Trip Report by Christine Balkwill.  Photos by Christine Balkwill and Michel Crepeau

Our group of 10 birders were treated to a wonderful sunny day for this outing.  We started out from the east end of the park where we heard a few high up warblers and many Black-capped Chickadees starting their day.  Nigel spotted a tree frog.  We stopped at the bridge to visit with the local Barn Swallow flock and check the pond for ducks.  A couple of Green-winged Teal were present, one scruffy molting male and one female.  We later spotted another trio of females and a pair of Mallards, but the pond was surprisingly quiet today.  One of the resident beavers made a brief appearance on his way to his den.

Continuing west on the south side of the ponds we heard a few peeps and twitters but we were only able to clearly ID the chickadees.  Up the hill we clearly heard a Bewick’s Wren and a Pacific Wren.  A number of Anna’s Hummingbirds were feeding and interacting and we spotted one Common Yellowthroat here.  We also got a brief look at one of the local Barred Owls as he landed on a low branch but remained only a minute or two.   At the turnaround point at the west end of the park a group of Chestnut-backed Chickadees were noisily foraging but frustratingly hard to see!  Rounding the corner to approach the pond again we were treated to a lovely yellow trio.  Cedar Waxwing, female Western Tanager and an American Goldfinch all in close proximity in one tree.  We watched these for awhile and were visited by a flock of about 15 Bushtits. A little further along a larger flock of American Goldfinch,  some House Finches and another Western Tanager were discovered.  A Great Blue Heron observed us from high in a tree. 

Inspecting the pond from the North end we found 3 Least Sandpipers feeding on the mud bars and a group of juvenile White-crowned Sparrow and House Finch bathing in a small pool.

Most of us then did a short walk along the beach where we spotted only 2 Glaucous-winged Gulls, one a first year, and a single Pelagic Cormorant.  A few flashes of white on the ocean warranted a closer look and we discovered a large school of fish with individuals making high leaps out of the water.  No predators made themselves known so we suspect this was perhaps a school enjoying a windfall of some dense food source.  Making our way back we were reminded that the birding isn’t done until you are driving in your car.  With our vehicles in sight, we spotted a lively pair of Pileated Woodpecker.  To our delight they moved closer to us, coming withing a few meters as they foraged low in the trees.  What a lovely way to end our walk. 

We saw or heard a total of 31 species. (eBird checklist)