PHOTO: Snow Geese by Colin Huggett…..
Lorna and I (Terry) met Glen on the Tsawwassen ferry causeway at 8am in bright sunshine. The tide was high and the water was calm. Near the shore were 3 diving Horned Grebes. Farther out were Surf Scoters, White-winged Scoters, Cormorants and a Common Loon. On the spit were Turnstones, Dunlin and Black-bellied Plover. On the south side of the causeway were more Horned Grebes, Common Loons and Cormorants along with Harlequin Ducks. On the shore was a group of about 40 Black Oystercatchers and a large mixed flock of gulls – Glaucous-winged, Ring-billed, Short-billed, Olympic and a Bonaparte’s. Two Whimbrel were mixed in with the Oystercatchers.
Large flocks of Double-crested Cormorants flew over. We did not see any Yellow-bellied Marmots but a Rabbit did appear briefly. Jay, a birder visiting from Victoria, was birding here and we offered her a ride to Reifel. Glen stayed at the causeway and Jay, Lorna and I proceeded to Reifel for the 9am opening.
Here we met Dottie, Bob, Connie and Lori. Colin joined us along the route which brought our group to 8. Anna’s Hummingbirds and Yellowjackets were busy at the feeders on the side of the building. In the house pond were Dowitchers, Yellowlegs, Shovelers, Mallards, Wigeon and Green-winged Teal. A Northern Harrier flew by. We thought a hawk on a snag was a Cooper’s Hawk but it was probably a Sharp-shinned Hawk. Later we did see what appeared to be Cooper’s Hawks on far snags. Along the path were House Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Red-winged Blackbirds, Robins, Towhees, Juncos and Flickers. Mallards and Chickadees were looking for handouts.
In the marshes beyond the tower were Herons and several very active Harriers. Eagles were perched on the shore. In the ponds were more Shovelers, Green-winged Teal and Dowitchers. We did not see the noisy Marsh Wrens – but we did see Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Yellow-rumped Warblers and a Kingfisher. In the southwest ponds we added Coots, Ring-necked Ducks, Northern Pintail, Gadwall and Pied-billed Grebes. Large noisy flocks of Snow Geese flew over. In the centre ponds we added Canada Geese and Hooded Mergansers. Photos showed a sleeping Ruddy Duck. We were surprised that we had not seen Wood Ducks – but finally a pair did appear.
On the drive home we saw huge flocks of Snow Geese in the fields beside 33A Avenue – a nice end to a lovely outing.
Report by Terry Carr
Photos are on Flickr
eBird checklists:
Glen’s Causeway list
Terry’s Causeway list
Reifel
Next Tuesday & Wednesday (Oct 14 & 15) the outings will be to Iona Beach Regional Park in Richmond.
Meet at 9 am by the washrooms.
To sign up for an outing, click on the DNS bird outing schedule sheet.
Delta Naturalists Society 