Eight participants joined trip leader Harvey Dueck for a morning of birding the southwest corner of Burnaby Lake.

We were able to find 32 species, two more than were seen on Saturday! Here’s the ebird checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S183369988

We met in the parking lot near the Burnaby Lake Rowing Club, where we could watch a Tree Swallow go in and out of its nest box as we did introductions. From there we headed to the rowing club’s dock. Barn Swallows nest under the dock and we saw them landing at a nearby mud flat to get repair materials for their nests. A Killdeer was hanging about on the same mudbank, until it was chased away by a crow. Tree swallows were also swooping nearby and a Violet-Green Swallow obligingly perched on a railing to give us a nice long look. Curiously, we didn’t hear a single Marsh Wren call, though we heard several yesterday.

From the dock we went back through the parking lot and along the Southshore Trail. There were lots of birds singing in the bushes: Song Sparrows, Swainson’s Thrush, Spotted Towhee and Common Yellowthroat were heard frequently. A number of Willow Flycatchers were singing from perches and there were Cedar Waxwings in many of the taller trees. One tree was full of Band-Tailed Pigeons: something flushed them and I counted 25 birds as they flew away. We saw at least two Wood Duck hens with ducklings among the lily pads. The group of Wood Duck drakes we saw had all moulted into eclipse plumage and were set for summer. To me it looks a bit like they’ve had a buzz cut to cope with the summer heat.

Thanks to all the participants for making it such an enjoyable morning. I hope to see you all at future events!

Special thanks to Gordon for keeping the eBird list and Jason for his photos!