PHOTO: Spotted Sandpiper by Terry Carr….
Five Delta Nats met at Vancouver’s Queen Elizabeth Park on a cool, cloudy morning – Mike, Terry, Alan, TK and Roger. We heard a woodpecker tapping, and then saw a Northern Flicker fly to another treetop. In another tree was a colourful male House Finch. We had hoped to find warblers and we did see Yellow-rumped Warblers high in the foliage, but they did not settle long enough for photos.
Heading down towards the pond we saw an Olive-sided Flycatcher on a distant treetop. It did stay long enough for photos. We also had Anna’s Hummingbirds, Bushtits, Song Sparrows, Towhees, Robins and Crows. In the pond we found a pair of Gadwall and several Mallard families. We were surprised that many of the ducklings were spread out so far from their mothers. Tree Swallows and Barn Swallows flew overhead.
The large quarry garden was very quiet and many of the beds that usually held tulips were empty. Tulips have not been planted here for a few years because of a tulip pathogen in the soil. But Rhododendrons, Dogwood and other trees were in full bloom. We added White-crowned Sparrow.
Since it was still fairly early we decided to add a few more Vancouver stops. The first stop was at a nearby park to observe a Barred Owl nest. The mother and 2 owlets were in the nest hole. One owlet was peaking out of the hole. The father was watching from a nearby tree.
The next stop was Jericho Beach Park. Here we had a nice view of a Spotted Sandpiper foraging on the edge of the pond. There were several Mallard families in the pond. Robins, Chickadees and Red-winged Blackbirds were active here. A Downy Woodpecker stopped long enough for photos. Barn Swallows and Tree Swallows flew over. A young Starling was following its parent, begging for food. There were several Canada Goose families feeding on the hillside.
Our last stop was Camosun Bog where we followed the short boardwalk loop. We saw Chickadees and heard a Western Flycatcher. The bog plants, including Labrador Tea and Bog Laurel were blooming.
So ended an enjoyable morning outing with four birding stops.
Report by Terry Carr
Photos are on flickr
eBird checklists:
• QE Park
• Jericho
Next Wednesday (May 21) the outing will be to Colony Farm Regional Park, Colony Farm Rd, Coquitlam.
Meet at 8 am at the Community Gardens parking lot.
From Port Mann Bridge take the exit to Hwy 7 east (Lougheed Hwy).
To sign up for an outing, click on the DNS bird outing schedule sheet.
Delta Naturalists Society 