PHOTO: Greater Yellowlegs by Terry Carr…..
Seven Delta Nats met at Blackie Spit on a lovely morning.
The tide was out, so instead of going onto the spit, we started out on the usual trails. Barn and Tree Swallows and Purple Martins were doing aerial displays, and Canada Geese and Mallards flew over. We watched a pair of Greater Yellowlegs at the entrance to the Savenye area. A flurry of activity proved to be a family of American Goldfinches and a pair of House Finches in the same tree. A pair of Anna’s Hummingbirds zipped by and one landed briefly.
The large, partly dead tree had a usual collection of birds on it. Most of them were Purple Martins, including many juveniles. They were joined by Starlings and a Cedar Waxwing. We located a well-camouflaged Killdeer in the sea asparagus on the shore. A Northern Harrier was sitting on a piling and then flew to the other side of the water and appeared to be trying to lift something on the shore.
Walking toward the pump house we added White-crowned Sparrows, Black-capped Chickadees and Bushtits. We were entertained watching a family of American Goldfinches feeding on birch catkins. In the waterway were a few Mallards and a huge flock of Greater Yellowlegs. One of the Yellowlegs was smaller with a shorter beak, and we think it was a Lesser Yellowlegs. A Great Blue Heron flew over and joined another one in the marsh. A passing dog walker, with a very friendly dog, took our group photo.
Since the tide was still out when we returned to the cars we decided to move onto Elgin Park. The Kingfisher that we hoped to see there did not appear, but several Greater Yellowlegs were pulling marine worms out of the sand. The loop trail yielded Cedar Waxwings, Black-capped Chickadees, House Finches, Goldfinches and a Bewick’s Wren – along with some mushrooms and insects. Dottie spotted a neat Tree Frog on a Blackberry leaf. Most of us got a good look before it disappeared.
So we had another pleasant morning in two lovely areas.
Report by Terry Carr
Photos are on flickr
eBird checklists
Blackie Spit
Elgin Park
Next Tuesday & Wednesday (Sept 3 & 4) the outings are to Point Roberts, USA. Bring PASSPORT or NEXUS.
Meet at 8 am at Lighthouse Marine Park (811 Marine Drive). Some people may stop first by Kiniski’s at the west end of Gulf Rd.
To sign up for an outing, click on the DNS bird outing schedule sheet.
Delta Naturalists Society 