Fifteen folks joined Kelvin and Neill on a cloudy, cool morning at Queen Elizabeth Park. As folks were arriving a Purple Finch sang from the cedars beside the parking lot. A reminder to always bird the parking lot before you head out. We started off and the first birds we encountered were on the west side of the pitch and putt. A flock of Black-Capped Chickadees were joined by at least 2 Golden-Crowned Kinglets, a few Orange-Crowned Warblers and several Red-breasted Nuthatches. As we moved out into the open across from the lawn bowling pitch a light shower started and we headed off to find a bit of cover in the wooded area below the restaurant. When we arrived we were treated to a Varied Thrush singing. His singing was not very accomplished so it may have been a youngster practicing. He never did show himself and we moved on.

We arrived at the garden in the small quarry below the restaurant near the little stone bridge. This is where the definite highlight of the day happened. At first a Song Sparrow appeared and started foraging on the ground, then we noticed movement in the shrubs above. An Orange-Crowned Warbler popped up on the top of the bushes and foraged for bugs. Everyone managed to get good views as a second Orange-Crown was spotted, this one with a more noticeable eye ring. Then a Spotted Towhee appeared at the other end of the shrub. All four birds showed nicely for over 5 minutes giving folks especially nice views of the warblers.

We moved off west and spotted several Anna’s Hummingbirds and Black-Capped Chickadees in the trees and shrubs. The magic oak tree at the lookout was quiet today so we started drifting back to our starting point. As we climbed out of the quarry a Fox Sparrow made a very brief appearance with several more towhees. When we made it back to the washrooms by the tennis courts we heard a Cedar Waxwing calling from the weeping birch trees there but didn’t spot it. By then the sun was brightly and folks headed off to the rest of their day.