PHOTO: Brewer’s Blackbird by Melia Mwenifumbo-Christie…….
An enthusiastic group of fourteen gathered at the Boundary Bay Centennial Beach car park. It was great to see summer holiday youngsters with us along with the regulars. This time of year is often rather quiet for birdwatching in the park as the nesting season is finished but the Fall migration is not fully underway. Any shorebirds and ducks were far away out in the bay, as the tide was receding rapidly.
We started the walk by checking out the freshwater pond – usually a good location for ducks and Red-winged Blackbirds. It was very quiet, with no birds. We peered up in the cottonwood trees, hoping for a hawk or eagle, but no luck. The eagles are all up at the salmon runs, gorging on fish carcasses. A Glaucous-winged Gull flew over – the first species for the eBird list. Then we got some action in one of the cottonwoods, a couple of warblers were moving around – we eventually got views sufficient to identify them as Orange-crowned Warblers. We looked out east over the bay across the sandy beach and could see birds in the far distance. We started to walk on the bayside path, heading north and then turned west for a view over the shrubby areas.
Displaying Anna’s Hummingbirds seemed to be everywhere – the males were doing their “high flight and swoop down” displays, They might have been young ones learning the routine, or older ones defending territories. We counted at least 10 males perched on the top of bushes or doing aerial flights. No Rufous Hummingbirds were seen. Tree Swallows flew over the area of low shrubs to the west. This habitat had flycatchers earlier in the year, but we only found one today. We had to list it as Empidomax species, as the view was poor. American Robins were attracted to the copious blackberry bushes – with so many ripe berries it was surprising not to see more species feeding on them.
A big flock of European Starlings passed overhead and, surprisingly for the park, two Red Crossbills also flew over, calling their chip-chip notes. It is a very distinctive sound, and I have heard them around the conifers in other parts of Tsawwassen this summer.
The group decided to make our way back to the car park, as it was getting warmer and the birds were going quiet. We saw a couple of rabbits, and listed 18 bird species in eBird on our two hour walk, while enjoying the pleasant surroundings and company.
Our group included Glen, Anne, Freddie, Jeff, Jim, Dawne, Julie, Lindly, Lorna, Warren, Lynne, Teresa, Jonathan, Lorraine and their grandchildren Melia and Leonie.
Report by Anne Murray
Photos are on flickr
Next Tuesday (September 1) the outing will be to Brydon Lagoon & Hi Knoll Park in Langley.
Meet at 8 AM in the parking lot at 19850 53 Ave, Langley.
To sign up for an outing, click on the DNS bird outing schedule sheet.