A large group of 35, including several Newbies, participated in our quarterly Birds on the Bay outing in Boundary Bay Regional Park on Wednesday. It was a bit overcast, but a very pleasant walk in the park with lots of waterfowl and a few neat sightings. Check out the photo evidence on our DNCB Flickr site.
We met at historic Cammidge House at 9:00 am, registered the Newbies, I gave a brief introduction to our paradisiacal park, Jim took one of several mandatory Group Photos, then we started the masses on the amble toward the beach.
Debbi H saw a Wilson’s Snipe earlier around a condo pond near the Park entrance. Tonnes of Bald Eagles around, and hundreds of ducks and geese in the Bay, but not a lot of little birds seen. The native plant pond near the picnic shelters was crowded with Mallards, American Wigeon, a pair of Northern Shovelers and one Northern Pintail. Someone saw a Eurasian Wigeon. Lots of vividly-coloured European Starlings and Redwing Blackbirds there too, and the resident Brewer’s Blackbirds were seen later.
The tide was very high at the beach and no shorebirds seen (some saw Sanderling later). There were several large rafts of birds in the distance. We recognized Surf Scoters and Greater Scaup, along with many Brant, with the aid of Newbie Chris’s scope. A pair of Red-breasted Mergansers and a Bufflehead were a bit closer to shore.
We walked the trail looking for song birds and it was very quiet, except for the drone of the continuous chatfest. I have learned over years of Casual Birding that many participants enjoy discussing, travels, recipes, grandkids, shopping bargains, weather, sports and politicians as much as seeing a bird. It’s all good.
We did see some little birds: Anna’s Hummingbirds, Song & Golden-crowned Sparrows, Spotted Towhees, American Robins, Northern Flickers to name a few. A couple of Northern Harriers glided by. Jim took another group photo at the Lookout, with an adult Bald Eagle perched in a tree and fantasizing over us.
We finally found shorebirds, four Greater Yellowlegs near the Pump House, with a bunch of Green-winged Teal (no Common Teal found today).
Lots of gulls there too including: Mew, Ring-billed, Glaucous-winged and Iceland (aka Thayer’s). Fly-overs of a few Trumpeter Swans and a V of Lesser Snow Geese was impressive. Check out Richmond Brian’s sightings of 30 species on our eBird DNCBlist.
We were unusually quicker on this outing and several got back to Cammidge House before 11:30 am. About half the group didn’t want to rush the lunch ladies, so returned to the pond and then the beach… in addition to great looks at the Brewer’s Blackbirds, there were about 60 Sanderlings further up the beach, Terry got pics & Brian recorded them on eBird (see list below, which is also at https://ebird.org/view/checklist/S53799868).
The Delta Nats Ladies (Rochelle, Jennifer & Elizabeth) were waiting at Cammidge House, smiling with their array of scrumptious home-made goodies (Jennifer’s scones, Elizabeth’s cake & cookies, Sandra’s legendary egg salad sandwiches), all wolfed down in typical DNCB fashion, along with Rochelle’s fruits, cheeses, crackers and drinks (no beer). The comradery continued around the table until everyone was gone by Noon. I even made my Wednesday Noon Hockey at Richmond Ice Centre, albeit a bit late. Another awesome BOTB outing.
The 35 were: Delta Nats Ladies Rochelle, Elizabeth & Jennifer, our Organizer Terry C, Photogs Jim K, Glen B, sisters Pat & Maureen with Manli, Newbies Coquitlam’s Chris & Evelyn, Ladner Julia, Tsawwassen Rene, Ladner Bryan & Masae, Richmond Brian (our eBird Lister), Debbi H and daughter & international birder Kathryn, Richmond Angela A, our website guru Ken & Anne, cyclist Margaretha & Gabriele, Mike B & Mike B2, Burnaby Marion S, Langley Field Naturalists Anne G & Joanne R, returnees Marylile M & Rob M, North Van Richard, Roger K, Tsawwassen Pam, Boundary Bay Valerie W and me.
Next Tuesday, March 19, we’ll meet at and leave from Petra’s at 7:30 am for Iona Regional Park, meeting others at the washroom parking lot at 8:15 am.
For more info on outings, reports, events and photos, check out our website. As always, your comments are welcome, and let me know if you want off my email list to receive this annoying weekly drivel. Cheers: Tom
Tom Bearss, President, Delta Naturalists Society
eBird list by Brian Avent
Location: Tsawwassen–Centennial Beach Boundary Bay, Metro Vancouver District, British Columbia, CA ( Map ) ( Hotspot )
Duration: 2 hour(s), 6 minute(s) Distance: 4.844 kilometer(s)
Date and Effort: Wed Mar 13, 2019 9:08 AM
Species: 30 species (+1 other taxa)
| 40 | Snow Goose flyover |
|---|---|
| 500 | Brant (Black) |
| 9 | Trumpeter Swan flyover |
| 3 | Northern Shoveler |
| 300 | American Wigeon |
| 100 | Mallard |
| 1 | Mallard x American Black Duck (hybrid) Question as to whether this bird can be considered a pure Black Duck |
| X | Northern Pintail |
| 4 | Green-winged Teal (American) |
| 200 | Greater Scaup several large flocks lifting off water in AM |
| X | Surf Scoter large flock on bay in distance, probably mostly surf scoter. |
| 2 | Red-breasted Merganser |
| 2 | Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) |
| 4 | Anna’s Hummingbird |
| 60 | Sanderling |
| 1 | Wilson’s Snipe |
| X | Mew Gull |
| X | Glaucous-winged Gull |
| 2 | Great Blue Heron (Blue form) |
| 2 | Northern Harrier |
| 15 | Bald Eagle |
| 3 | Northern Flicker |
| X | Northwestern Crow |
| 1 | Black-capped Chickadee |
| 10 | American Robin |
| 2 | European Starling |
| 1 | Golden-crowned Sparrow |
| 5 | Spotted Towhee |
| 18 | Red-winged Blackbird |
| 4 | Brewer’s Blackbird |
| 4 | House Sparrow |
| Additional species seen by terrance carr: | |
| 2 | Greater Yellowlegs |
