About 20 DNCBers enjoyed another beautiful Wednesday morning in Delta, walking along the Boundary Bay Regional Park (BBRP) trail from 104th St. to the Mansion. Check out the photo evidence on our Flickr site at: DNCB Flickr site.
Some left Petra’s at 7:30 a.m. and we all met at the Boundary Bay Heritage Airpark at 104th at 8 a.m. The tide was out but coming in. We set the scopes up before David took the Group Photo to get that grueling necessity out of the way. Hundreds of Black-bellied Plovers were feeding in the mud, along with hundreds of other shorebirds; we identified mostly Western and Least Sandpipers, Sanderling and Long-billed Dowitchers. Some saw a flock of Baird’s Sandpipers, and perhaps Semipalmated Plovers (not Sandpipers). Peter C was walking out in the mud and found a Golden Plover. Jean saw the Willet because she had a Swarovski scope. We blanked on Godwits, and had difficulty identifying the hundreds of Peeps.
As we strolled along the trail, between chatfests, some saw little birds including Song, Savannah and White-crowned Sparrows, Rufous Hummingbirds, House Finches, and several Warblers. We saw Common Yellowthroats, and via photo identification, surprisingly saw both Yellow and MacGillivray Warblers, very neat sightings. Other sort of common birds seen included Cedar Waxwings, Eurasian Collared-Doves and lots of Brown-headed Cowbirds. At the Mansion, there were a few Yellowlegs and we were able to easily distinguish both Lesser and Greater. Killdeer were there too. As for raptors, Bald Eagles and Northern Harriers were around, and we saw a Merlin roust the Shorebirds. Swallowtail Butterflies and bushy Caterpillars along the trail were a bit exciting.
We got back to the 104th Airpark shortly after 11 a.m., and decided we’d had enough. Only the “magnificent” eight of us decided to go for lunch at Boundary Bay Airport. My shrimp omelette was delicious, of course with a pint of Granville Island Lager, and Maureen’s fries. I was home by 1:30 p.m. for the arrival of Aussie cousins from their three-week Washington, Oregon, Montana, B.C. road tour. Another awesome DNCB outing.
The 20 DNCBers were: Roger, Terry, Roger 2, Richmond Brian, sisters Pat & Maureen with Manli and their North Delta “newbie” Thomas, David & Noreen, PB Lorna, Mike B2, Jean G, Glen B, Chris McV, Debbi H and her daughter Catharine, Margaretha, Peter C and me.
Wednesday, August 22, the indefatigable Roger M will again lead us on an outing to Maplewood Flats. We’ll leave Petra’s at 7:30 a.m. and plan to be at the Park entrance at the Nature House around 8:30 a.m. For more info on DNCB destinations, reports and photos, visit our website at www.dncb.wordpress.com. As always, your comments are welcome. Cheers: Tom
Tom Bearss, President, Delta Naturalists Society
