PHOTO: Long-billed Dowitchers by Terry Carr….
Six Delta Nats met on the ferry causeway – Joe, Jonathan & Lorraine, Debbi, Lorna and Terry. On the water were Horned Grebes, Common Loons, Scaup, Surf and White-winged Scoters, Northern Pintail, and Gulls. On the shore were a group of Black Oystercatchers. On the far spit were Killdeer and a single Whimbrel. A pair of Caspian Terns flew over.
Beside the Westham Island bridge were a pair of Mute Swans and a cygnet. At Reifel our group expanded to 15 – Jean, Lorna, Joe, Lorraine, Jonathan, Colin, Liz, Dottie, Debbi, Alan, Jacquie, Lori, Bob, John and Terry. Anna’s Hummingbirds were at the feeders. In the house pond were Dowitchers and Yellowlegs. The ducks were moulting and looking scruffy – mainly Mallards with a few Wood Ducks and Pintails. There were many House Sparrows. Birds along the east dyke trail included Chickadees, Kinglets, Orange-crowned Warblers, Yellow Warblers, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Warbling Vireo, Nuthatches, Creepers, Flickers and a Kingfisher. Farther along we added a Downy Woodpecker and Purple Martins. From the tower we saw 12 White Pelicans on the far shore. Continuing along the west dyke we heard Virginia Rails and saw a Red-necked Phalarope. Farther along were two Pectoral Sandpipers, more Dowitchers and Yellowlegs and two Western Sandpipers. Bushtits, Goldfinches and Red-winged Blackbirds were active here. We could see the Pelicans again and there were flyovers by Herons, a Northern Harrier, two Eagles and large flocks of Canada Geese. In the southwest pond we added Pied-billed Grebe, Coots and a sleeping Stilt Sandpiper. The family of four Sandhill Cranes was in the western fields. On the way back to the parking lot we added Cedar Waxwings.
Report by Terry Carr
Photos are on flickr
Debbi’s eBird checklists
Ferry Causeway (23 species)
Westham Island (9 species)
Reifel (56 species)
OUTINGS NEXT WEEK:
– CHANGED TO Monday Sept 16: Mt Baker, USA. See the website for more info.
– Wed Sept 18: Serpentine Fen
Meet at 8 am in the parking lot on King George Blvd by the bridge over the Serpentine River. We will not use the gated parking lot behind Art Knapps.
To sign up for an outing, click on the DNS bird outing schedule sheet.
Delta Naturalists Society 