PHOTO: Surf Scoter with Clam by Terry Carr……
5 DNCBers met at Second Beach in Stanley Park – Lou, Lidia, Mike, Terry and Roger. After we passed through the George Massey tunnel, we had a very quick trip the rest of the way.
The fog was lifting as we arrived. There was a noisy murder of Crows in the trees below the parking lot, but we could not spot an owl or other raptor that was worrying them. There was a Bald Eagle on a treetop farther away.
There was a Black Oystercatcher on the shore. In the water near the shore were Barrow’s and Common Goldeneye and Bufflehead. Farther out were Red-breasted Mergansers, Horned Grebes and Common Loons. Farther along the seawall was a flock of Surf Scoters, diving for, and swallowing clams, shell and all.
Walking along the path to Lost Lagoon we had close views of Wood Ducks, Hooded Mergansers and Mallards. Lost Lagoon had unusually few ducks – a few Mallards, Hooded Mergansers, Bufflehead, a Coot and a flock of Wigeon – (all American). Further out were 3 Common Mergansers. An elegant Great Blue Heron was perched on a branch monitoring the water below.
There were not many birds in the bushes either. We did have some Song Sparrows, Towhees, Juncos, Anna’s Hummingbirds, a Flicker and Eastern Grey Squirrels. As we finished walking around the lagoon we spotted some activity beside the path. Golden-crowned Kinglets, Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Black-capped Chickadees, Chestnut-backed Chickadees and Golden-crowned Sparrows were flitting in the bushes. They were all moving so fast that it was difficult to photograph them. One Ruby-crowned Kinglet did stop long enough to display its ruby crown before heading back into the bush.
Back at Second Beach 4 Red-breasted Mergansers had moved close to shore. It made a nice ending to another enjoyable DNCB outing.
Report by Terry Carr
Photos are on Flickr
UPCOMING DNCB OUTINGS
Sunday, January 12, Reifel Bird Sanctuary
Meet at 9 AM. DNS has been booked as a group. You do not need to book parking – just tell the gatekeeper that you are part of the DNS group booking. Non-Reifel members will need to pay admission.
Tuesday & Wednesday, January 14 & 15, Serpentine Fen Dyke Trail
Meet at 9 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 