PHOTO: Wood Ducks by Grant Edwards… Six Delta Nats assembled at the Piper Spit entrance to Burnaby Lake Regional Park under unsettled skies. In the group photo from left to right are Grant, Thea, Nicki, Bruce, Nishanth and taking the photo Nadine. It was great to see new member Nishanth as he is the person who created our wonderful new website! He also had a wonderful green journey to the outing, coming from the North Shore by bus, sky train and foot!!
We were soon welcomed by numerous juncos, chickadees and sparrows as we made our way to the spit. Of particular note was a Chestnut-backed Chickadee and Brown Creeper. As we entered the spit, a good number of Wood Ducks, Lesser Scaup, Green-winged Teal and Mallards were eager to see us. Red-winged Blackbirds flitted in the trees and numerous Spotted Towhees, Song Sparrows and Fox Sparrows scurried amongst the bushes. On the water we found the group of Long-billed Dowitchers huddled together to keep warm. Then the Rock Pigeons swooped in to make sure they were not overlooked.
Further out a group of gulls was searched by us to see if the previously reported Herring or California gulls were there. But alas no luck – just Glaucous-winged and Olympic (hybrid between Western and Glaucous-winged). We enjoyed watching some of the young gulls come up with golf balls in their bills! Apparently the balls wash down from the creek coming into the lake. An upstream golf course and bad golfers were the supply chain.
We then proceeded on the trail heading to the dam at the end of the lake. Along the way more sparrows (White-crowned and Golden-crowned), Towhees and Pacific Wrens. We heard and spotted some Golden-crowned Kinglets that were travelling about with Chickadees. A few keen ears heard the haunting whistle call of a Varied Thrush, so we paused again to listen carefully until the whole group got to hear.
By the dam we searched for American Dippers which have been seen here this year. Water levels were high and good flow exiting the dam. But no dippers today, nor any Belted Kingfishers. We did get a good rain/sleet/hail shower at this point but overall the weather was coming out much better than forecast. We even got a few rays of sun on the walk back. Quote of the walk comes from Nicki – “I am a lucky loonie when it comes to weather”. Well it paid off having her on the walk today!
On the way back all eyes and ears were alert to spot anything new. We took a more northerly path back with hopes of confirming a call we heard earlier. As we reconnected with the main trail, we spotted some good bird activity ahead! Someone was putting out birdseed and it was getting noticed. Several Steller’s Jays (Bluer-than-Blue Jays) were putting on a good show for us. Even a Varied Thrush made a bold appearance on the trail.
A bit further along we heard the call we were trying to track down again. This time we heard more to positively ID as a Pileated Woodpecker! Then another quick call got several of us to turn our attention to the marshy habitat. Some more patience and keen listening and we were rewarded with 3 Virginia Rails making calls back and forth to each other!
So another successful Saturday outing was in the books. Birds of the day were no doubt – the Steller’s Jays and the Virginia Rails. As we each took our leave, Nishanth decided to explore some more as he had heard a Bobcat has been seen in this area. We hope he saw it.
Bird species list (37 species):
Canada Goose, Wood Duck, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Common Merganser, Rock Pigeon, Anna’s Hummingbird, Virginia Rail, American Coot, Long-billed Dowitcher, Glaucous-winged Gull, Olympic Gull hybrid, Double-crested Cormorant, Great-blue Heron, Bald Eagle, Downy Woodpecker, Pileated Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Steller’s Jay, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Brown Creeper, Pacific Wren, Varied Thrush, American Robin, Fox Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, White-crowned Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Spotted Towhee, Red-winged Blackbird
Report by Grant Edwards
Outings on 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).
Outings on Saturday March 9, Tuesday March 12 & Wednesday March 13 will be to Brunswick Point in Ladner. Meet at 9 am in the new parking lot near the south end of River Road West in Ladner – past the Westham Island Bridge. Parking is no longer allowed at the end of River Road. The parking lot is 1 km before the end of River Rd near 30B St at 3150 River Rd.
To sign up for an outing, click on the DNS bird outing schedule sheet.
Delta Naturalists Society 