Trip Report by Harvey Dueck

Sixteen people joined trip leaders, Harvey Dueck and Michelle Baudais for a morning of birding at Burnaby Lake. The group was a mix of Nature Vancouver Members and people who found us on Meetup, plus some who we met at Metro Parks’ Wings Over Iona event last weekend. We had a good mix of experienced and beginner birders.

We had a lovely morning, with sunshine and moderate temperatures. As we waited for the walk to begin, we were joined by chestnut-backed and black-capped chickadees. A belted kingfisher had a dispute with a northern flicker, and a pileated woodpecker flew by overhead.

We started by the boardwalk, with the usual suspects in attendance: long-billed dowitchers, wood duck, american coot, green-winged teal, etc. Highlights were two Wilson’s Snipe, a pair of greater yellowlegs and a pied-billed grebe. A great blue heron perched on a nearby tree eventually flew, giving us a good view.

We then went for a walk in the forest paths toward the east end of the lake. We had an excellent view of a pileated woodpecker feeding on a tree very near the path, plus a number of other birds. A few people saw an osprey.

Overall, a very successful outing, with nearly 40 species seen.

Species List

(from memory, so probably not complete)

chestnut-backed chickadee	Wilson’s snipe
black-capped chickadee	long-billed dowitcher
song sparrow	killdeer
white-crowned sparrow	greater yellowlegs
golden-crowned sparrow	American crow
fox sparrow (I didn’t see it, but Joe did).	common raven (heard only)
red-winged blackbird	rock pigeon (feral)
belted kingfisher	pied-billed grebe
pileated woodpecker	great blue heron
orange-crowned warbler	spotted towhee
yellow-rumped warbler	varied thrush
Townsend’s warbler	Bewick’s wren (seen & heard by others, not by me)
yellow warbler (John saw one; I didn’t)	purple finch (heard only)
wood duck	American goldfinch (a brief glimpse of flying birds)
American coot	steller’s jay
mallard	downy woodpecker (heard by Joe, I didn’t hear or see it)
green-winged teal	cedar waxwing
northern pintail	American robin
gadwall	osprey
northern shoveler	empidonax (sp)
Canada goose

Notable non-birds

3 common garter snakes
banana slugs
pacific tree frog (heard only)