Bluebird Of Happiness Returns...

Saturday: With just a small window of birding opportunity open to me today, I squeezed in a brief visit to Holden Creek and the Nanaimo River estuary.

The only thing of note at Holden was the group of 5 greater white-fronted geese in the fields and the large number of American robins in the general area.
At the estuary, I could find no sign of interesting passerine migrants, and so contented myself with picking through the large numbers of violet-green and tree swallows in search of other hirundine species. I didn't locate any.
The only new bird I came across was a female American kestrel, which was hunting distantly in the adjacent scrubby fields (pictured). A female northern harrier was cruising around the marsh, and good numbers of thermaling bald eagles and ravens were joined by a couple of red-tailed hawks.

Sunday: Once again, other commitments (and something of a fuzzy hangover) meant that my birding time was limited. And, once again, I headed for the estuary in search of avian goodies. However, it was absolutely dead down there, with no evidence of any passage birds.
After a good scan around, I eventually located a peregrine perched up on a stranded log, and a female northern harrier floated by.    
Disappointed, I decided to try Holden Creek. Just about the first bird seen here was a smart yellow-rumped warbler (Audubon's) - well, that was at least more encouraging!
Scanning the creek, I could only see a few green-winged teal and a couple of bufflehead. A couple of turkey vultures sailed by and a male northern harrier was circling high over the marsh.

Checking the fenceposts, I soon came across a distant blue shape flitting from post to ground and up again. A quick relocation with the 'scope proved it to be what I thought it was - a male mountain bluebird. Excellent. Four days earlier than my first one last year. Given the distance, I could only manage the shot here, but even still it's pretty unmistakable!

Before heading home we dropped by at Quennell Lake, passing the regular male American kestrel, sat on a telegraph pole, as we drove along.
The numbers of northern shoveler had gone up slightly and 18 birds were feeding in a frenzied huddle.
A flock of 62 lesser scaup and 2 ring-necked duck were on the main lake while a few mallard, teal and pintail were dabbling in the shallower vegetated edges. A Virginia rail called, but kept well hidden.
Well over 100 swallows were feeding out over the water and a northern shrike was hunting from fenceposts in the fields by the road.

Swallows and Warblers and Owls, Oh My!

After a busy weekend, where are combination of other priorities and some grotty weather prevented me from doing any birding of note, other than my very unremarkable Coastal Waterbirds Survey, I was delighted to get out for a bit today.

Following a necessary morning visit to Victoria, Jenny and I stopped off at Quennell Lake upon our return to Cedar. High water levels had caused most the dabblers to clear out and just 3 shoveler were seen, other than a handful of mallard. Diving ducks were slightly better, with a large raft of lesser scaup and a few common mergansers and buffleheads out on the main lake.
The regular American kestrel was showing well (pictured) and then I noticed a group of 30 or so hirundines, containing both tree and violet-green swallows, hawking distantly over the water.

Once I'd dropped Jenny off at home I headed to Holden Creek.

A mass of dabblers were in the farm fields, the majority being green-winged teal and American wigeon. A drake Eurasian wigeon was among them (pictured). A sub-adult peregrine came barreling through, and attempted a strike, but emerged from the panicking throng duckless.
Scanning through the 320ish teal just one intermediate 'common' was found.
A female northern harrier was hunting at the back of the fields and a northern shrike was patrolling the hedgerow.

The rain had fully stopped by now, so I continued on to the Nanaimo River estuary.

The river was running high and as a result few birds were on the water, just a pair of gadwall and a few bufflehead.
A short-eared owl was seen from the observation platform (pictured) and a Cooper's hawk drew unwanted attention from a party of ravens.
Walking the length of the long hedge, I came across my first yellow-rumped warbler of the spring - a spanking male Audubon's, accompanying a small flock of dark-eyed juncos.
A turkey vulture drifted lazily north.
Well, it certainly felt a little more spring-like this afternoon. Hallelujah!

Distant ducks dismay

Yesterday evening I made a brief stop at Quennell Lake, but my arrival coincided with a hurricane and a freezing cold downpour. Nice.
Just before I abandoned all hope, however, I did see what appeared to be a couple of potential canvasbacks diving on the main lake. Just a little too distant to confirm, especially under the shitty conditions, and so I decided to get out there this morning in the hope of relocating the birds. After all, they could quite possibly have been lesser scaup, just giving the illusion of being whiter backed and longer billed...
Well, I scanned and scanned the lake, and found no canvasbacks... it's always frustrating when that happens. The regular male American kestrel showed and a ruddy duck was present, as were 2 drake shoveler. Once again the heavens opened and I headed off to work, slightly cheesed off and slightly damper than I'd started out.

After work this evening I took advantage of the brief dry, calm-ish spell and dropped by the Nanaimo River estuary. Immediately, 9 western meadowlark jumped up from the weedy field just in front of the parking area and flew up into the big oak.
Almost as quickly, 2 northern harriers glided into view; the regular tatty adult female and a 1st year bird. Well, they may not be canvasbacks, but very nice to see nonetheless.
After that, it went a bit quiet and, other than a few common bits and bobs, it was unremarkable until a short-eared owl showed up. After a brief attempt at hunting, the owl plopped down on a log and sat there looking decidedly unimpressed by the large black cloud rolling our way.
Yep, you guessed it - the wind picked up and the rain commenced. Again.
Anyway, below you can see a terrible video of the short-eared just before the monsoon commenced.

