PHOTO: Greater White-fronted Geese by Brian Avent…..
On one of the first nice sunny Wednesday mornings in a long time, 13 birders met at the Iona Beach Regional Park parking lot: Al and Liz, Brian and Louise, Pat, Lorna, Anne, Grace, Henry, Naoko, Dorothy, Terry and Glen. The Red-winged Blackbirds were everywhere as usual, and over a dozen Great Blue Herons slept in the sun amid all the rushes.
After a group photo, we hustled back to the bay just before the outflow Jetty where Liz and Al had seen some Greater White-fronted Geese as they drove in. Initially, we couldn’t find them at all, and so instead we got up on the Jetty pipe to look in at the treatment ponds, seeing only a large number of Northern Pintails. And then we heard the Geese coming in – 9 of them – and they circled around to give us a good look before settling on the nearby shore. Vindication for Liz and Al, and a treat for the rest of us.
We then took the trail along the western edge of the treatment plant, adding only a Pied-billed Grebe in the main pond. Nothing else on the pond, and not much sound from the bushes around it. We made it out to the river’s edge seeing only a few Trumpeter Swans, a Bufflehead, and a Double-crested Cormorant out in the water.
Walking along the river’s edge, we added Bald Eagles, Marsh Wrens, European Starlings (on the Purple Martin boxes), Song Sparrows, Northern Flickers and two Tree Swallows overhead. Further downstream a few Red-breasted Mergansers landed in front of us, almost on top of a pair of seals, and a Northern Harrier was seen along the shoreline. A very healthy looking Coyote crossed in front of us and posed briefly for photos. We crossed the road and continued along the raised trail to the beach and headed back to the parking lot. By this point the tide had dropped quite a bit, and the bay was mostly a wet sandy flat with Gulls scattered all over it.
We were done early, so decided to head for the Jetty and see what was in the water on either side. Some Barn Swallows flew overhead, there were Starlings and House Finches in a tree, and a sheltered pond was full of Mallards and Northern Shovelers. Merlin heard a Townsend’s Solitaire but we didn’t believe it. There were Northern Pintails and Green-winged Teals in the water on the south side. No one really felt like going all the way out to the end, so most turned and headed back to their cars. We ended the trip with 33 species, though I think many of us felt like a lot of the regulars seemed to be hiding. As I drove out from the park, two Killdeer flew past my car, but that didn’t get in to the eBird list.
Report by Glen Bodie
Photos are on Flickr
Next Tuesday & Wednesday (March 4 & 5) the outings will be to Tsawwassen Ferry Causeway & Reifel.
Some people may meet on the ferry causeway at 8 am. The parking pullout is part way along the north side of the causeway.
Meet at Reifel 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.
To sign up for an outing, click on the DNS bird outing schedule sheet.
Delta Naturalists Society 