It must have been closer to 7:30 when I arrived at Burnside, and there was no sign of the group. The gate was open and heavy equipment was moving in. Nevertheless, I was able to take a quick look around with my scope and saw lots of Greater Yellowlegs, 3 Ruddy Ducks and a Ring-necked Duck.
I quickly moved on to the Richmond Lagoons, where the several cars in the lot verified that I had located the group. Today there were Jane, Connie, Ed (first time meeting), Barb Robertson, Peggy, Brenda & me.
In the first pond, there were lots of Green-winged Teal and Yellowlegs, and some other sandpipers. We noted 2 Least Sandpipers and a bunch of Killdeers.
We saw a Gray Catbird and Song Sparrow in the bushes behind and Kinglets, probably Ruby-crowned. It started to spit and then the rain picked up, although it had not been forecast. We retreated to the Richmond Arena to use the washrooms, then to the Richmond Bakery to buy a few snacks. Brenda and I headed across the street to get a coffee.
It was still raining lightly, but we decided to carry on to Jock Trail Road. Ed spotted a Nashville Warbler. It was wet, so we birded from the car. The lead vehicle saw a troop of Wild Turkeys crossing the road.
We turned south onto Munster Road and stopped by the horse field. We saw several more Nashville Warblers, as the rain intensified. We drove to the end and turned around. We decided to quit as it was now pouring rain.
On the way back up Munster, Connie & Jane saw some Eastern Bluebirds and an American Robin on a wire. Carrying on, Jane somehow spotted a sandpiper in a little mud puddle that was obscured by bushes. Some thought it was a Solitary, but others, including me, thought it was a Spotted. However, Connie got out her new field guide, and the consensus shifted to Solitary Sandpiper.
There were dozens of European Starlings in a tree by Jock Trail. Incredibly, the rain was letting up, so we decided to carry on after all to the Munster Lagoons.
We got out and hiked the lagoon road, hearing Blue Jays make a very odd sound. A Sharp-shinned Hawk sprang up from it’s perch at the side of the road as we came along.
A very wet sparrow was perched in a spruce tree and allowed us to scope him. At first we thought it might be a Vesper Sparrow, but, after consulting the guide, we decided it was only a Savannah Sparrow.
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