PHOTO: Cascade Golden-mantled Ground Squirrel by Terry Carr…
Six Delta Nats met at the parking lot by Manning Park Resort – Carolyn, Bill, Lee, Margaret, Connie and Terry. Much of the parking area is now reserved by a bank of Tesla charging stations and a few other EV charging stations. The picnic area had the usual collection of Columbian Ground Squirrels entertaining the visitors and a group of Ravens – one was trying to operate the water fountain. The only other birds were Tree Swallows. There was a nice California Tortoiseshell Butterfly and an interesting large beetle with very long antennae that iNaturalist identified as a White-spotted Sawyer. We saw more of these neat beetles later.
We drove up the Blackwall Peak Road to the alpine meadows. Along the roadside were large patches of flowers. We stopped at the Cascade Lookout for the panoramic view of the park. Everyone who stopped here was being entertained by Golden-mantled Ground Squirrels and Yellow-Pine Chipmunks. We did not see the Clark’s Nutcrackers that are usually here. This 16 km road up to the alpine meadows opens on the Canada Day weekend. We parked at the end of the road (elevation 6400 feet/1950 metres) and walked the 1.5 km loop of the fairly level Paintbrush Trail. It was a bit cooler at this elevation. There is usually excellent wildflower viewing here in July and most of the flowers were blooming. Again the birds were few and far between – Juncos, Pine Siskins, Robins, Mountain Chickadees and a Chipping Sparrow. There were butterflies and other interesting insects. The most common butterfly was Edith’s Checkerspot.
We drove back down to the resort area for our picnic lunch. Our next stop was the Beaver Pond trail. Carolyn and Bill had seen two beavers and some neat birds here the previous evening. It was much hotter at this time of day but we did see Song Sparrows, Yellowthroats, Yellow-rumped Warblers, Hummingbirds, a Fox Sparrow and a female Goldeneye – as well as more flowers and insects. Once again iNaturalist was essential for identifying the photos.
Because of the heat we decided to drive to Twenty-minute Lake and walk the shady loop trail there. We heard, and then saw a Swainson’s Thrush. It was pretty quiet birdwise, but we did see a flock of Evening Grosbeaks and some Pine Siskins.
Although it was hot and we did not see many birds, it was a very enjoyable day spent in this beautiful park.
Report by Terry Carr
Photos are on flickr
Next week (July 15 & 16) the outings will be to the 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).
Delta Naturalists Society 