PHOTO: Common Yellowthroat by Colin Huggett………
Colin and Stephanie were joined by new member Dawne for an early Wednesday outing at Sturgeon Slough. Weather was coolish with intermittent clouds and a bit of a breeze, so good birding conditions. Following Terry’s suggestion we explored the east side of the dyke first and Dawne quickly spotted the Lazuli Bunting, posing nicely.
Lazuli Bunting by Colin Huggett
Common Yellowthroat, Yellow Warbler, Cedar Waxwing, Willow Flycatcher, and an unidentified hummingbird, were also seen, and numerous more were heard by Merlin. A very birdy little patch and we spent half an hour or so there before finally crossing the road and starting down the dyke towards the Pitt River.
Killdeer by Colin Huggett
A Killdeer was spotted in the Cranberry bog and a pair of Eastern Kingbirds were also seen. The open dyke along the Pitt River had a pair of Kingfishers, and lots more of the Flycatchers, Waxwings, Yellowthroat, and Song Sparrows that we had been seeing. A pair of Sandhill Cranes flew overhead and we saw a pair of Mallards, our only waterfowl of the day. We turned around at the old wharf by the golf course and made our way back without seeing anything remarkable. We had the dyke pretty much to ourselves on the way out and only 2 dog walkers passed us on the way back.
Dawne had a prior engagement, but Colin and Stephanie headed out to Pitt Lake and had a quick view of the Osprey nest and a short walk on the very overgrown Catbird trail.
Our eBird report for Sturgeon Slough had 27 species, and Merlin heard, but we couldn’t find, another 14 or so species. All in all a very good outing for this time of year with plenty of action.
Report by Colin Hugget
Photos are on flickr
Next Tuesday & Wednesday (June 23 & 24) the outings will be to Blackie Spit at Crescent Beach.
Meet at 8 AM in the gravel parking lot at the NE end of McBride Ave in Crescent Beach. Go past the paved parking lot and sailing club.
To sign up for an outing, click on the DNS bird outing schedule sheet.
Delta Naturalists Society 