PHOTO: Northern Shovelers by Brian Avent….
Nineteen Delta Naturalists showed up for our first weekend outing of the year, which rewarded our decision to pry ourselves from our beds on a rainy Sunday morning with a total of 47 species—including two owls—and sunshine for most of our meander around the sanctuary!
As usual, we began birding in earnest upon arrival at the gate: European Starling, American Robin (by the dozen!), Eurasian Collared-Dove, and Red-winged Blackbird dotted the surrounding farm fields, telephone wires, and treetops. Mallards, American Wigeon, and Northern Shoveler paddled the creek as we drove into Reifel. Upon arrival at the carpark, we were greeted by a family of four Sandhill Cranes.
With our group of Delta Nats gathered, counted, and introduced, we began our sweep through the sanctuary, quickly adding some feeder birds to the list: Anna’s Hummingbird, House Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Black-capped Chickadee, and even an American Coot, which was trying its luck with fallen seed beneath the feeder. The Black-crowned Night-Heron was preening in its usual thicket of tangled pond-side vegetation.
London Slough, a little further on, was dotted with the usual duck species, including Gadwall, Bufflehead, Ring-necked Duck, and the odd specialty here and there: such as a lone Ruddy Duck, which third-wheeled a pair of Lesser Scaup (who were entirely disinterested). In the distance, the large white figures of low-riding Common Merganser (four) could be seen, while Great Blue Heron stood hunched along the shore. A lone Canada Goose perched on a fallen tree, the only one we’d see on this trip.
Green-winged Teal and Hooded Merganser also used water-borne logs as perches… and with that, we had knocked out just about every duck species Reifel has to offer! (Later on, deeper into sanctuary, we added the gorgeously ornate Wood Duck and less ornate, though no-less gorgeous Northern Pintail to our list.)
Ducking into Reifel’s more heavily vegetated internal pathways, passerines started adding up quickly: Song Sparrow, Fox Sparrow, and Spotted Towhees flitted across the path and skulked in the bushes. Both species of kinglet (Ruby and Golden-crowned) were seen flitting restlessly from bough to bough. We also saw Brown Creeper, Dark-eyed Junco, and Purple Finch: two females with bold white eyebrows, which set them apart from the similar-looking House Finch (lacks the eyebrow).
A few members of the group spotted the resident Northern Shrike and Chris McVittie even managed to take a quick snap:
Northern Shrike by Chris McVittie
Today, Reifel was having a two-for-the-price of one sale on owls. A park volunteer quietly pointed out a sleeping Northern Saw-whet Owl: the tiniest, most delicate, cat-like thing with eyes like horizontal crescent moons set into its fluffy disk of a face. Fast asleep. And in a tree not more than a stone’s throw away, two enormous Great Horned Owl also slumbered. (The volunteer ensured that we all filed past quietly and gave the owls their space.)
With two owls on our list, we immediately wanted more. Sadly, our ambitions for a Short-eared Owl came up, well, short. So much for the “rule of threes”.
Along the outer pond, there was plenty to keep us intrigued: Ring-billed and Glaucous-winged Gull flew overhead, Northern Harrier patrolled the marshes, and about 60 Trumpeter Swan dotted the shoreline. An astounding number of Bald Eagle—many juveniles—flew in with a purpose, landed on the shore in a great group of them, and tusseled over something. We speculated that given their number, something big and gross must have washed up on shore: perhaps a dead seal.
We continued winding our way through Reifel’s internal pathways, adding Pied-billed Grebe, Northern Flicker, and a (probable) Cooper’s Hawk to the list. Finally, we ended back up where we began three hours later, 47 birds richer, and with the sun—the whole time—smiling benignly on our quest.
Report by Thea Beckman
Photos are on Flickr
Delta Naturalists Society 