PHOTO: Yellow-rumped Warbler by Terry Carr
Five Delta Nats met at the Brunswick Point parking lot in Ladner – Terry, Lidia, Grant, Dorothy and Pat. It was overcast to begin with but it soon cleared and became very warm. Scanning the river from the dyke above the parking lot, yielded a Great Blue Heron, a male Common Merganser, a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers and a Double-crested Cormorant. A Bald Eagle carrying a duck and nesting material flew up the river.
There were large flocks of Snow Geese in distant fields. We got closer to them on our walk. More flew in from the river. Every now and then a Bald Eagle flying over made them rise with a lot of honking. They soon settled again.
Walking along to the end of the road we added Robins, Juncos, Starlings, Tree Swallows, Song Sparrows, Red-winged Blackbirds and Towhees. A Flicker was sitting on an electrical transformer. A Northern Harrier was patrolling the distant fields.
There was an Eagle in the nest near the path. Killdeer were everywhere – also lots of Fox Sparrows and Golden-crowned Sparrows – and a few White-crowned Sparrows. We were surprised to see a Garter Snake on the path on a cool March morning. There were also lots of tiny black slugs on the path. Double-crested Cormorants were preening on their usual piling perches. A flock of Yellow-rumped Warblers were flitting about in the treetops – both Audubon’s and Myrtle varieties. The fields were full of Wigeon. Flocks of Black-bellied Plovers and Dunlin joined them.
Grant found a well camouflaged Short-eared Owl perched in the dense foliage. A Northern Harrier flew along the foreshore. More Eagles were perched on treetops. A Varied Thrush landed nearby. On the path below the dyke we we saw more Yellow-rumped Warblers, Varied Thrush and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. Back on the dyke we added Eurasian-collared Doves and House Finches.
Heading back toward the cars we were treated to more noisy Snow Goose activity as they moved closer to the path before Eagles sent them farther away again. More Flickers and Killdeer appeared. On the river was a flock of Bufflehead and more Red-breasted Mergansers.
Report by Terry Carr
Photos are on Flickr
Next Tuesday and Wednesday (April 1 & 2) the outings will be to Serpentine Fen.
Meet at 8 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.
The following Saturday (April 5) there will be another outing to Brunswick Point.
Meet at 9 am in the new parking lot at the south end of River Road West in Ladner – past the Westham Island Bridge. Parking is no longer allowed at the end of River Road. The parking lot is 1 km before the end of River Rd near 30B St.
To sign up for an outing, click on the DNS bird outing schedule sheet.
Delta Naturalists Society 