s edge, small groups of 30-60 getting up and moving down along the shore, but no major eruptions. Not even a Northern Harrier cruising nearby could raise them. We were back up on the dike near Westminster and walked back to the cars through the playground, going up on the top of the hill and (a few) sliding down the not-quite-slippery-enough slide.
Before everyone took off, Glen begged for help in making a retrospective eBird list. The collective memory did not disappoint, and we ended with 32 species on our list.
Report by Glen Bodie
Next Tuesday and Wednesday (Feb 13 & 14) the outings will be to Tsawwassen Ferry Causeway & Reifel Bird Sanctuary
Meet on the ferry causeway at 8am. The parking area is part way along the north side of the causeway.
Meet at Reifel at 9am. DNS has been booked as a group. You do not need to book parking – just tell the gatekeeper that you are part of the DNS group booking. Non-Reifel members will need to pay admission.
Delta Naturalists Society 