All Work and No Birding Makes Jon A Dull(er) Boy

I haven't really had much time for dedicated birding just lately, so my sightings have been limited to the things that I've casually spotted here and there.
My daily lunchtime ramble around the southwestern shore of Langford Lake hasn't been without its highlights. The red crossbill pair have continued to show periodically, and even treated me to killer views as they came down to drink just feet away from me.
On the water it's been the usual hooded and common mergansers, ring-necked ducks, buffleheads, pied-billed grebes, and so on.
A couple of turkey vultures came through yesterday - my first of the spring - while red-tailed and Cooper's hawks, merlin and bald eagles put in appearances here and there.

Jenny and I spent the weekend in Seattle being tourists. It at least gave me chance top do a bit of turbo-seabirding from the Clipper, but I didn't see anything that I wouldn't have if I were stood on Clover Point for half an hour.
Pigeon guillemots, common murres, rhinoceros auklets and marbled murrelets were seen along with the expected loons, grebes and seaducks.

Once back on Canadian soil, I squeezed a quick visit in to Government House just to see what was happening. The place was positively jumping with American robins, many of which were fighting over the few remaining berries on a couple of cotoneasters. A single varied thrush joined in the mayhem.
Dark-eyed juncos were singing, as were house finches, golden-crowned sparrows and Anna's hummingbirds, while chestnut-backed chickadees, red-breasted nuthatches, ruby-crowned kinglets, Pacific wrens, downy woodpeckers, bushtits and brown creepers (pictured) busily foraged away.
On my way out, I came across a small flock of pine siskin feeding high up in the trees near the gate. I scanned through but alas, no redpolls were to be found among them.

It's A Mystery

As you may have noticed, I have uploaded a new Mystery Bird (top right) - I'll post the results and identity of the previous one here soon. In the meantime, this one shouldn't divide participants quite so much as the last one did...

I Do Like To Bird Beside The Seaside...

Double-crested & pelagic cormorant

It was blowing a hoolie overnight Friday, and so Saturday I set off to the waterfront with seabirds on my mind. A wonderful theory perhaps, but once I got out I realised that the wind was blowing in the wrong direction to be of much use... oh well, I decided I might as well see what was about anyway.
I kicked off at a very gusty Clover Point. A couple of hundred mew gulls were taking shelter, roosting on the exposed rocks while the more robust glaucous-winged gulls were hunkered down on the main grassy area. They all went up when an adult bald eagle came in to inspect the tideline. A couple of Thayer's gulls graced the point with their presence, but no 'white-wingers' were to be found. Hundreds more mew gulls were feeding distantly offshore.
Shorebirds were thin on the ground; just 2 dunlin and 15 black turnstones were feeding along the kelp strewn rocks while a couple of black oystercatchers peeped noisily around the area. 
On the water, the usual harlequins, buffleheads and surf scoters were present along with smaller numbers of long-tailed duck, red-breasted merganser and a drake white-winged scoter.
Common and Pacific loons were also fishing out on the water, joined by the regular red-necked and horned grebes. Pigeon guillemots, in various stages of moult, peppered the seascape while common murres blasted around in small, tight packs further out.
Next stop, Harling Point for more of the same. I did manage to add a couple of marbled murrelets here, and common merganser to the list of birds seen. The rocks were bereft of shorebirds.
There was a little more going at McMicking Point, but not much. Harlequins, hooded mergansers and buffleheads were taking shelter from the wind in the shallow bays while a few double-crested and pelagic cormorants were roosting on the exposed rocks (pic). Despite the availability of suitable habitat, I didn't find a single turnstone or surfbird. Maybe the low tide just meant that they had lots of places to feed, and were choosing more secluded spots away from the prying eyes of a Brit birder...

Ist year drake white-winged scoter

A quick stop at Oak Bay Marina was notable for adding a pair of greater yellowlegs to the daylist. Scanning through another sizable roost of mew gulls, I couldn't dig anything unusual out. A 1st year drake white-winged scoter was fishing just off the marina mouth (pic).
I wound up at Cattle Point where the story much remained the same. Other than the small cluster of American wigeons dabbling around near the slipway, it was pretty much a repeat of the birds seen thus far along the coast.
Perhaps if I keep trawling this stretch, I WILL find a rock sandpiper eventually. 

