PHOTO: Fox Sparrow by Freddie Whiting….
8 am this Wednesday saw five Delta Naturalists meet at the Serpentine Fen parking lot. Colin and Stephanie, Lynne and Warren, and Freddie (sorry, we forgot to take a group photo).
Light rain and cool temperatures kept most people (and their dogs) at home and there was just one other vehicle in the parking lot when we arrived. We saw just three non-DNS walkers in our two and half hour anti-clockwise loop of the fen, so we pretty much had the park to ourselves.
We looked for, but couldn’t find, the resident Kingfisher, so headed down the Serpentine River dyke trail. In terms of birds, the river held lots of American Wigeon, some Greater Scaup, Mallards, Double-crested Cormorants, Common Mergansers and a single Red-breasted Merganser. There were Great Blue Herons on the bank and the surrounding hedgerows were full of American Robins and White-crowned Sparrows. We were also treated to a skein of Snow Geese flying overhead in perfect V formation. A lone Rufous Hummingbird was seen doing its aerial mating displays, so presumably there was a female nearby.
The inner ponds and fields were full of Mallards and foraging Wigeon, including a few Eurasian Wigeon. There were also a few Bufflehead, Northern Shovelers, Coots, and even a lonely pair of Gadwall. There is quite an active colony of nesting Great Blue Heron in the brush around the inner ponds. We counted at least three nests with sitting birds on them and at least a dozen in the surrounding brush. The trees they were in looked to be hawthorns, willows and similar small scrub trees so the nests are only about 10-15 feet off the ground and only about 50 yards off the dyke path. According to a walker we spoke to, this proximity has resulted in their being harassed by photographers who have beaten a rough path to the nests. We stayed on the dyke path and had good views of the nests, but once the trees leaf out the nests will be much harder to spot.
The ponds at the far end of the loop were full of waterfowl and lots of Red-winged Blackbirds singing and the males chasing each other. A small flock of Brown-headed Cowbirds rested in one of the trees and small flock of Bushtits moved along the path. A group of 7 Greater Yellowlegs flew into the inner pond to briefly join the large flocks of Wigeon, Shovelers and Mallards.
The old parking lot field gave us a look at Dark-eyed Junco, a small flock of Eurasian Collared-Doves and (for me at least) our first of the season look at a pair of Yellow-rumped Warblers (Audubon’s).
Continuing around the loop we had a look in the old barn on the south side, hoping to find a roosting owl. However, it looks like the barn is or was until recently home to some ”person or persons experiencing homelessness” and there is garbage and abandoned clothing and other detritus throughout the barn. The single nest box on the wall at the back of the barn had squirrels running in and out of it so not much use to the birds. Needless to say, there were no owls seen by us. We did see, and certainly heard, a Northern Flicker drumming away on the tin roof of the barn. Perhaps the temporary human residents of the barn will decide there are quieter places to set up camp and will, or have, moved on.
Heading back through the inner fen to the river dyke gave us Tree Swallow, Northern Harrier, Marsh Wren and heard by Merlin, but neither seen nor heard (nor recorded) by us, Common Yellowthroat and Bewick’s Wren.
Back at the car park by 10:40, we found the Belted Kingfisher on its usual perch, bringing our total for the day to 37. The rain had stopped after the first 20 minutes and it was warm and sunny by the time we left.
Report by Colin Huggett
Photos are on Flickr
Next Tuesday & Wednesday (April 8 & 9) the outings will be to North 40 Park Reserve in East Ladner (3902 72nd St)
Meet at 8 AM in the parking area on Ontario St.
From Hwy 10 turn south onto 72nd St. Turn left into North 40 Dog Park on Ontario St (before you get to the railway crossing).
To sign up for an outing, click on the DNS bird outing schedule sheet.
Delta Naturalists Society 