Eighteen DNCBers braved a rainy Tuesday morning walking the Boundary Bay dike trail from 104th almost to 88th and back. We saw thousands of shorebirds, waterfowl and other species; check out the photo evidence on our Flickr site.
Some left Petra’s at 7:30 a.m. and we all met at 8 a.m. at the entrance to the Delta Heritage AirPark on 104th Street. Following the customary introduction of Newbies, and the chatfest about “WTF are we doing here on a day like this?” we wandered up to the dike trail. The tide was receding, and there were thousands of Dunlin and hundreds of Black-bellied Plovers fairly close to shore. There were thousands of ducks and Snow Geese along the water’s edge in the distance. The number of birds feeding here in the Bay was simply astronomical. We only had one scope, but everyone had good looks at the afore-mentioned species plus Greater Yellowlegs, the most numerous ducks, Green-winged Teal and Northern Pintail, and Bald Eagles which interestingly seemed to be singly posted among the shorebirds, about 50 metres apart all along the Bay.
With only one scope in the misty weather, we were unsuccessful picking out less-common species among the Dunlin and Plovers (e.g. Golden Plovers, Sandpiper species, Godwits, etc.), but we did see a couple of Sanderling. We spent a lot of time scouring the bushes and shrubs along the trail for “little birds” of which there were lots, but mostly common species like Sparrows (Song, White- & Golden-crowned, Fox), Finches (House) and Spotted Towhees. We did pick out one or two Lincoln’s Sparrows. David recorded 26 species on his eBird List for the outing.
The rain stopped, but it was still overcast and our bins occasionally fogged up. On the walk back, we finally got a Falcon (Peregrine, we think). Lots of Northern Harriers, some Eurasian Collared-Doves, tonnes of Redwings and Starlings. Approaching 11:30 a.m., we aborted the outing and eleven of us retired to the Skyhawk Restaurant at nearby Boundary Bay Airport. Mike enjoyed the Denver Omelette (my recommendation from my yesterday’s Remembrance Day brunch there), Glen had the only beer (Pale Ale, I had two delicious Honey Lagers yesterday), and I had a huge, scrumptious, hot roast beef on toast with mushrooms, onions and gravy, cube fried potatoes, and a coffee (yes coffee, I was a bit chilly from carrying the scope and regrettably nixed the beer). Anyhow, everyone enjoyed their brunch, and especially the affable Maddy’s service (she took our Group Photo too).
The 18 Weirdos were: Organizer Terry, Historian Mikey B, North Delta Pat & newbie Gloria, Worldly David & Noreen, Richmond Brian & Louise, White Rock Colin & Wazza, Johnny Mac, Chauffeur Roger Two, still newbie Vancouver’s Lori d’A, Ladner Pam Two & Matt, Langley Bob, our Flickr & Photog Guru Glen, and me. Despite the weather, it was another very enjoyable DNCB outing.
Next Tuesday, Nov. 19, we will leave Petra’s at 7:30 a.m. for Stanley Park. We’ll meet others at the 2nd Beach parking lot, by the swimming pool, around 8:15 to 8:30 a.m., depending on traffic. For more info on this and other outings, reports and photos, check out our website at: www.dncb.wordpress.com. As always, your comments are welcome. Cheers: Tom
Tom Bearss, President, Delta Naturalists Society (Wow, quick report eh)
