Trip Report by Christine Balkwill

13 enthusiastic birders joined trip leader Christine Balkwill on a calm and sunny day on Boundary Bay in celebration of the annual Great Backyard Bird Count.  We were pleased to see that every birder who registered attended.  There were a number of familiar faces and a handful of new ones.  At least 3 of our attendees were on their first birding outing with us.

After some brief introductions we made our way onto the dyke, pausing to enjoy an Anna’s Hummingbird high atop a bare tree.  A few Golden-crowned Sparrows flanked the pathway and we were quickly greeted by the first of the many Butterbutts that routinely inhabit this trail in winter.  We decided on a conservative estimate of 20 Yellow-rumped Warbler for our checklist.  

Soon we arrived at the ponds near the big house.  We took a little time to appreciate the variety of ducks and marvel at the unusually high number of Eurasion Wigeon, at least 6 in the ponds, and we saw a few more in the fields later.  In addition to the ducks, American Coots and a Pied-billed Grebe we met a very vocal Marsh Wren who actually stayed visible for awhile for us.

We then turned our attention to the bay.  There were thousands of Dunlin but none close enough for a really good look.  Eagles were spotted on the tide flats and in the air throughout our walk, at least 30 but possibly many more.  Christine P, a Nature Vancouver regular, spotted a bird on a stump and we were excited to ID it as a Western Meadowlark, the first of 2 on our trip.  Also here were a couple of Northern Harrier, a Northern Flicker and one Greater Yellowlegs foraging on the mud. Thanks to Ju Dee who brought along her scope so we were able to get some good looks at these distant birds.   Someone noticed a Coyote roaming in the grasses. 

Evelyn stopped to inspect a tree that on first look appeared to be adorned in dead leaves.  The “leaves” turned out to be about 75 Red-winged Blackbird females.  Ju Dee and Hsien later researched this and apparently these birds segregate by sex in the winter!

About half of our group ended their day here with other commitments or due to the cooling temperature.  Seven of us continued to 72nd street where we encountered a flock of photographers staked out looking for a Barn Owl that had been recently seen.  We contented ourselves with their photographs and decided not to wait as the owl had just caught dinner and might be dining for awhile.  With the light beginning to fade, the bird activity picked up in the bushes lining the path and we found White-crowned Sparrows, House Finch, Purple Finch and more Golden-crowned Sparrows all noshing on the plentiful crabapple fruit. We spotted at least three Spotted Towhees, one showing extensive white spotting and an extra long white undertail spot which differntiates him as a “maculatus” subspecies instead of our typical regional “oreganus”.  Well spotted!

And then, another highlight for all, a Short-eared Owl hunting in the grassy fields to the North.  A more than acceptable consolation for having missed the Barn Owl!  Our now very happy group then continued making our way back, pausing once to inspect another very birdy tree.  The light made ID difficult but they appeared to be mostly blackbirds with at least a couple of bright eyes indicating Brewer’s Blackbirds amongst the mixed flock.  Evelyn, now late for her family dinner, hustled ahead but we came upon her a few minutes later, binoculars raised as she reported having spotted a “flycatchery looking bird”.  And sure enough, there was the sought after Say’s Phoebe on the balcony of the big house!  This was a lifer for some and exciting for all.  A great end to what we all agreed was a successful day.  One beginner declared that it was his best Sunday in a very long time.  Another assured us that she would be joining us again.  How wonderful to hear!

We ended the day with 41 species.  We walked a total of 5 km and were birding for 3 hours and 29 minutes.  View the checklist and a few more photos here:
https://ebird.org/checklist/S301204073