Flats Life

With the benefit of a dry, if overcast, morning Panama Flats was today's destination. I met Lynette Brown at the parking area around 9.30am and we headed off to see what we could see.
This was Lynette's first visit to the site, and I was happy to be able to pass on the same kindness shown to me by local birders when I first arrived in Victoria by showing Lynette around.
It was immediately apparent that were fewer birds here than on my last visit, with the larger areas of water almost devoid of ducks. In the marshier sections we could see reasonable numbers of pintail, shoveler and green-winged teal as well as a few American wigeon and mallard.
A marsh wren was singing, unseen, from a clump of vegetation by the path as we walked toward the main raised bank. This was soon followed by the unmistakable sound of a western meadowlark, and we soon located two of these wonderful birds.

Badly posing, dodgy-scoped gadwall

A female ring-necked duck was out on the larger pool, along with a handful of buffleheads, and small numbers of the commoner dabblers. A single American coot and a few gadwall were paddling around, their subtle beauty almost overshadowed by the comparative gaudy pintail, teal and shovelers.
We walked around the perimeter path to the grey building where we briefly checked through the sparrows. The usual Lincoln's and song sparrows were present, but there was no sign of the tree sparrow. 
We bumped into a couple of birders who had found a swamp sparrow further along the path, and we stopped and chatted about the future of the Flats. After a while we headed off in search of ol' swampy, but despite our best efforts we could only dig out more Lincoln's and song sparrows plus another singing marsh wren (this one actually showed).
A red-tailed hawk was being harassed by crows and gulls as it moved around the area and a couple of great-blue heron were stalking the shallows.
Even though we didn't see anything out of the ordinary, we had a great morning's birding and I was reminded once more just how different every visit to Panama Flats can be. It will be interesting to see what drops by at this brilliant site as spring starts to gather pace.

Very Watery BC Waterbird Count...

Harling Point

The official BC Coastal Waterbird Survey count date was last Sunday, but given that the high tide was around 5.45am on that day, I thought I'd do the count this weekend when the tide was at least up during daylight hours.
As it happens, I shouldn't have bothered. Cold, near horizontal rain and gusty winds were the primary features of the count as I staggered soggily around the coast late morning.
Visibility was reasonably decent despite the precipitation, but birds were just really thin on the ground. Or water.
Very small numbers of loons, grebes and just 2 pigeon guillemots were seen along with the usual buffleheads, harlequin ducks and a couple of long-tailed ducks. Surf scoters were present in smaller numbers than is often the case and even the bulk of gulls seemed to be elsewhere. A lone white-winged scoter came by.
Highlights included a group of 14 surfbirds near McMicking Point, doing what surfbirds do best, clinging onto wave battered rocks (a further 5 were at Harling Point). Most unusually, I didn't see a single turnstone or oystercatcher anywhere.
Three small flocks of brant were seen passing by offshore; 19, 11 and 8.
The rain just about stopped as I completed my count. Of course.

Birding on a Wet Weekend

On Saturday I managed to scramble a few hours together and chose to concentrate my efforts on birding along the coast. My intention being to try and locate a rock sandpiper or two... 
I started off at Clover Point, scoping out over the waves and checking the rocky foreshore. I came across the expected black turnstones and surfbirds but there was nothing else wader-wise to be had. Offshore, there was plenty going on - hundreds of mew gulls and good numbers of glaucous-winged gulls wheeling around but nothing more enticing noticeable among them. The regular western-type was present around the parking area.

