The forecast for Saturday was a good one and didn’t disappoint! For such a nice day, we scheduled a birding jaunt down to Deep Bay and the Ship’s Point area.
Birds were quite active at Deep Bay and despite the mix of sunshine and misty spotty fog silhouetting distant birds, we were happy with our count of 30 species.
A highlight was the appearance of a Hudsonian Whimbrel. We initially identified this bird as a Whimbrel, but were later corrected: in October 2025, the ornithological authorities, through the latest eBird/Clements Taxonomy Update officially recognized the North American population of the Whimbrel as Numenius hudsonicus (Hudsonian Whimbrel) and the Eurasian counterpart as the Eurasian Whimbrel. This change followed genetic research, recognizing distinct morphological and genetic differences.
Other species noted were: Black Oystercatchers, gull spp, Common Loon, Harlequin, Surf Scoter, Black Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Common Goldeneye, Horned Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Bufflehead, Mallard, Double-crested Cormorant, Long-tailed Ducks, Belted Kingfisher, Bald Eagle, American Robin, European Starling, Rock (feral) Pigeon, American Crow, White-crowned Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Spotted Towhee, House Finch, Anna’s Hummingbird, Cedar Waxwing and Pacific Wren.
At Ship’s Point, we stopped in at the Ship’s Point Park and then had a quick look at birds near the parking area at the end of Tozer Road. The count was lower in this area, with a total of 22 species: Mallards, Bufflehead, Red-breasted Merganser, American Wigeon, Surf Scoter, Black Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Common Goldeneye, Horned Grebe, gull spp., Canada Geese, Black Oystercatcher, Belted Kingfisher, Bald Eagle, Common Raven, American Robin, Anna’s Hummingbird, Song Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Fox Sparrow and Spotted Towhee.
1. Hudsonian Whimbrel 10. European Starlings
2. Black Oystercatcher 11. Golden-crowned Sparrow
3. Harlequin 12. White-crowned Sparrow juvenile
4. Common Loon 13. House Finch male
5. Bufflehead female 14. Spotted Towhee
6. Surf Scoters 15. Rock (feral) Pigeons
7. Black Scoters 16. Long-tailed Ducks non-breeding males and females
8. Common Goldeneye 17. Long-tailed Ducks Non-breeding female and juvenile male
9. American Robin 18. sea lions
1. misty fog 4. Common Goldeneye
2. Bald Eagle juvenile 5. Fox Sparrow
3. Black Oystercatcher 6. White-crowned Sparrow
