PHOTO: Northern Harrier by Brian Avent….
10 Delta Naturalists met at Richmond’s Terra Nova Park for a morning of eye, ear and binocular exercise.
Shortly after we started we were serenaded by distant sirens and not so distant Coyotes, and quite a song they had. The Heron, Mallard and Pied-Billed Grebe in the pond were completely unfazed. Then we strolled through the community gardens doing our best not to steal the veggies. A strange call gave us another round of head scratching until the squirrel was spotted (and we call ourselves naturalists!) A Merlin swooped past for a 0.5 second glimpse.
Then it was deeper into the park, where the Goldfinch were masquerading as Orange-crowned Warblers, and the House Finch were looking like Siskin, etc. This time of year is a real test for one’s ID powers.
Out in the salt marshes we finally saw Northern Harriers, and more Finch/Warbler/Waxwing-like things. Then a lively discussion ensued on the morality of Cowbird reproductive strategy. In the end we all agreed that Mother Nature is never wrong except maybe when humans were created. So we continued searching for the generally quiet and seemingly sparse birds. We met a Richmond birder who have us a good lead on a Solitary Sandpiper.
Back at the river we tallied 30 species, and went our separate ways. The Flying Beaver was visible across the waters, and Tom likely rolled over in his grave that no one went for fish and chips.
Report by Alan Stewart
Photos are on flickr
Next Tuesday & Wednesday (August 27 & 28) the outings will be to Blackie Spit at Crescent Beach.
Meet at 8 am in the gravel parking lot at the NE end of McBride Ave in Crescent Beach. Go past the paved parking lot and sailing club.
To sign up for an outing, click on the DNS bird outing schedule sheet.
Delta Naturalists Society 