Red-necked grebe

Also bobbing around on the water were common and Pacific loons, surf scoters, buffleheads, harlequin ducks, red-breasted, common and hooded mergansers, horned and red-necked grebes  (pic) and several smart long-tailed ducks.
Alcids were represented by common murres, pigeon guillemots (many now in breeding garb) and a few rhinoceros auklets. The usual cormorant species were all present and correct.
I headed along the coast, checking out Harling Point and the Chinese Cemetery. Here the birds were much the same, though I did add white-winged scoter and a western grebe to the day-list.
A good scan around the Oak Bay Marina revealed little of note. I couldn't even find any greater yellowlegs; the only shorebirds seen being 6 killdeer roosting on a small islet.
At Cattle Point, a single Thayer's gull provided a little larid relief but my diligent search along the kelp draped rocks failed to turn up my hoped-for rock sandpiper and I had to be content with more surfbirds and turnstones. Oh well, next time eh? 

Another quality self-portrait...

On Sunday, Jenny and I chose to explore a previously undiscovered (by us, that is) spot by the name of Gowlland Tod Provincial Park by the Saanich Inlet. We started our hike at the McKenzie Bight access point and headed up along the Timberman Trail.
We trekked through the ridiculously verdant old growth rain forest as far as the Squally Reach Viewpoint - where on a day when the cloud wasn't at eye level, I am sure there are spectacular views to be had.
The birds were mostly silent, and mostly invisible.

Barrow's goldeneye

We returned via the Cascade Trail, a steep descent alongside an impressive wee waterfall that leads to a pebbly beach.
Here were spied a few Barrow's goldeneyes (pic) and admired the decidedly Scottish-like views. Or am I thinking of Norway..?
We slogged our way back up the muddy McKenzie Bight trail in the drizzle.

The Misty Wee Hills Of Gowlland Tod

We both really loved this placed and can't wait to visit again on a clear spring day when we will follow the high trail over to Jocelyn Hill. Maybe.
On our way home we stopped off at the Red Barn Market, and I slipped round the back to check the flooded field. Six trumpeter swans and 3 American coot were in among the many mallard.     
 

Harassment Of Hedwigs Hits Horrific Heights

I don't know if it's just the time of year, or the fact that Jenny's been having more days off at weekends lately but I had another relatively birdless week.
Last Saturday, we walked along the waterfront and included Clover Point and Beacon Hill Park in our travels. My trusty bins ever-present, I tried to find something worth mentioning but everywhere we went it was business as usual (not even a Eurowigeon in the park). Of course, that's not a terribly bad thing - I don't expect to walk out of the house and bump into a mega every day, but it just means that there's nothing much to blog about.

Sunday, we had a change of scenery and drove out to East Sooke Park. We have visited the southern stretch a number of times, and walked from Aylard Farm to Beechey Head, but had never explored the more westerly areas, so with that in mind we headed for Pike Road and the Coppermine Trail.
The temperate rain forest here is truly spectacular in places, considering we're just 45 minutes away from downtown Victoria!
Of course, the forests are deadly quiet at this time of year and other than the odd Pacific wren or bald eagle it was pretty unbirdy stuff. Great scenery and a fine picnic all helped sooth the pain...
Offshore it was equally drab, with highlights including common loon and white-winged scoter. And a SUBMARINE! Yes, a real sub - the first I've ever seen in the wild (I once saw a Trident nuclear sub in dry-dock in Barrow-in-Furness while on my way to twitch a spotted sandpiper but that doesn't count).
And other than my daily lunchtime strolls around Langford Lake, that's been it really. A small flock of pine siskins dropped by today, but alas brought no redpolls. It was nice to see a pair of red crossbills yesterday gathering nesting material, close to the spot where a male has been singing for the past week or so.
A clan of river otters have been hanging around by the boardwalk for the last couple of days, always a pleasant diversion.

On a less enjoyable note, this video depicting photographers deliberately flushing a snowy owl has been causing a stir in local birding circles. The location, Boundary Bay near Vancouver, is a renowned wintering site for owls and raptors, and given this season's continent-wide snowy invasion the place has been positively jumping with the big goofy white things.
Unfortunately, the camo-clad masses have been out trampling about the place, desperate to get another shot to add the thirty-two million already posted on local forums.
It seems that a picture of a snowy owl must be considered worthless if it should show any habitat whatsoever. Only a close up of the birds' nostril hairs will do, or at the very least a flight shot.
After all, they're really bloody boring just sitting there, aren't they...?
Anyway, watch this and despair.

