PHOTO: Surf Scoters by Terry Carr…..
Eight Delta Nats met at Second Beach in Stanley Park on a gorgeous morning – Colin, Connie, Christine, Terry, Richard, Margaret, Lidia and Lindley. We definitely picked the best day despite the confusing, changing weather forecasts.
In front of the freighters in English Bay was a huge flock of Surf Scoters with some White-winged Scoters mixed in. Sometimes the flock was in a long row and sometimes it was in a tight group. Then they all dove and disappeared briefly.
There were also large flocks of Barrow’s Goldeneye with some Common Goldeneye mixed in. Barrow’s Goldeneye males have crescent-shaped white spots on their cheeks, while Common Goldeneye males have round white spots on their cheeks. Barrow’s females have mostly orange bills, while female Commons have mostly black bills. Also present were Bufflehead and Horned Grebes. Pelagic and Double-crested Cormorants flew past. Surprisingly we could not find any Loons.
Photo by Christine Gaio
Heading toward Lost Lagoon we saw Song Sparrows, Towhees, Juncos, Black-capped Chickadees and Mallards. In Lost Lagoon there were large numbers of Wood Ducks, Mallards, American Wigeon and Bufflehead. There were also Canada Geese, Scaup and a female Shoveler. Pairs of Anna’s Hummingbirds were zipping around. Canada Geese and Eagles flew over. At Coal Harbour there were a few more Goldeneye, a female Hooded Merganser and a Great Blue Heron sleeping on a piling.
Walking back along the other side of Lost Lagoon, we added a Coot sitting in a tree, and male and female Hooded Mergansers. There was evidence of recent beaver activity. The last of the non-native Lost Lagoon Mute Swans were relocated in 2016. It does not seem that long ago that we last saw them there.
After returning to Second Beach we decided to make our usual drive to Beaver Lake. Due to construction and a movie set there were city police directing traffic. So it did not seem advisable to make our usual U-turn to park at the Beaver Lake entrance. We had to drive completely around the park to approach on the correct side of the road. This turned out to be very lucky. After we parked, Christine heard tapping across the road – there was a Pileated Woodpecker busy working on a tree – very close to us at eye level – and not spooked by us or by the traffic.
After watching this lovely bird sending wood chips flying for awhile we followed the one kilometre trail around Beaver Lake. In the lake were Mallards and Wood Ducks. One pair of Wood Ducks was kissing which we found very amusing.
Beaver Lake is a reliable spot to find Chestnut-backed Chickadees – and sure enough a flock of them surrounded us looking for handouts. We heard and the saw a Steller’s Jay but it disappeared before we could photograph it – and the same thing happened with a Golden-crowned Kinglet. Just before we left, the Pileated Woodpecker flew noisily over the lagoon – giving us another memorable experience.
We felt very lucky to have had such lovely weather and such great bird sightings at this wonderful Lower Mainland Birding Hotspot.
Photos are on flickr
Next Wednesday Dec 17 the outing will be to Brunswick Point in Ladner. (Tues Dec 16 outing cancelled)
Meet at 9 AM in the new parking lot near the south end of River Road West in Ladner – past the Westham Island Bridge. The parking lot is 1 km before the end of River Rd near 30B St. Some people may leave cars at the south end of 34th St to drive everyone back to River Rd.
To sign up for an outing, click on the DNS bird outing schedule sheet.
Delta Naturalists Society 