PHOTO: Great Blue Heron by Bruce Taylor….
Four of us met in the parking lot of Blackie Spit. We were Bruce, Nicki, Stephanie and Bee.
We started out toward the spit with a scope in tow. It got increasingly blowy as we scanned through huge rafts of ducks along one of the low tide sand banks. There were large numbers of Northern Pintails and Mallards along with a few other species we couldn’t make out. There was a group of 20 or so Snow Geese on one of the sand banks as well. Loons were popping up and down all along the spit.
The wind drove us back toward the parking lot where we took the trail toward the pilings and heard Golden-crowned Kinglets. In the area near the pilings we saw all the usual birds like American Robins, Song Sparrows, Spotted Towhees and others. A small hawk (Sharp-shinned maybe) landed on a dead tree close by and we all had good looks at it. Further out by the pilings we saw a dozen Greater Yellowlegs, some Killdeer and a Caspian Tern was calling overhead.
We continued the walk toward the Dunsmuir Farm and were accompanied by a chatty Steller’s Jay, several House Finches and a Bewick’s Wren.
With the sky getting darker we started heading back to the parking lot through the wooded area, which was very quiet. Just as we got back to our cars it started to rain and we called it a day. A most enjoyable morning.
Report by Nicki Brockamp
Photos are on Flickr
On Saturday, October 4, Thea will lead an outing to Reifel Bird Sanctuary.
Meet at Reifel at 9 am. DNS has been booked as a group. You do not need to book parking – just tell the gatekeeper that you are part of the DNS group booking. Non-Reifel members will need to pay admission.
Next Tuesday & Wednesday (October 7 & 8) the outings will be to the Tsawwassen Ferry Causeway & Reifel Bird Sanctuary.
Some people may meet on the ferry causeway at 8 am before going to Reifel.The parking pullout is part way along the north side of the causeway.
Meet at Reifel at 9 am. DNS has been booked as a group. You do not need to book parking – just tell the gatekeeper that you are part of the DNS group booking. Non-Reifel members will need to pay admission.
To sign up for an outing, click on the DNS bird outing schedule sheet.
Delta Naturalists Society 