PHOTO: West Coast Lady Butterfly by Lee Wright…..
The salmon were running on the Serpentine River as five Delta Nats gathered in the parking lot – Dottie, Bob, Lee, Teresa and Lorna.
Fishermen were spaced up and down the banks and seals patrolled the centre, but only the seals seemed to be catching anything. For the length of the river that we walked there were no birds on the water, something we noticed last year when the salmon were running. However the trees and bushes bordering the path were full of small songbirds: Black-capped Chickadees, Savannah Sparrows, White-crowned Sparrows, House Finches, Bushtits, and lots of Yellow-rumped Warblers. Lee spotted a Brown Creeper, and Bob a flock of Goldfinches. Great Blue Herons were in the trees near the first tower and Mallards in the pond beside it. A dark grey and white shorebird that flew in to the riverbank later proved to be an immature Spotted Sandpiper.
We continued on to the second tower, adding Flickers, Kingfisher, Bewick’s Wren, Robin, Spotted Towhee, Purple Finch, Canada Geese, Anna’s Hummingbird, and a Downy Woodpecker. There were still a few Red-winged Blackbirds in the trees behind the tower, but not much water. A short way along the path a small pond to the left held Northern Shovelers, Mallards, and two Lesser Yellowlegs. A flock of Long-billed Dowitchers flew in and landed and began working hard at the very small area of mud. The Starlings were in their usual places on the towers, but no birds of prey.
As we came close to the third tower we added a Steller’s Jay and two Eurasian Collared-Doves. We looked for Marsh Wrens on the way back but did not see any. The day had turned sunny by this point and West Coast Lady Butterflies flew around us on the stroll back to the riverbank path.
Report by Dottie Uhlman
Photos are on flickr
On Sunday, September 20, there will be an outing to Blackie Spit at Crescent Beach.
Meet at 9 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.
Next Tuesday & Wednesday (September 22 & 23) the outings will be 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.