Trip Report and Photos by Christine Balkwill

A group of 11 enthusiastic birders started out on an overcast but pleasant day. The group had a mix of experience with a handful of eager beginners, a few local, experienced birders and one birder with more experience in eastern North America.

The ponds only held a few remaining puddles of water so ducks were scant and we spotted no shorebirds today. A single Heron relaxed with the 6 loafing Mallards west of the bridge. One of our beginners spotted a river otter in the same area which was a first for me in this park! A few sparrows were heard at the east end and we briefly saw Song Sparrows and possibly a Lincoln’s Sparrow. We took a moment to listen to and look for a Brown Creeper here and did see at least one more later on the walk. We continued on the South side of the main pond and headed into the meadow where bird activity picked up substantially.  There were many Black-capped Chickadees, 2 Northern Flickers high in the trees and quite a lot of activity in the trees on the south side of the meadow. Here our eastern birder was very adept at spotting and we found a Black-throated Grey Warbler, a Wilson’s Warbler, a Warbling Vireo and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet. After heading up the hill it was difficult to know where to focus your attention – Golden-crowned, Song and White-crowned Sparrows down low, a Bewick’s Wren who was easy to hear but hard to see, an Orange-crowned Warbler and a Hammond’s Flycatcher were all vying for attention and we lingered here for quite a while. A hundred yards further along, the Chestnut-backed Chickadees were heard as was a Common Yellowthroat. As some of us scanned the bushes to try to see them, someone noticed that the resident Barred Owl was standing behind us about 3 meters away!

As we walked further west we heard Downy Woodpeckers, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Spotted Towhee and a Pacific Wren and encountered a group of 3 American Robins quite active high in the trees. Rounding the corner and heading to the North side we were interested to see 2 more American Robins that seemed to be harassing a Flycatcher that we were unable to identify.  As we moved into the area between the eastern and western ponds we watched a flock of about 10 American Goldfinch settle in a large tree and finally got a look at a Downy Woodpecker in the open after hearing them 2 previous times with no clear sighting. A Pileated Woodpecker was heard in the distance. Checking the pond again we found a handsome Northern Pintail male in eclipse plumage. A Cooper’s Hawk created a bird kerfuffle as he flew over and scattered the finches. Soon after another raptor was sighted that may have been a Merlin.

After returning to the bridge most of the group was game for a quick check of the beach area and were rewarded with a Pelagic and and a Double-crested Cormorant and then a flurry of activity in the adjacent bushes where we discovered 1 or 2 Yellow Warbler, an Orange-crowned Warbler and another Ruby-crowned Kinglet.

We were a good team and everyone contributed to bird finding and to a spirited and friendly outing. We identified a total of 38 species over the 3 hour, 2.5 kilometer walk.  Checklist https://ebird.org/checklist/S272954727