PHOTO: Wilson’s Warbler by Terry Carr…..
Six Delta Nats met on the Tsawwassen Ferry Causeway – Lori Y & Joe, Lidia, Susan, Lorna, Terry. The water was very calm but the ducks were far from shore – White-winged Scoters, Surf Scoters, Common Goldeneye, Green-winged Teal, Bufflehead, Mallards, Red-breasted Mergansers and Scaup. Bald Eagles were eating something on the shore and more flew over. A large flock of Brant Geese flew in, landed, flew off, and landed on the shore and in the water several times. Several noisy Black Oystercatchers flew by. We made another quick stop near the southwest end of the causeway where we added Horned Grebe, Double-crested Cormorant and Black Turnstone.
We met four more Nats at Reifel – Dottie, Bill, Christine and David S – bringing our group to ten. Christine saw a Ring-necked Pheasant on Westham Island. Before we even got to the gift shop, a pair of Wood Ducks waddled over looking for handouts and a shimmering Rufous Hummingbird posed at the top of a twig. In the House Pond were Mallards, Northern Shovelers and American Wigeon. Some saw an Otter near the far shore. Tree Swallows and Barn Swallows were zooming above the pond. There were some of last year’s Barn Swallow nests outside the warming hut but the Barn Swallows were flying underneath the warming hut. There were Tree Swallows and House Sparrows at the nest boxes.
We soon added Robins, Towhees, Cowbirds and Red-winged Blackbirds. Some saw the Otter run across the path and into London Slough. We saw our first Yellow-rumped Warbler here. Its constant movement in the new leafy foliage made viewing and photographing it difficult. The yellow throat identified it as the Audubon’s subspecies. The Myrtle subspecies has a white throat. The Canada Geese were particularly noisy here, chasing each other and pairing up.
Walking along the East Dyke Trail we added Green-winged Teal, Black-capped Chickadee, Song Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow and Fox Sparrow. Rufous and Anna’s Hummingbirds buzzed and posed. Common Yellowthroats were singing but would not show themselves. Sandhill Cranes flew overhead making their long bugling calls. Purple Martins were active at their nest boxes.
Thanks to some photographers we had a good view of an Anna’s Hummingbird nest. Its lichen decoration kept it very well camouflaged. The mother was making forays to feed two chicks. Christine’s video.
We surveyed the area from the top of the viewing tower before continuing onto the west dyke and southwest marsh trails. We were able to spot some Marsh Wrens by following their rattling songs. A pair of Long-billed Dowitchers were feeding on the edge of the marsh. A Crow was chasing a Northern Harrier near the foreshore. Joe spotted the bird of the day – Wilson’s Warbler – a lovely yellow bird with a black cap. The new foliage made it hard to follow but it did let us get a few good looks. We added Gadwall, Pintail, Bufflehead, Coot, Scaup, Hooded Merganser and Ring-necked Duck. Unusually, the neck ring of the male Ring-necked Duck was visible.
The most common duck seemed to be Northern Shoveler. Many were sleeping on the banks but others were foraging with their huge bills. An oddly coloured one was diving. Its sides were green and blue rather than the usual rusty colour. We thought it might be a hybrid. After consulting with Melissa we realized that it just had droopy wings covering its rusty sides. We felt sorry for a Canada Goose wearing a huge tracking collar.
After returning to the parking lot we all agreed that it had been a very productive morning at one of our favorite birding spots.
Report by Terry Carr
eBird checklists
Ferry causeway (16 species)
Reifel (42 species)
Next Saturday, April 27, there will be 3 outings. They are part of the iNaturalist City Nature Challenge.
1. Centennial Beach, Tsawwassen (498 Boundary Bay Rd, Delta). Meet at 10 am in the concession/washroom parking lot.
2. Deas Island Regional Park, 6090 Deas Island Rd, Delta (off River Rd east of the Massey Tunnel). Meet at 10 am in the parking area near the rowing club.
3. Delta Nature Reserve (Burns Bog). Meet at 10 am at the Planet Ice parking lot,10388 Nordel Court, North Delta.
Next Tuesday & Wednesday, April 30 & May 1, the outings are to Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver. Meet at 9am by the Pitch & Putt. Parking is no longer free in the park. There is free parking below the tennis courts on 37th Ave at Elizabeth St.
To sign up for an outing, click on the DNS bird outing schedule sheet.
Delta Naturalists Society 