Trip report by Donna McKenzie

This trip was a Nature Vancouver field trip lead by Donna McKenzie with the assistance of 4 other experienced birders. It was a sunny 12 C morning as the participants and leaders met at Musqueam Park. It was a full trip with 17 people including the leaders. Most participants were new to birding and keen to learn more.

While we were getting ready we could hear Pine Siskins, Chickadees and Song Sparrows. After introductions, we fitted the loaner binoculars for some of the new birders, and started into the first treed section of the park. The first bird spotted was a Yellow-rumped Warbler feeding on the ground. Otherwise the bird activity was pretty slow initially, although we heard more than we were able to spot. We had good looks at a number of the common birds species such as Song Sparrows, Great Blue Heron, and Robin. We heard lots of Pine Siskins but they were challenging to actually see. The newly emerged tree leaves made spotting harder for us than it had been even a week earlier.

We crossed the bridge over Cutthroat Creek, and encountered a huge skunk cabbage patch in the ditch. Bird activity picked up as we moved across Crown and onto the trail that goes east along the south edge of the park, but again mostly heard and not seen such as Bushtits. We turned south onto the pipeline trail, and spotted a male Anna’s Hummingbird fairly high in the tree branches. Harvey had brought his scope so everyone was treated to an excellent view of it. We stopped part way along to the river, to view another bird with the scope. It was great to get a closeup view of a Bald Eagle sitting on the nest in Point Grey Golf Course. Song Sparrows were seen along the ditch, along with a Bewick’s Wren. Surprisingly we only saw 1 Yellow-rumped Warbler during the walk. At the Fraser River, the wind had picked up a bit and the tide was very low. We saw Bald Eagles over the river. At this point most of the group started back to the parking lot, but Annie led a few further up the river to Deering Island. On the walk, back we watched a pair of Black-capped Chickadees very industriously excavating 2 holes in a fallen branch, and spitting the sawdust into the ditch.

The total species count was 25, which is a low count at this location for this time of year.