Trip report by Leader, Thomas Plath

On February 22, 2020, a dozen participants showed trust in the “weather man” and met at the parking lot in front of the washrooms at 9 AM. The forecast was correct and the rain had stopped. Two swallows foraging low over the outer pond were the Barn variety and not the expected Tree Swallow. Waterfowl were on the move and a flock of Lesser Scaup and a couple of female Bufflehead was present and a dozen Great Blue Heron roosting in the cattails waiting for the tide to drop. The group enjoyed a couple of male Bewick’s Wrens battling it out along the corridor fence. The four inside sewage ponds held 100’s of waterfowl including a nice flock of 200+ Lesser Scaup and a male Eurasian Wigeon. A few small flocks of Snow Geese went over and on one of the ponds three Killdeer had returned. A Northern Harrier sailed by and an immature Peregrine zipped past. Finally the group studied a lone adult Mew Gull resting on one of the ponds.