PHOTO: Bald Eagle by Glen Bodie…..
Nice easy drives for everyone this morning, except Richard coming from North Van with traffic trouble on both the Alex Fraser and the Massey Tunnel. Not everyone signs up in advance, and so we ended up with 10 birders: Al, Richard, Warren and Lynne, Lisa and Jonathan W, Margaretha, Christine and Douglas, and Glen. Before we even got away from the cars sharp-eyed Al had already picked out an Anna’s Hummingbird on a bush and a pair of Cooper’s Hawks low in the stand of birch.
We wandered off in search of … well, anything … but we knew where the Owl had been seen the day before. Some Canada Geese flew over, and then a small group of Black-bellied Plovers – likely from the larger group that had been seen by some earlier at the turf farm. Along the way we picked up a Song Sparrow in full voice, and a Fox Sparrow uncharacteristically 15 feet up in a tree. We were blanked at the Owl tree, in fact I don’t recall seeing any owl there in many years. Must be my eyesight.
Along the streets and trails we saw and heard lots of American Robins and American Crows, a few Golden-crowned Sparrows, two Spotted Towhees, and we became familiar with the buzzzz in the call of the Savannah Sparrow. A Great Blue Heron appeared out of some ditch and gave us a fly by. A flash of yellow something and Merlin called out a Yellow-rumped Warbler. We seemed too early or too cool for the flush of Warblers that can often be seen in the flowering trees all along the old property lines.
We heard a number of woodpeckers, usually at too far a remove. But one seemed quite close and we almost had it nailed when it flew off. But it was larger than a Downy and without the angular red and black prehistoric shape of the Pileated, so we settled on a Hairy Woodpecker. And then a little further on we had two Downy Woodpeckers, the female working a very mossy branch, up and around, over and down, giving us good views.
As the day warmed up we noticed more and more Bald Eagles, preening in the trees or circling on the thermals. We were getting near the end when we finally got a good look at an American Goldfinch, bright yellow, perched high in the sun. And a Rufous Hummingbird, also showing off in the sunlight. It was a short walk today and some may have gone down to the turf farm, the eagle tree or the Boundary Bay dyke to see what they could find there. We had 22 species … a tie with the Tuesday group if only we had seen the Owl!
Report by Glen Bodie
The next Saturday, Tuesday & Wednesday outings (April 13, 16 & 17) are to Brydon Lagoon & Hi Knoll Park in Langley.
Meet at 8 am in the parking lot at 19850 53 Ave, Langley.
To sign up for an outing, click on the DNS bird outing schedule sheet.
Delta Naturalists Society 