Where: Richmond Nature House, Terra Nova (Richmond)
Weather: Mostly sunny, 8°C
The Outing
Richmond Nature House
Our usual birding day is Saturday and unlike previous years when the weather on Saturday was pretty good in the fall, this year it has been very bad, It is Saturday as I type this, and it is raining yet again.
But we were able to get out yesterday–Friday!–for a mid-November bit of birding during a rare sunny afternoon. And there were birds! And birbs.
Our first stop was the Richmond Nature House, where the renovation work is now largely complete and we were able to park, unlike the last time we tried. The feeders were full and the birds were taking advantage. At first it seemed to be primarily chickadees and juncos, and the juncos had a definite preference for the flat, open feeder styled like a house.
Eventually, other birds showed up. Towhees started appearing along the ground, a song sparrow flew in and we got to see others that don’t pop up as often, like a downy woodpecker, a red-breasted nuthatch (again!) and a mourning dove, which spent most of its time on the ground, oddly.
Speaking of on the ground, a small pond between several feeders proved an appealing place to get a rink for numerous birds, some squirrels and even a rat. It seems weird to see rats in the wild. It sat there and cupped its weirdly human-looking forepaws to sip water. They’re kind of cute when they’re not climbing through dumpsters and spreading disease.
The sun was out most of the time, but when a cloud passed over it and we were put into the shade, you could immediately feel the temperature drop. I wondered how chilly Terra Nova would be.
Terra Nova
As it turned out, Terra Nova was chilly! There was a good breeze scouring the water and making whitecaps. I’d worn my lined hoodie and brought gloves, just in case, so it was fine.
We found at least one person feeding birds, which probably explained why the chickadees were literally flying at us, probably hoping our cameras were bedecked with seed. It allowed us to get some good shots in the increasingly golden-hued light. Because yes, it seemed we’d barely gotten started and it was now barely more than an hour until sunset. We spotted an Anna’s hummingbird at the community garden, and some wigeons and green-winged teals were just offshore (a bit far, alas). While I got some good shots, today was a day when towhees, which were at both spots, proved to be my nemesis. The ones at Terra Nova were being very puffy bois, likely due to the chill.
We did not see any grebes at what I think of as The Grebe Pond, but there were mallards, lazing in the weird red much still covering much of the pond. They didn’t seem to mind.
In all, a nice outing, with some more rarely seen birds and actual sun as bonuses.
The Shots
Soon™
The Birds (and other critters). Rare, rarely-seen or recently returned birds highlighted in bold.
Sparrows and sparrow-adjacent:
- Anna’s hummingbird
- Black-capped chickadee
- Dark-eyed junco
- Downy woodpecker
- Fox sparrow
- Golden-crowned sparrow
- House finch
- Mourning dove
- Red-breasted nuthatch
- Song sparrow
- Spotted towhee
Waterfowl and shorebirds:
- American wigeon
- Green-winged teal
- Mallard
Common:
- American crow
Raptors:
- None!
Non-birds:
- Douglas, black and gray squirrels
- A rat! Like, in nature!
