Sunday 18 March 2012

Getting horny

Haven't done too much birding this week, with one thing and another. I've noticed a couple more turkey vultures migrating through here and there but otherwise it's been a bit quiet.
Jenny and I got out yesterday (Saturday) for a good walk - we set off to Oak Bay Marina and continued along the coast to Ross Bay. We made a small but exhilarating detour up through Walbran Park, the views from here were superb and I couldn't help but think what a great 'vis-mig' point this could be...
Anyway, despite the miles of coastline trudged, we saw very little to get excited about bird-wise.

Bewick's wren
On Sunday I spent a bit of time rooting around in the Government House grounds. There was lots going; the air was filled with singing Pacific and Bewick's wrens (pictured), dark-eyed juncos, pine siskins and house finches while excavating red-breasted nuthatches and downy woodpeckers worked industriously.
Looking skyward, a Cooper's hawk was engaging in fabulous aerial display and a lone sharp-shinned hawk even spiraled over heading northward.

Great horned owl
I looked in vain for a resident barred owl but was rewarded big-time by the discovery of my first great horned owl on the site (pictured). I wonder if this was a transient short-range-migrant or a local bird seeking new territory? It'll be interesting to see whether this bird hangs around...  

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