Young Birder Trip to Grant Narrows in Pitt Meadows
15 kids signed up for our trip on June 14, 2025 to Grant Narrows in Pitt Meadows, BC but some got sick or had to work but we still ended up with 11 participants that came from the Lower Mainland and Fraser Valley. We started off scoping Pitt Lake from the boat launch and through the scope we saw a pair of Red-breasted Mergansers which is rare for the area in June. It was too far out for decent camera photos. There were lots of Canada Geese, Mallards with ducklings and a couple Lesser Scaup. We then walked down the dyke to Katzie Marsh where we saw an Osprey on the nest and several Cliff Swallows attempting to build mud nests on the tower. It seemed a little late to be building nests and nests have been knocked down there in the past. Hopefully this doesn’t mean that it happened again. I hope the birds building these nests successfully nest in peace this year.
Cliff Swallow building a nest (hopefully not rebuilding a knocked down one!) - Photo: Luis Huxley
It seemed suspiciously late in the year for Cliff Swallows to be building nests - Photo: Luis Huxley
Young birders looking up at Cliff Swallows on the tower at Grant Narrows
Out on the marsh we saw the lone (likely injured) Trumpeter Swan. Hopefully it can recover and winter and then be able to go fly north and breed next year. There was also a Wilson’s Snipe singing, which is also uncommon here where they don’t usually breed.
Trumpeter Swan at Kazie Marsh in Pitt Meadows, BC - Photo: Luis Huxley
We then walked down the Nature Dyke Trail. It is the time of year that Least Flycatchers tend to show up in this area and it is always an enjoyable birdy walk. In the usual spot, before the large cottonwoods end, there was a Least Flycatcher singing away doing the diagnostic “Che-bek” call over and over. You can listen to our recording HERE. On the trail we also enjoyed watching a Tree Swallow that was nesting in a natural tree cavity which is getting rarer to see these days.
After this we walked along the Catbird Slough dyke and very quickly came upon some Gray Catbirds which was a lifer for several of the youth. They could see the black caps and red undertails on these mimids. We had at least 8 Gray Catbirds and some were visiting nests and others were singing their cat-like “meowing” songs. We also had our first American Redstart at the beginning of the dyke where we encountered some bear fresh scat. We ended up with at least 5 American Redstarts singing away during our walk. One male came down low and flew across the dyke to the marsh side and perched in the open. It was a real treat to see him like that, as they can be super difficult to see.
Gray Catbird at Catbird Slough at Grant Narrows in Pitt Meadows, BC - Photo: Melissa Hafting
Male American Redstart in Pitt Meadows, BC - Photo: Luis Huxley
We saw several beautiful Bullock’s Orioles singing on the trail. Many of the Orioles gave great views and some even came down on the path which is unusual for the species. The trail was loaded with dozens of Cedar Waxwings and many Black-headed Grosbeaks, Yellow Warblers and Common Yellowthroats.
Male Bullock’s Oriole singing at Grant Narrows - Photo: Melissa Hafting
Cedar Waxwing at Grant Narrows in Pitt Meadows, BC - Photo: Leo J.
We were looking for American Bitterns and Green Herons in the marsh but saw Great Blue Herons, lots of Wood Ducks and quite a few Eastern Kingbirds were noisily keeping us company. It was so fun to watch them as they are birds that really seem to have dynamic personalities.
Eastern Kingbird at Grant Narrows in Pitt Meadows, BC - Photo: Melissa Hafting
As we walked on down the dyke Bentley and Cole were telling us about the various moths and butterflies that we were seeing. Luis spotted several Band-tailed Pigeons perched in a tree in the marsh, which was lovely to see, as they are beautiful birds.
An elegant Band-tailed Pigeon at Grant Narrows in Pitt Meadows, BC - Photo: Luis Huxley
Young Birders walking down the dyke from Grant Narrows to Catbird Slough - Photo: Melissa Hafting
We were delighted to see dozens of Black Swifts at Catbird Slough flying low right over the trail, which was super cool for us all! We did not see any Vaux’s Swifts during the day. We had Osprey and many Turkey Vultures, a couple Bald Eagles and Common Ravens fly down the dyke. Many Willow Flycatchers and Western Wood-Pewees were singing and a couple of both species were generous enough to perch down low at eye level for us.
Black Swift flying low down at Grant Narrows - Photo: Luis Huxley
Warbling Vireos, Red-eyed Vireos and Western Flycatchers were present and even a Chipping Sparrow which you don’t often see on the Catbird Slough dyke; even though it is a very common bird in the Pitt Meadows area. Leo spotted a Red-breasted Nuthatch doing his nasally call. There was some beautiful Violet-green Swallows, Northern Rough-winged and Barn Swallows perched low on sticks over the water.
We were thrilled to hear the bugling call of Sandhill Cranes out in the marsh and we had a total of 5 birds. At the end of Catbird Slough we had a couple Gadwall and more Eastern Kingbirds perching on the steps along with Bullock’s Orioles doing the same which was unusual. We also saw a female Oriole collecting nesting material. We sat down and had our lunch here and had Black Swifts and Northern Rough-wingeds flying low down above us, which was a nice way to eat lunch, with such gorgeous views and great birds. A Glaucous-winged Gull flew up the river but there wasn’t much waterfowl, except for Mallards and Wood Ducks out on the river.
Female Bullock’s Oriole collecting nesting material from the ground at Catbird Slough - Photo: Luis Huxley
After lunch we walked the road back and stopped at the spot the Yellow-breasted Chat had been found recently but we did not hear him call or see him. Perhaps he has moved on to a different area because he couldn’t find a mate or perhaps he has a nest and was just silent. Whatever the case may be, we could not find him. As we walked back up the road, the once cool temperature was now getting quite hot and some of the youth were tired and hot. We had many of the same birds we had on the dyke side including another American Redstart and some Wilson’s Warblers. When we got back to the parking lot some youth purchased hot dogs from “The DOG Father” food truck and cold drinks and by this time everyone was tuckered and parents came to pick up the youth. We called it a day and we had a great day out in gorgeous Grant Narrows. We ended up with 57 species and said goodbye and looked forward to our next trip, which would be in July to Manning Provincial Park!
Young Birders at Grant Narrows in Pitt Meadows, BC