After 40 odd years on this planet, I really should have got used to the fact that the arrival of March doesn't necessarily mean lovely, warm spring days and brightly coloured birds singing in flowering hawthorns. It's still winter for a few weeks yet... I'd better not allow myself to forget it.

Quennell, it was cold...

With only a small window of birding opportunity available today, I opted for a check of Quennel Lake, Cedar.
With much of the water frozen the waterfowl was limited, but at least concentrated in the areas of open water.

A single juv trumpeter swan was swimming around forlornly.
Several lesser scaup were in the deeper water along with reasonable, if reduced, numbers of common merganser.
A dozen or so smart ring-necked duck (pictured) were in another area of unfrozen water. Seems silly now, but I remember twitching my first ring-necked duck at Stocks Reservoir in the Forest of Bowland, back in Britain in the mid 80s.
Pintail numbers were down considerably, as were green-winged teal with just 4 present, including one of the Eurasian/GW intergrades.
By contrast, the number of northern shoveler had gone up and around 20 birds were in the area.
The regular male American kestrel was hunting nearby.
A Wilson's snipe flew up from the edges of the nearer lake edge, and a typically garrulous killdeer made its presence felt, noisily.

Cedar Big Day

Although admittedly not the best time of the day for birding, I managed to spend most of the afternoon out at various local spots. It was a little breezy and cool, but gloriously bright and clear. 
I started out by trying to relocate the large swan flock that was by Adshead Road, Cedar last week but after driving around for a while it seemed apparent that they'd either moved on or were somewhere out of site.
I then made my way to Quennel Lake. A male American kestrel was hunting by the roadside (pictured) and before long an adult female northern harrier came by. The drake common teal was still present, as were the 2 intergrades, in among a few green-winged teal and pintail (the latter pictured below).
A flock of 96 lesser scaup were on the water, occasionally spooked by 2 gun-toting chaps in a boat who were patrolling the lake - I didn't see them actually shooting at anything, so heaven knows what their intended quarry was. Other wildfowl included common mergansers, bufflehead, hooded mergansers, ring-necked ducks and a couple of common goldeneye.

I then made a quick visit to Blue Heron Park at Yellowpoint. Remembering the reasonable seawatching that could be had from when I lived out there, I thought I'd see what was bobbing around on the sea.
As it happened, not much. A single common loon, and a handful of American wigeon were pretty much it. A pair of black oystercatcher were noisily interacting with one another on the rocks. The rather poor pic here shows the male.

My next port of call was Holden Creek. The highlights here were two northern shrikes, one hunting around the fields, the other along the hawthorns to the rear of the marsh. There were few ducks to see; the presence of 3 hunters at the back of the marsh soon explained that!
The Nanaimo River estuary beckoned and I headed to Raines Road. I was quietly pleased to see just one car parked up when I got there.
I first headed along the long hedge, scanning over the marsh as I went. Songbirds were notable only by their absence. A party of distant ravens, obviously mobbing something, drew my attention to a passing turkey vulture - my first of the spring!
I then noticed a short-eared owl hunting in the fields between the houses and the hedge. It gave brilliant views, and in fact showed frequently over the next couple of hours. A pair of northern harrier also showed well. At one point the pair were interacting, the male even attempting a food pass, but an irritated red-tailed hawk took exception and harassed them until they went their separate ways. I wonder if some harriers pair up on the wintering grounds before heading off to breeding sites?
A group of 8 western meadowlark added a welcome splash of colour to proceedings, unquestionably taking the award for best passerine of the day.
Two belted kingfisher, one each male and female, were hunting around the area. 
I walked out to the marsh edge and scanned through the wildfowl. Although greatly reduced in number, there were still plenty of American wigeon and green-winged teal, plus smaller numbers of mallard, gadwall, pintail, bufflehead and common goldeneye.
A very convincing western gull flew by and a party of 8 trumpeter swans were snoozing on the marsh. As always, several bald eagles were kicking around.
All in all, a pretty rewarding afternoon's birding.

Nanaimo Mockingbird Still Present

A slew of urgent chores and such ate into any potential birding time today, I'm sorry to say.
However, as a large chunk of the necessary things needing my undivided attention were in the Parksville area I was able, at least,  to casually spot a couple of American kestrels as I went about my business.
One was on wires by the highway near the Ugly Dwarf Meadows and another was seen on the Errington road near the Cozy Stove restaurant, or whatever it's called.
On my way back, late afternoon I managed to squeeze in a quick stop by Brannen Lake, Nanaimo where the northern mockingbird soon showed. It was doing the rounds of its usual haunts. The picture here was taken a few weeks ago, when I first saw the bird.
A cursory scan over the lake failed to reveal any loons, or indeed many waterbirds at all.

