Where: Reifel Bird Sanctuary and Centennial Beach, both in Delta Weather: Cloudy, 17C
The Outing
I’ve actually done several bird outings between this one and the last one I wrote about on May 24, but for some reason never put together write-ups or galleries. Lazy? Bad? Who can say! I may eventually put up at least galleries for each later.
For now, though, on to the most recent birding, which was also the first outing of Summer 2023. The weather was not particularly summer-like, as it was cloudy, windy and around 17C, but no rain, no hail and no risk of sunburn, so it was fine.
We started out early at Reifel I opted to keep my hoodie on. This was a wise choice.
We got some quick pics of the sandhill crane family adjacent to the parking lot to start, but the main pond was unusually quiet. We headed off toward the bird blinds, where Nic had seen an owl last week when I was in Kamloops, but alas, no owls on this day. Also, the left bird blind was closed due to birds nesting in it. They clearly do not understand what a bird blind is for.
The theme at Reifel was cowbirds, and plenty of them. We only saw a couple of chickadees, no squirrels at all, but plenty of ducks, geese, and the cowbirds, who were spread out across nearly the entire sanctuary. It was kind of weird.
As befits summer, the marshland is starting to look appropriately lush and green, besmirched only by that now abandoned sailboat, which is badly listing to port now and has been there for many weeks.
The outer trails were especially breezy and cool, but some workers pointed out an oriole nest we’ll keep an eye on in future visits. The inner trails were warmer, but festooned with giant swarms of flying bugs. Fortunately, they are not the biting kind. The swallows were very well supplied.
The oddest sight may have been a small group of Northern pintails. They should have migrated weeks ago, but they either got lost, lazy or just like it here.
Centennial Beach proved a bit lacking for raptors and killdeer (we saw the latter, but only flying overhead and away from the beach), but we did see Savannah sparrows and house finches. A few others, like goldfinches, teased with their presence, but never made for good shots. The weather improved enough that the sun almost came out a few times, and it was almost warm enough to doff the hoodie.
It’s warm and sunny as I type this the day after. 😛
Overall, it was nice to be out, and I got some of my best cowbird shots ever because a) they were plentiful and b) some of them stopped frantically jumping around and stood still for several moments.
The Shots
The Birds (and other critters)
Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:
- Anna’s Hummingbird
- Barn swallow
- Blackbird
- Brown-headed cowbird
- Chickadee
- European starling
- Goldfinch
- House sparrow
- Savannah sparrow
- Spotted towhee
- Tree swallow
Waterfowl:
- Blue-winged teal
- Canada goose
- Great blue heron
- Killdeer
- Mallard
- Northern pintail
- Wood duck
Common:
- Crow
- Seagull
Raptors:
- Bald eagle
Non-birds:
- Some giant freaky catfish (?) in a slough at Reifel
- Cows in a field
