Cloudy but dry skies welcomed us to the park as the group met up at the wooden bridge over the pond. Our small group of 6 consisted of a couple of new birders who joined us for their first Nature Vancouver outing. Right away we enjoyed some pleasant views of a male Wood Duck transitioning into eclipse plumage, a singing Western Tanager, and a flock of 8 Cedar Waxwings before we even finished sigining waivers and introductions. Proceeding around the pond we found a few Great Blue Herons, along with a singing Black-headed Grosbeak, Willow Flycatcher, House Finch, American Goldfinch, Northern Flicker, Brown-headed Cowbird, and a female Purple Finch among others. Tree and Barn Swallows were out in numbers, and one Tree Swallow sat pretty for us on top of their nest box, showing off their lovely shimmering blue upperparts. We then explored the forest south of the ponds to see what it might have to offer. Here we picked up a flock of Bushtits along with a few Wilson’s and Yellow Warblers, and a tough-to-spot Warbling Vireo. Swainson’s Thrush and Western Flycatcher could be both be heard singing but remained unseen. Deeper in the forest, it was nice to see the resident mama Barred Owl perched silently near her nest cavity. At this point the rain started and made birding a bit more difficult, but we were still able to run into a Western Wood-Pewee flycatching from a snag and a glowingly bright male Anna’s Hummingbird on our way out. It was a lovely morning filled with lots of learning and appreciating our common birds. We ended up with 40 or so species in just a few hours, and it only rained near the end of the walk. Thanks to all those who came out!