PHOTO: Brant Geese by Terry Carr…..Fourteen Delta Nats met at Centennial Beach in Boundary Bay Regional Park on a cold clear morning.
Roger, Terry, Margaretha, David, Mike, Jacquie, Christine, Lorna, Jim, Dottie, Bob, Lidia, Lisa and Jonathan W.
There was a large flock of American Wigeon on the grass but a careful scan did not find any Eurasians among them. Beady-eyed Brewer’s Blackbirds were busy on the grass as well. Surprisingly there was only one Bald Eagle in the trees above the playground. There were 3 more in a tree beyond the pond and another one flew by. In the pond were Mallards, Wigeon and two colourful male Northern Shovelers. The green heads of the Mallards gleamed in the sunlight. In the trees were Song Sparrows, Red-winged Blackbirds, Robins and Starlings.
The water in the bay was quite rough. There were Glaucous-winged and Short-billed Gulls near the shore. Further along small flocks of Sanderling were running along and probing the wet sand for invertebrates. Along the dyke path were House Sparrows, Towhees and Herons. In the ditch were Mallards and Gadwall. There were a few blossoms to show that spring was on its way. In the lagoon were Green-winged Teal, Northern Pintail, Dowitchers and Yellowlegs. A large flock of Brant was farther out, but suddenly flew off. A pair of Northern Harriers cruised by. Below the pump house there was a large group of gulls – mostly Glaucous-winged (with pink legs) – but some smaller Ring-billed and Short-billed Gulls (with yellow legs). Beyond the gulls was a huge flock of Dunlin.
Turning onto the inner trails we added a pair of female Hooded Mergansers, House Finches, Chickadees, Golden-crowned Sparrows and Northern Flickers. A Hummingbird chased a Red-tailed Hawk and a pair of Northern Harriers were soaring and circling high above us.
Although it was cold, we had some sunshine – and the mixed rain and snow flurries held off until after another very rewarding outing.
Report by Terry Carr
David’s eBird Checklist (33 species)
Outings on Saturday, March 2, Tuesday, March 5, & Wednesday, March 6, will be to Burnaby Lake Regional Park. Meet at 9 am by the Nature House (4519 Piper Ave) at the south end of Piper Ave (off Winston St).
To sign up for an outing, click on the DNS bird outing schedule sheet.
Delta Naturalists Society 