Report by Helen Baker

On New Year’s Day, 23 of us met to check out the birds along Richmond West Dyke, on a walk led by Kelly Sekhon.

The weather was perfect – bright and no wind or rain.  Starting from the parking lot at Garry Point, we walked around the Kite Park and then north along the dyke to Williams Road and back.  After the walk, we went for lunch in Steveston. From the second floor of the restaurant we had great view of the south arm of Fraser River where it meets the sea.

One of the first birds we saw was a Belted Kingfisher, hovering over the beach before dropping out of sight. Far out on the water, someone pointed out Trumpeter Swans in a line near the breakwater.

In the marshland off the dyke, we saw a coyote loping through the brush.  Later it was seen leaping into the air to pick fruit off a small tree, possibly crab-apples. There were in fact three of them and Jonathan was able to photograph the one picking the crab-apples. Great Blue Heron were scattered in the tall rushes and a Northern Harrier swept close to the ground as it hunted back and forth.  

Before we turned to come back, a bold Cooper’s Hawk posed for us on a drift log, close to the trail. We all got some good close-up photos of its red eyes and gnarly yellow talons.

I counted 34 species in two hours.  Aside from the 3000-odd snow geese we spotted rising in the west, the next high count for me was the American Wigeon.  I counted 137 along the way.

We also spotted Cormorants, Northern Pintail, Buffleheads, Green-Winged Teal, Mallards, a Greater Scaup, a pair of Hooded Mergansers, Northern Shovelers, Red-Winged Blackbirds, Great Blue Heron, Bald Eagles, White- and Golden-Crowned Sparrows, House Finch, Goldfinch, Song Sparrows, Towhees, a Northern Flicker, Robins, Starlings and Juncos. 

It was great to walk in that fresh ocean air and bright light and have lunch afterwards.  What a great start to 2025.