Pre-COVID, I was birding in the Greater Vancouver/Washington State area about 6-weeks per year spread over 2-3 annual trips from Toronto. As such, I am a member of the local Delta Naturalist Casual Birders (DNCB) which was developed by inspirational President, Tom Bearss (RIP). The weekly DNCB outings were either Tuedsay or Wednesday, targetting birding hotspots and ending early afternoon with a social lunch in a convienient pub or facility.
This page is focused on my last outing with Tom before he passed. Delta-Brunswick Point is not a premier birding destination but rather a sample of the depth of birding choice that exists in the area. For birding, access to the Point starts where the northside public road is gated just past the last farm. Once parked, one walks 2.3km along the wide gravel utility road which is effectively on top of the parimeter dyke. Given the dyke arcs around farmland, outgoing birders have a view to their right of first a deep branch of the Fraser River, then a salt marsh, and finally the southside tidal mud flats. To the birder’s left, is a passing view of active farmlands with drainage ditches and pockets of trees & bush. The view is basically open and panaramiic. Birds can be anywhere.
Not only does Brunswick Point offer a complex environment but it is situated near well known birding hotspots: It is south of the George C. Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary, north of Point Roberts, and west of Boundary Bay.
Finally, the image of the Snow Geese was included because it is symbolic of our DNCB outings, a positive sunny day, a flock of club birders with the lead bird being Tom Bearss.
- eBird Totals for Delta-Brunswick Point: 34 Species
- Tues, 8 Oct 2019 at 8:08 AM, 16 Individuals, 3 hr, 9 min, 2.3 km:
- Snow Goose number observed: hundreds
- Canada Goose number observed: 92
- Mallard number observed: 42
- Rock Pigeon (Feral Pigeon) number observed: 5
- Black-bellied Plover number observed: 22
- Killdeer number observed: 2
- Dunlin number observed: 2
- Least Sandpiper number observed: 3
- Pectoral Sandpiper number observed: 2
- Western Sandpiper number observed: 4
- Wilson’s Snipe number observed: 1
- Ring-billed Gull number observed: 2
- California Gull number observed: 1
- Glaucous-winged Gull number observed: 2
- Brown Booby number observed: 1
- Great Blue Heron number observed: 3
- Northern Harrier number observed: 5
- Bald Eagle number observed: 4
- Northern Flicker number observed: 10
- American Kestrel number observed: 1
- Peregrine Falcon number observed: 1
- Northwestern Crow number observed: 4
- Black-capped Chickadee number observed: 5
- Bushtit number observed: 30
- Golden-crowned Kinglet number observed: 2
- American Robin number observed: 8
- House Finch number observed: 3
- American Goldfinch number observed: 2
- Fox Sparrow number observed: 2
- White-crowned Sparrow number observed: 1
- Golden-crowned Sparrow number observed: 2
- Song Sparrow number observed: 6
- Western Meadowlark number observed: 10
- Yellow-rumped Warbler number observed: 1
- Spotted Towhee number observed: 2
The End.