Where: Centennial Beach, Delta Weather: Cloudy, 15C
The Outing
Nic and I headed out for the first time in three weeks, now that he is back in the Pacific time zone, in body, if not in mind. Alas, after two weeks of warm, summer-like weather, the clouds have returned. It actually wasn’t that cold overall, but the wind coming over the bay was a little chilly. Shorts weather, but without the chance of sunburn.
We did technically see two raptors, way up high–an eagle and what Merlin says was a northern harrier. I’ve never seen them fly in proximity before.
The birding turned out to be a bit better than expected, especially as we returned along the trails, with a goldfinch proving elusive, then somewhat more cooperative. All of my shots of it were poo. I did get one when it was up closer, but didn’t have time to properly focus. If it had sat still for two more seconds, I would have gotten a great shot.
I consoled myself by getting a bunch of shots of a positively adorable rabbit. While the first one dashed into the undergrowth before we could get any shots, the next proved suitably chill. And adorable. I’m going to assume there were about a thousand others we didn’t see, just out of sight.
I attempted to get some shots of diving swallows and managed a few that were surprisingly half-decent. Like, you can not just tell they’re swallows, you can see feathers and stuff. Neat!
Overall, it was nice to be back out. While better light would have been nice, at least we didn’t have to find the right spot to avoid the harsh glare of the sun. Yeah, that’s it!
The Shots
The Birds (and other critters)
Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:
- Barn swallow
- European starling
- Goldfinch
- House sparrow
- Savannah sparrow
- Spotted towhee
- Tree swallow
Waterfowl:
- Gadwall
- Killdeer
- Mallard
Common:
- Crow
- Seagull
Raptors:
- Bald eagle
- Northern harrier
Non-birds:
- Rabbits
- Some bugs if you squinted or were a swallow
