PHOTO: Brant Geese by Glen Bodie…..
The casual birders arrived at Centennial Beach to find an unexpectedly clear morning – Joni, Stephanie, Lidia, Nicki, Jez, Anne, Richard, Liz, Lee and Glen. We were greeted by a Merlin on top of the tallest tree, and 15 Bald Eagles (many of them juveniles of various ages) in the tall trees around the parking area. On the ground was a flock of Brewer’s Blackbirds, Golden-crowned Sparrows flocked in the smaller trees, and Starlings were out on the grass.
We headed first towards the pond where we could hear the Wigeon calling. Some dogs scared the 70 Wigeon on the shore back in to the pond where they outnumbered the Mallards and Northern Shovelers. Pairs of Shovelers were swimming in tight circles to stir up something tasty from the bottom of the pond. Red-winged Blackbirds sat in the trees and White-crowned Sparrows called from the bushes.
We moved to the beach where the tide was already well in and still rising, and dogs had scared off anything that was near the shoreline. Large rafts of (probably) Greater Scaup were way out in the bay. A small flock of Sanderling wheeled past us just off shore and then another group joined them and they all disappeared down the beach. Several flocks of Brant Geese with their white bums and collars flew in the direction of the pumphouse. We were blanked on bunnies and birds in the bushes, but sharp eyes found tiny golden-brown mushrooms growing in the moss alongside the trail. Hard to ID them, but we saw more, and larger, further along and decided they were Fringed Tubaria (Tubaria furfuracea). Also saw some Splitgills (Schizophyllum commune). But back to the birds …
Off-shore was a large raft of Brant Geese, and beyond them an even larger raft of American Wigeon. There were Purple Finches in the trees, and a Great Blue Heron was out in the marsh grass looking for Voles. We took a group photo at the tall observation tower, lamenting how long it is taking to repair the boardwalk across the marsh.
As we neared the pumphouse, the tide was filling the lagoon which contained around 200 Green-winged Teal, with more flying in all the time. Mallards and a few Shovelers were in the ditch opposite. Five Greater Yellowlegs and some Long-billed Dowitchers flew in. We did not see the Avocet. The bay was full of Canada Geese, Brant Geese and Northern Pintail. Near the outflow the gulls were having a good splash – mostly Glaucous-winged but also some Ring-billed and Thayer’s / Iceland Gulls.
Starting on the route back, we crossed over the little bridge and startled a Great Blue Heron. There was a male and female pair of Gadwall in the ditch, and two Cedar Waxwings up in a tree. We could see where the Beavers have been felling small trees (about 4” diameter trunks). Around the bend we ran into some mixed feeding groups of Golden-crowned Sparrows, Spotted Towhees, American Robins, American Goldfinches, Dark-eyed Juncos, Chickadees, Fox Sparrow, Song Sparrow and Pine Siskin. Sharp eyes spotted an Anna’s Hummingbird.
Most of the rest of the route back was very not-birdy, and we failed to find a Red-tailed Hawk or a Downy Woodpecker. We did see more Golden-crowned Sparrows, two Northern Harriers and finally, at the very end, a Golden-crowned Kinglet. In total, Centennial Beach gave us an excellent day of birds along the shore and in the bush, totaling 44 species.
Report by Glen Bodie
Photos are on Flickr
Next Tuesday and Wednesday (Dec 17 & 18) the outings will be to Stanley Park.
Meet at 9 am below the Second Beach Swimming Pool.
To sign up for an outing, click on the DNS bird outing schedule sheet.
Delta Naturalists Society 