We had five people signed up – Chris, Colin, Stephanie, Lynne and Warren. We hung around at 8am in case anyone else came. Lindly and Margaretha joined us during these five minutes. Two thirds of our way through our walk Debbie also joined us. A good group of eight DNCBers.
The car park was unusually full. We soon saw why – fishermen casting aimlessly into the water. We saw many salmon trapped at the gate waiting for the tide to change and the gate to open. We never did see anyone catching any.
It was a beautiful crisp sunny fall morning when we started our amble. It was a quiet 10 minutes and then we started to see many small birds flitting through the bushes. Savannah Sparrows were in abundance together with a number of other species: Yellow-rumped Warblers, White-crowned Sparrows, Fox Sparrow, House Finches and Goldfinches. Looking at my photos later, we also saw a Purple Finch and a Lincoln’s Sparrow. A solitary Steller’s Jay was at the top of a tree.
We walked along the river and a shorebird was spotted flying around a bend. We caught up to it and saw a Spotted Sandpiper up close with a couple of Killdeer a little further on. There were however no ducks to be seen. A little further on an American Kestrel flew over. ( It is now called Canadian Kestrel ).
Turning into the marsh area the familiar sounds of Red-winged Blackbirds and Mallards were heard. Little else was in the marsh. The noise from the highway increased as we were now in close proximity. A large flock of Starlings was spotted on the power pylons.
As the path straightened out we spotted a familiar shape on the path. Debbie joined us and immediately spotted a Fox Sparrow, Robins and Song Sparrows. An unfamiliar shape on a power wire was a female Western Tanager. Debbie said she had seen Pipits in a wheat field. Lindly and myself ventured into the field and were unable to find them. They had shown up on Merlin earlier in the walk.
We then ventured onto the trail leading us back to the cars. A Merlin and a couple of Norther Harriers were seen. The marsh area only rewarded us with nine Killdeer and a few Mallards. Joining the river again we saw double the number of fishermen with many salmon jumping in front of them.
A pleasant walk on a pleasant day with pleasant company. With a couple of birds ID’d while working on my photos we managed 30 species.
Report by Chris McVittie
Photos are on flickr
eBird checklist
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.