Scarce Sparrow Provides a Rare Tree-t

Aahhh, the weekend rolls around once more. I had entertained thoughts of heading up island today, partly to spend a bit of time birding the Nanaimo River estuary and partly to have a go at trying to relocate the slaty-backed gull that was reported to be in the Mill Bay area.

A wet Panama Flats

In the end I did neither, opting for a bit of a lie-in and a few hours squelching around Panama Flats in my wellies.
I haven't been to the flats for ages, and there have been some good wintering passerines being seen at the site over the past couple of months. As you can see from the pic, water levels are pretty high and as a result there are tons of ducks dabbling around.
Good numbers of pintail, northern shoveler, mallard, green-winged teal and American wigeon were very much present. I had a good scan through the teal but couldn't find any 'commons' in among them. I picked up a drake Eurasian wigeon at either end of the flats - was it the same mobile bird or were there 2 present?

Canvasback

A couple of bufflehead, and 2 pairs of gadwall were also seen and then I noticed an aythya emerging from a pack of shoveler on the southern pool - it was a female canvasback. Not a bird I expected to see at Panama Flats! I don't think it stuck around too long, as I couldn't see it when I returned to the same area an hour or so later.

Raptors-wise, a peregrine was sat up in its usual tree overlooking the flats, and a red-tailed hawk was doing similar until it was chased off by Northwestern crows. A juv bald eagle flapped lazily overhead.

As I walked along the western path, I came across 3 western meadowlarks feeding in the boggy grass. Other than multiple song sparrows and a few golden-crowned and white-crowned sparrows, I didn't see many other songbirds as I trudged around the flats in the cool drizzle. As I neared the grey building things changed somewhat; several Lincoln's sparrows showed, mixed in with yet more song sparrows.

American tree sparrow

Then the American tree sparrow popped up. By all accounts, this bird has been pretty reliable since its arrival earlier in the winter, often showing in the same general area. After a while, I managed to get a crummy shot of it as it fed briefly on the path. American tree sparrows are pretty scarce on Vancouver Island, and my only previous experience of this charming species involves the ones that I found at the Nanaimo estuary back in December 2009. 

Another other 'good' bird regularly being spotted here recently is a skylark. Now, as one of my least-wanted birds that appears on the North American list, I was rather hoping to bump into it today just to get it out of the way. I rue the day when I have to go actually looking for one... Unlike numerous other European 'imports' (starling and house sparrow among them) skylarks aren't despised by local birders, and following a serious reduction in numbers, somewhat mirroring the population crash in their native lands, they have become highly sought after by North America's birding elite. Vancouver Island is the only place on the continent where they can be found, and they're in rapid decline. Anyway, I was spared an encounter with this most familiar of birds - perhaps I will have to wait until I jam into one whilst out looking for something more interesting!
I searched through the numerous, very mobile savannah sparrows as best I could, but couldn't pull anything different out from among them.
I had a good three hours covering the area, and left soggy but very happy!        

Varied and Sundry

The snow continues... forecasts imply a hideous day of 'freezing rain' tomorrow, whatever that may be. Water halfway between liquid and ice? Oh, so a sort of snow then.
I don't believe that's one of Kate Bush's 50 Words For Snow...
Anyhoo, I was working from home again yesterday and once again the apple tree was notably attracting many of the neighbourhood birds.
A couple of varied thrushes have pretty much taken to residing in it, pecking at the remaining fruit for hours on end.

I absolutely love these delicately patterned thrushes, easily one of my favourite North American birds. As you can see I snapped a couple of shots.

British birders of a certain vintage will doubtless recall the first, and still only, UK record of this species back in November 1982 when a 1st year bird in aberrant plumage was found in the rarity hotspot of Nanquidno, Cornwall. At the time it was also the first record for the Western Palearctic, only surpassed by a spring 2004 record from eastern Iceland. 

