PHOTO:Wood Ducks by Brian Avent…….
On Wednesday morning at 8am a group of 10 started out at Deas Island. Well, a group of 8, and then 2 more came just a little bit late. We were Brian and Louise, Bill and Carolyn, Lee, Richard, David S, Doug B, Margaretha and Glen.
We started near the rowing club, followed the inner shoreline all the way out to the beach at the point and returned along the river side. It was fairly quiet at the start, and we were getting a little concerned. It was warm but not hot and mostly cloudy, so nothing to push the birds deeper into the bush … but where were they? In the end we probably did as much birding by ear (often confirmed by Merlin) as we did birding by sight.
As we walked around there were sudden patches of trees which had plenty of bird song and some sightings: Western Wood-Pewee, Swainson’s Thrush, Brown Creeper, Bushtit, Barn Swallows and probably Tree Swallows, Downy Woodpeckers, quite a few Bald Eagles (all seemed to be adults), Spotted Towhees everywhere and one Great Blue Heron. We heard, but did not see Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Western Flycatcher, Common Yellowthroat, Bewick’s Wren. The last part of our return leg had a few last minute highlights (all seen): Wood Duck, Gadwall, Black-headed Grosbeak, Hairy Woodpecker, two Great Horned Owls and a juvenile Brown-headed Cowbird.
When the birds were too quiet we got quite engaged in the plants around us, with our biologist and flower experts (Doug and Lee) taking the lead. One notable find was a cluster of Big-leaf Hellebores (macroflora), but we also saw Blanket Flower (Gaillardia), Cone Flower (Echinacea), Evening Primrose (Oenothera biennis), Broadleaf Arrowhead (Sagittaria latifolia), Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea), Rabbit foot clover (Trifolium adverse), both colours of Hawthorn, invasive Purple Loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), some fine blooms of Beach Pea and enough Pine tree species to stump Brian. We also took note of species which were not avian such as Harbour Seals on the river, several colours / species of slug challenging us to avoid them on the path, an assortment of bee species and one black squirrel.
We gathered around a bench near the end for a group photo and to make a collaborative eBird list which resulted in a fine 31 species.
Report by Glen Bodie
Photos are on flickr
Next Tuesday & Wednesday (July 30 & 31) outings are to Surrey Bend Regional Park, 17775 104 Ave, Surrey. Meet at 8 am in the parking lot.
To sign up for an outing, click on the DNS bird outing schedule sheet.
Delta Naturalists Society 