PHOTO: Red-tailed Hawk by Christine Gaio….
Three of us met at the ferry causeway – Freddie, Lorna and Terry. The tide was fairly low and there were very few birds. Most of the waterbirds have headed to interior lakes for breeding. There was a solitary Black Oystercatcher and a very curious baby Yellow-bellied Marmot. The Marmots are not native to Delta but must have hitched a train ride from the interior and are now breeding between the port and the ferry causeway. Pelagic Cormorants were the only other birds seen at the end of the causeway.
We stopped at the beginning of the causeway to observe the Great Blue Heron nests. The hundreds of nests here are harder to see now that leaves are on the trees. Many herons were hunting along the shore across the highway. At a stop on River Road we saw a Mute Swan in the river, and some Cedar Waxwings.
At Reifel we met Dottie & Bob, Stephanie & Colin, Christine M & Doug, Christine G, Susan, and Jeff – bringing our number to 12. We located a Red-tailed Hawk nest with chicks. An adult was keeping watch nearby.
We heard tapping and then saw a Downy Woodpecker. Anna’s Hummingbirds were taking turns at the feeders attached to the building. Above them was a Barn Swallow nest. A Sandhill Crane was standing on one leg by the house pond. Barn Swallows and Tree Swallows were darting about on the hunt for bugs.
There were Brown-headed Cowbirds everywhere – not a good thing for other birds because they lay eggs in the nests of other birds. There were also House Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Red-winged Blackbirds, Cedar Waxwings, Towhees, Robins, Chickadees, Mallards, Wood Ducks and Canada Geese.
Christine pointed out an Anna’s Hummingbird nest that had been active earlier. These tiny nests are always decorated with lichen. An unusually cooperative Yellow Warbler gave us nice long views. Then a Bewick’s Wren was even more cooperative – carrying a larva that iNaturalist suggested was a Japanese Leafhopper.
There were many Mallard and Canada Goose families. We saw a few Wigeon, Green-winged Teal and Gadwall. Singing Marsh Wrens did show themselves, but we only heard Common Yellowthroats. There were Killdeer and a two Long-billed Dowitchers. The Sandhill Crane pair was out for a walk – no longer on their island nest after losing their young to a predator this year.
The warm weather brought out bees, hover flies, damselflies and dragonflies that some of us tried to photograph.
Report by Terry Carr
Photos are on flickr
Next Tuesday & Wednesday (June 10 & 11) the outings will be to Joe Brown Park in Surrey.
Meet at 8 am at 5381 125A St. There should be enough room to park below the traffic circle on 125A St.
Delta Naturalists Society 