There has been no sign of the western tanager for a couple of days, perhaps it has succumbed to the freezing overnight temperatures and perished.
Or maybe it just realised that it's a relatively short flight down to California from here.
Anna's hummingbirds, dark-eyed juncos, golden-crowned kinglet and Bewick's wren have all been seen visiting the apple tree, while house finch and American robin have joined the queue to get a bit of their five a day.
Having taken the hummingbird feeder in overnight, I was greeted at first light by the distinctive, and rather impatient 'tick-ticking' of the resident male Anna's, eager for his first energy boost of the morning. 

All White On The Night

Western tanager tries to blend in with the apples...

It threw a fair bit of snow down last night, so rather than risk sharing the road with the bewildered drivers of Victoria I worked from home today. And I'm rather glad I did, as the snow just kept coming throughout much of the day and I wouldn't have much enjoyed the homeward-bound bumper-car session on the highway. In the dark.
So, being confined to barracks I was pleased to note that the western tanager visited the apple tree outside the house several times during the course of the day. I managed to get a shot of it as it fed intently on an apple. I don't suppose there are too many pics of western tanagers in snow!   

Anas Penelope Pitstop

It's been a pretty quiet week on the bird front, for me at least.
My regular lunchtime sorties around the southwestern edge of Langford Lake have been reasonably interesting, if hardly spectacular. The highlight this week was the appearance, on two days, of a smart Townsend's warbler in the small park (it's called Kitty La Quesne Family Park, or something along those lines). Small groups of red crossbill pass over the area frequently, but the large pine siskin flock seems to have moved on - pity, as I was hoping they might attract a passing redpoll.

The Tanager Tree with Sunday morning snow.

The western tanager keeps appearing in the apple tree outside the kitchen window, though its movements are unpredictable to say the least. Some days it arrives with foraging bushtits and chestnut-backed chickadees, other days it's just there on its own. Mostly however, it's nowhere to be seen. This popular tree also hosted its first varied thrush midweek and the resident Anna's hummingbird, now resplendent in full breeding garb appears to have lured a potential mate... watch this space!

A rare thing happened this weekend. Jenny had both days off, so while it was great to be able to spend the time together, it rather curtailed my birding.

Me, battling the elements.

That said, we took a stroll out on Saturday and headed down to Clover Point, battling the stiff onshore breeze and very wintry temperatures.
It was fairly unremarkable bird-wise, though we did see 5 sanderling, along with the usual dunlins, black turnstones and what have you. It was business as usual offshore, with the expected seaducks, grebes, loons and gulls all present and correct.
We then walked on to Beacon Hill Park. We passed the ponds and made a quick pitstop to check through the American wigeon in search of scarcer interlopers. We found just 5 males and 1 female Eurasian wigeon. Other quackers included small numbers of ring-necked duck and lesser scaup plus 15 northern shoveler.
We then headed into downtown, where the ornithological highlight was a yellow-rumped warbler feeding on a store awning along Douglas Street! An excellent lunch at Pagliacci's was another considerable highlight.

Adult cedar waxwing

Today's (Sunday) trundle took us along Oak Bay Avenue and down to the waterfront near the Marina. Shorebirds seen included the usual turnstone, dunlin, black-bellied plover and killdeer plus a lone greater yellowlegs. A trio of river otters entertained us as they fished off the end of Turkey Head (they were in the water, not stood around with rods. Obviously). A red-tailed hawk sailed over, keenly pursued by a pair of garrulous ravens.
We walked back along the coast via the golf course and Chinese Cemetery, seeing little of note along the way. Heading back up into Rockland along St Charles Street we spotted a hermit thrush feeding on some ornamental berry tree in the company of several American robins.

Cedar waxwings

After a well-earned mug of tea and a few biccies at Chez Carter, I went to see if anything interesting was lurking in the Government House grounds. It was pretty quiet, with the exception of a flock of 56 cedar waxwings, some of which are pictured here. It was interesting to note that the majority of the waxwings were 1st year birds.