PHOTO: Belted Kingfisher by Brian Avent…….
A few birders met at Kiniski’s on a calm zero degree but sunny morning – Lindly, Brian and Louise, Margaretha and Glen. There were the usual Double-crested Cormorants on the pilings and a large flock of Canada Geese at the shoreline. We saw a number of divers in the water – Horned Grebe, Common Loon, Common Goldeneye and Surf Scoter. A California Sea Lion cruised past us, heading south, maybe the same one we saw later near the point. It was time to go meet the rest of the group ….
… at Lighthouse Marine Park where we joined up with Nicki, Joni, Colin and Stephanie. We got talking to another photographer, Karen, who was visiting from New Brunswick by way of Calgary and she joined us for the first part of our journey. The water was smooth and calm making it easy to see quite far out. There seemed to be fewer Cormorants than we usually see zipping back and forth. Off-shore divers were Common Loon, Horned Grebe, Red-breasted Merganser, Common Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Harlequin Duck, Greater Scaup and Surf Scoter. Far off-shore were some challenging alcids – initially we thought Common Murre, but later settled on Pigeon Guillemot. Also way out there were 4 Harbour Porpoise. In the bushes we saw Anna’s Hummingbird, Sparrows (White-crowned, Golden-crowned and Song), Spotted Towhee, House Finch, Bewick’s Wren and, just as we were about to leave, a Great Blue Heron, a Bald Eagle and some Black Turnstones.
The pond on the way to the Marina had 100 American Wigeon and a few Gadwall. The Marina itself was fairly quiet, broken only by the cry of the resident Kingfisher. The water had Bufflehead and further away some Mergansers. A good-sized flock of Canada Geese flew over and we wondered if they were the same ones as we had seen at Kiniski’s. There were some Bald Eagles up in the trees, and House Finch and Song Sparrow in the bushes. As we were driving out, sharp eyes found a Red-tailed Hawk, 3 Killdeer and a Northern Flicker. The pond at the curve on the East side of the Marina had Mallards, Hooded Merganser and Gadwall. The water off the beach gave us Surf Scoter and Common Merganser. The bushes added House Finch and Anna’s Hummingbird. Two Belted Kingfishers zipped by us overhead.
We continued on to Seabright Farm, looking for the American Kestrel we have seen there before. It took some looking, but it was there, flying down to somewhere on the ground then back up to perch in a bare tree for some good looks. In approaching that tree from the trail we flushed 3 Wilson’s Snipe. The bushes held many Anna’s Hummingbirds, Black-capped Chickadee, Red-breasted Nuthatch, Spotted Towhee, Pine Siskin and American Robin. A few Bald Eagles were perched in the cliffside trees. By this point our group had dwindled to only 6 but we took a late group photo anyway. See the details below from our eBird lists for a total of 42 species.
Report by Glen Bodie
Photos are on Flickr
eBird Checklists:
| Kiniski’s | Glen | 8 species | https://ebird.org/checklist/S210316937 |
| Lighthouse Park | Nicki | 24 species | https://ebird.org/checklist/S210298423 |
| Marina West | Glen | 13 species | https://ebird.org/checklist/S210290188 |
| Marina East | Glen | 13 species | https://ebird.org/checklist/S210293198 |
| Seabright Farm | Glen | 10 species | https://ebird.org/checklist/S210298886 |
| Overall (eliminating repeats) | 42 species |
Next Tuesday & Wednesday (January 28 & 29) the outings will be to White Rock & Blackie Spit.
Meet at 9 AM at White Rock Pier. There is free parking on the waterfront until 10 AM.
After the pier we will go to Blackie Spit at the NE end of McBride Ave in Crescent Beach.
Park in the gravel parking lot past the paved parking lot and the sailing club.
To sign up for an outing, click on the DNS bird outing schedule sheet.
Delta Naturalists Society 