PHOTO: Belted Kingfishers by Grant Edwards….
It was another lovely spring day on the west coast as seven Delta Nats assembled in the parking lot of Brydon Lagoon in Langley. Our group included Roger, Colin and his two sons Cole and Arthur, Nicki, Bruce and myself. It was great to see a young family join in on our Saturday nature walk.
As we proceeded towards the lagoon, it was clear Cole and Arthur were keen naturalists, identifying birds left and right and picking out their calls as well! Great to have some young eyes and ears to help us out. At the lagoon, we were soon busy identifying and counting (!) a good number of water birds: Mallards, Wood Duck, Ring-necked Duck, American Coots, Lesser Scaup and Bufflehead. A Glaucous-winged Gull proudly posed on nearby rock so as not to be overlooked. A few Tree Swallows, White-crowned Sparrows and House Sparrows made brief appearances.
We continued along the perimeter trail to the mid point of the lagoon where a trail heads into the woods. This trail leads towards some feeders that nearby properties have put up. We were hopeful of finding the White-throated Sparrows that have been regularly seen here. Spotted Towhees, Golden-crowned Sparrows, Fox Sparrows and a Downy Woodpecker kept us entertained. A few Yellow-rumped Warblers flitted about in the treetops, including a nice male of the Myrtle subspecies (white throat patch) which made us forget about the White-throated Sparrow we couldn’t find. A good selection of woodland plants kept us equally engaged, which included nice examples of Pacific Bleeding Heart. Out on the lagoon we spotted Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser and Northern Shovelers.
At the end of the lagoon, eagle-eyed Bruce spotted a Cooper’s Hawk high up in the treetops. More flowering woodland plants were admired including Oregon Grape and Flowering Currant. Nearby fellow birders I know alerted us to a nice pair of Belted Kingfishers. We enjoyed watching them make some soft calls to each other as they inched closer together on a branch. But alas the mood wasn’t quite right and they both took flight.
We walked around the adjacent woodlot, adding Pacific and Bewick’s Wren, Northern Flicker, Finches (Goldfinch, Purple), and numerous Song Sparrows to our list. A side foray into the woodlot led by Roger in search of owls yielded us some Kinglets and a nice example of native Blackberry growing at the base of a cedar. The trail across to Hi-Knoll Park looked passable so we proceeded. There was a bit of water on the trail, but some well placed boards kept our feet mostly dry. A couple of curious holes had us asking who and why were they made. The dad joke of the day was the response: “Well Doug dug them!”
Our goal at Hi-Knoll was to see some lilies, which the outing last year got blanked on. But up ahead the young boys spotted them and gleefully pointed – “Fawn Lily!” Both white and pink varieties were on display, it was so nice to see. We decided to do a small loop within this park and were rewarded with sightings of Steller’s Jays, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Chestnut-backed Chickadees and a special Black-capped Chickadee. When I pointed out to the young boys the leucistic bird (lacking pigmentation), they knew exactly what that meant (impressive!) and were very excited.
On our way back to the lagoon, we put our ear birding skills to work to help identify an Orange-crowned Warbler singing in a Maple. Further along we got confirmation of another warbler that had been faintly detected at various points in our walk. Finally, a Common Yellowthroat popped up into a small coniferous tree as it belted out its song to the world.
During the walk, the boys kept themselves busy making a “Half-globe of Dandelion” ornament that was on the end of a stick. By the end of the walk Nicki was in possession of the prized staff (see photo). Another enjoyable walk with good company came to a close. Quietly we had amassed 47 species! Bird of the day was the leucistic Black-capped Chickadee, with honourable mention to the Belted Kingfishers and Common Yellowthroat.
Species list: Canada Goose, Wood Duck, Northern Shoveler, Gadwall, Mallard, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal, Ring-necked Duck, Lesser Scaup, Bufflehead, Common Goldeneye, Common Merganser, Eurasian Collared-Dove, Anna’s Hummingbird, American Coot, Glaucous-winged Gull, Great Blue Heron, Cooper’s Hawk, Bald Eagle, Belted Kingfisher, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Steller’s Jay, American Crow, Black-capped Chickadee, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Tree Swallow, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Golden-crowned Kinglet, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Pacific Wren, Bewick’s Wren, European Starling, American Robin, House Sparrow, House Finch, Purple Finch, American Goldfinch, Fox Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Spotted Towhee, Red-winged Blackbird, Orange-crowned Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, and Yellow-rumped Warbler.
Report by Grant Edwards
The next Tuesday & Wednesday outings (April 16 & 17) are also to Brydon Lagoon & Hi-Knoll Park in Langley. Meet at 8 am in the parking lot at 19850 53 Ave, Langley.
The next Saturday outing (April 20) will be to Joe Brown Park in Surrey. Meet at 8 am at 5381 125A St. There should be enough room to park below the traffic circle on 125A St.
To sign up for an outing, click on the DNS bird outing schedule sheet.
Delta Naturalists Society 