Nine birders met at the Ladner Harbour parking lot for our regular DNCB Wednesday walk: Colin and Stephanie, Jonathan and Lorraine, Glen, Teresa, recent member Wendy, and new member Dolores, a snowbird from Canmore Alberta (-3 and snowing today) wisely spending the winter in balmy Boundary Bay. The steady early morning drizzle ended right on time at 9am, and except for a brief return around 10:30, the morning was dry and the sun was out by 11am. Anybody staying home because they thought they’d get wet missed a good days outing.
Downy Woodpecker by Glen Bodie
Starting in the car-park, the feeders at the caretakers residence were very busy with Black-capped Chickadees and Downy Woodpeckers. The birds didn’t seem deterred by the extensive Halloween decorations, including ghosts, skeletons, hanging spiders, numerous zombies and miles of “spider web” in the trees. We then headed north down the dyke boardwalk, where we saw Juncos, Spotted Towhees and Golden-crowned Sparrows feeding on the ground, and a flock of Common Bushtits and more Chickadees in the trees. We spent some time trying to track down a Pacific Wren and while some got glimpses, there were no photos. Not nearly as accommodating as the Pacific Wren at Terra Nova last week. Bald Eagles and a Northern Harrier were seen out on the marsh, but the waterways were empty of waterfowl except for a few Mallards. We did get a close-up view of a beaver we startled near the path, but it was gone before we could get our cameras on it. Carrying on along the dyke to the harbour road, we scanned the slough for waterfowl and again were disappointed to only find a lone Great Blue Heron and some Glaucous-winged Gulls. Where were all the ducks? The tide was very high and this may have had some effect.
Mute Swan by Jonathan Mwenifumbo
Following west along the road to the dog park, we did eventually spot a Pied-billed Grebe and a pair of Mute Swans, but that was pretty much it for waterfowl. Carrying on around the marsh to the west of the dog park, we found two mixed flocks of passerines feeding in the trees on the fall seed and berry crop. In addition to the usual Chickadees and Sparrows, the first flock had a couple of Marsh Wrens, and we thought perhaps a Ruby-crowned Kinglet, and the second group included 5 or 6 Golden-crowned Kinglets and Brown Creepers.
Heading back to the playground area and our cars, we startled a pair of Steller’s Jays and a Cooper’s Hawk that had been feeding or hunting on the ground just off the pathway. Back in the car-park a Hairy Woodpecker joined the Downy Woodpeckers and Chickadees on the feeders for our final bird of the day. Bird count for the day was 40, not bad considering the absence of waterfowl. Thanks again to Teresa for keeping our eBird list and to Terry for posting this report and the links to photos and to our eBird list. Next week is Burnaby Lake.
Report by Colin Huggett
Photos are on flickr
Next Tuesday & Wednesday (November 3 & 4) the outings will be to Burnaby Lake Regional Park.
Meet at 9 AM by the Nature House (4519 Piper Ave) at the south end of Piper Ave (off Winston St).
To sign up for an outing, click on the DNS bird outing schedule sheet.