PHOTO: Ruby-crowned Kinglet by Christine Gaio…….
Six Delta Nats met at the Brunswick Point parking lot on a sunny morning. There was a cold wind and the water in the river was rough. Double-crested Cormorants flew by and there were Red-breasted Mergansers and Wigeon on the far side of the river.
We heard and then saw Killdeer in the fields along with Mallards and Wigeon. Teresa spotted 4 coyotes walking in the distance. Although we like to complain about the longer walk from the new parking lot, we do see birds along the way. There were Savannah Sparrows, House Finches, Robins, Collared-Doves, Red-winged Blackbirds, Song Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows and Starlings. A gorgeous Rufous Hummingbird posed on a rose hip in the sunshine. In fact we saw several Rufous and no Anna’s Hummingbirds on our walk.
Juvenile Bald Eagles were perched in a tree and farther along an adult was sitting on its nest. The pilings in the river held a single Double-crested Cormorant. While Christine was photographing another Rufous Hummingbird, a Ruby-crowned Kinglet flashed its ruby crown for her. A pair of Flickers flew over. We heard but did not see Common Yellowthroats and Marsh Wrens.
In the fields was a large flock of Black-bellied Plovers in full breeding plumage. They do not have black bellies when they are here in the winter. Mixed in were Dunlin and more Killdeer. A huge noisy flock of Snow Geese flew over. One light-coloured male and several female Northern Harriers were patrolling the area but we did not see any Short-eared Owls. The tide was quite far out and large flocks of ducks and shorebirds were on the sandbars with the Deltaport cranes behind them.
On the way back we followed a bright-coloured American Goldfinch from tree to tree, and added Tree Swallows and Barn Swallows. The wind had died down and it was very warm. The river was calm now with Bufflehead and Common Mergansers close to us and Red-breasted Mergansers and Wigeon on the far side.
Report by Terry Carr
Photos are on flickr
Next Tuesday and Wednesday (April 14 & 15) the outings will be to Brydon Lagoon & Hi Knoll Park in Langley.
Meet at 9 AM in the parking lot at 19850 53 Ave, Langley.
To sign up for an outing, click on the DNS bird outing schedule sheet.
Delta Naturalists Society 