Sanderling Sunday

This morning I spent about 2.5 hours around the Clover Point and Ross Bay area. For much of the visit I was joined by Lynette Brown, a keen birder who recently moved to Victoria, who I had arranged to meet for a spot of coastal birding.

Around the point there were the usual 20 or so black turnstone, a couple of surfbirds, 20ish dunlin (including several feeding on the floating kelp just offshore) and a single sanderling (pictured here with dunlin). There were plenty of ducks present, including good numbers of bufflehead and harlequin. A pair of stunning common merganser, (the male was immaculate, infused with that gorgeous salmon pink as shown by some drakes), were fishing close to the shore while a party of comparatively scruffy red-breasted mergansers foraged close by.
Further out, several surf scoters were seen and a pair of striking long-tailed duck were keeping their distance.
A flotilla of 30 horned grebe made for a spectacular sight, and smaller numbers of red-necked grebes were scattered around along with a few common loons and pigeon guillemots. 
The gulls at Clover Point were largely comprised of the expected raggle-taggle not-quite glaucous-winged/western variety, although one adult and a third winter showed signs of being dangerously close to pure western gull. A few mew gulls were kicking around close offhsore with many more larids way out, once again silhouetted in the low morning light.
Double-crested and pelagic cormorants were variously sat around on floating logs or fishing here and there.
Despite recent reports, I maintained my inability to locate any rock sandpipers. One of these days...

The Calm After The Storm

The rain overnight, and throughout the early part of the morning, had the desired effect and Clover Point was relatively people/dog-free when I got down there. 
Even so, the birding was pretty unremarkable. There were no shorebirds bar a lone black turnstone around the rocks and gulls were thin on the ground. The water was where the action was, and scanning around I could see good numbers of common murre, pigeon guillemot, harlequin duck and surf scoter. Scattered among the more numerous species were several red-necked and horned grebes, marbled murrelets, bufflehead, rhinoceros auklet, common and Pacific loon, a pair of white-winged scoter and my first long-tailed duck of the autumn.

Moving along the coast, my next stop was at Harling Point and the Chinese Cemetery. Here things were even quiter disturbance-wise, and as a result there were good numbers of shorebirds present.
On the nearby rocks were 28 surfbirds, 22 black-bellied plover (pictured) and 11 black turnstone, plus a couple of black oystercatchers.
Offshore, it was much the same as from Clover Point. A flotilla of some 14 Pacific loons in various state of moult was a lovely sight.
I made the short stroll round to Trafalgar Park, but it was pretty quiet. The same waterbirds could be seen and a peregrine was sat out on Trial Island.
The total absence of Bonaparte's gulls was notable and I only picked up 3 or 4 Heermann's gulls along the whole stretch of shore.

McMicking Point was my next, and final, port of call. Once again, the birds offshore were much the same as seen from elsewhere. A group of cormorants roosting up on the rocks behind the golf course contained all three common species: Brandt's, pelagic and double-crested (pictured).

Early afternoon, I went to the Government House grounds in search of feeding sparrow or bushtit flocks. There were few juncos and sparrows around, but I did locate a very active group of golden-crowned and ruby-crowned kinglets. Among the throng were the expected chestnut-backed chickadees, red-breasted nuthatches, brown creepers and a downy woodpecker but nothing out of the ordinary.

White-winged gull conundrum

Taking a break from work this afternoon, I headed off to Cattle Point to see what I could find.
Offshore, there were good numbers of pigeon guillemot plus a handful of rhinoceros auklets. A few surf scoters and harlequins were kicking around.
A small flock of a dozen or so spectacular long-tailed duck flew in and landed on the water.
7 brant were flying around offshore.
Searching the shoreline for waders I could only find a group of 13 black turnstone, and at one point I heard a greater yellowlegs but failed to locate the bird itself.
Pelagic cormorants were perched up, posing nicely - hence the accompanying pic.
The only passerine of note was a savannah sparrow, seen feeding along the tide rack.

Among the muddle of gulls by the slipway, I spotted what I initially thought might be a Kumlien's gull but on closer inspection, I wasn't convinced.
Some of its plumage features suggest that species, but its small size, head shape and dainty bill had me leaning toward a leucistic mew gull...?

Please have a look at these photos and see what you think. It's certainly a curious looking individual.
I'd be interested to see what others think.