Ruddy ducks head the list

Back in Cedar after the excitement of the big city, I was itching to get down to the Nanaimo River estuary. I haven't been able to get down there for a couple of weeks, at least, and I was keen to see what was about. It was a bit later in the day, than I'd have liked (just before 1pm), but I thought that the dropping tide might prove interesting. 
As I arrived at the end of Raines Road it looked like Leighton Moss car park on a Sunday afternoon. And before I even got out of the car, I could see a short-eared owl hunting in the near field. Then I realised why the parking area was so full; sunny day = nice owl pictures.
I actually thought that Prince William and Kate whatserface must have been here to see the owls too, given the barrage of lenses on the marsh and field perimeter. I had a very quick scout along the river edge but, to be honest, I prefer the place when it's quieter people-wise, and I'm sure that with all those keen eyes out there, nothing interesting was going to go unfound for long.
Returning to the car, I noticed that there were at least 3 short-eareds hunting over the fields. Presumably the marsh was a bit too busy for their liking too.

So, off to Holden Creek I went, and soon found myself alone with the birds.
A scan through the ducks on the flooded marsh revealed at least 12 gadwall among the 230 or so green-winged teal. Despite my best efforts, no common teal were seen among them. There were no wigeon or pintail present and only 20+ mallard. A couple of bufflehead, common goldeneye and hooded mergansers were on the creek.
Out on the marsh I could see some trumpeter swans, I counted 30 as they were flushed by a small group of people with an inexplicably large gang of little dogs.
A couple of northern shrike were hunting various areas (1 pictured, badly as ever) and 2 juv northern harriers were also patrolling the rear of the marsh. A couple of red-tailed hawks were kicking about, as were the customary bald eagles and a merlin.
Other than a Bewick's wren, ruby-crowned kinglet, and a flyover purple finch, passerines were represented by the usual juncos, towhees, golden-crowned and song sparrows, etc.

I decided to make a quick detour and check out Quennell Lake on my way home. Very few swans were present, as now seems to be the norm.
Good numbers of ring-necked duck, lesser scaup and common merganser were on the lake, plus a pair of ruddy duck. Even though they were quite far out, I'm pretty sure that they were a male and female.
There were also 5 American coot present.
The American kestrel was hunting from the roadside wires.

 Eider known you were coming, I'd have baked a cake...

...and for those of you who aren't aware of the thread on BCVI Birds forum regarding yesterday's eider sighting. It turns out that common eider, while having been recorded off Vancouver Island in the past has yet to be recorded in the Victoria area.

Naturally, this troubles me. I really cannot begin to imagine what else it could have been! It looked like a female eider. I remember saying to Jenny, "Hey, female eider - that's the first I've seen on the island".
Problem is, I didn't really pay as much attention to it as perhaps I should have done, just casually remarking to Jenny that I wasn't sure about the status of the species in this part of the world, but I presumed they were reasonably frequent. Why else would I be seeing one? Anyway, I've made some notes on what I saw, and will submit them. As I write this I'm not aware of anyone relocating it. Or even looking for it, for that matter! (Though I'm sure someone will have done).
Anyway, having set something of a cat among the pigeons, here's a pic I took moments after seeing the duck, of a black turnstone among the pigeons.

Quennell birds

Howdy - hope everyone had a jolly old Christmas.
I haven't been able to get out to do any serious birding over the last few day, but I did manage a quick stop at Quennell Lake yesterday.
Christmas Bird Count participants, may wish to know that the American kestrel is still hanging around the northern end of the area, near Cedar. Also, a Cooper's hawk was hunting around the nearby cemetery.
Wildfowl numbers were unremarkable - just 24 trumpeter swans and the usual hordes of Canada geese. Ducks were thin on the ground, the majority being pintail, with smaller numbers of mallard and American wigeon present. A few common merganser were on the main lake, along with a handful of lesser scaup and ring-necked duck.

As you can see, I've finally updated the Mystery Bird. Thanks to Steve Large for the pic. I'll post the answer to last one soon...  and enjoy!

Bit of Buttertubs Birding

Desperate for some birding, I managed to prise myself out of  bed Friday morning and take advantage of the cold, bright and dry conditions for a quick half hour at Buttertubs Marsh before work.
There wasn't a great deal going on, but it was just fab to be out in daylight.
To be honest, I was really hoping to find a Virginia rail, having still not had a decent look at one since my defection to Canada.
As is happens, I had no such luck. Optimism alone is no guarantee of success, it seems. These American rails certainly seem harder to locate than their European counterparts... 

The best bird that I encountered was a smart Wilson's snipe, caught crouching in a small channel of water - pity I was 'scopeless, as I could have got a decent shot of it, but I only had my happy snapper.
Hence the rather cryptic photo attached.
See if you can spot the little fella...

There was little out on the water, just a couple of hooded merganser and the odd mallard and a lone wood duck.
Creeping around in the undergrowth were a couple of varied thrushes, fox sparrows and the usual Bewick's wrens, juncos, towhees etc.
I did get great views of a marsh wren, frolicking in the frosty phragmites. Always a treat.

Saturday additions...

Just managed a quick run by Quennell Lake on our way out to somewhere less ornithological.
Of note: the American kestrel was again hunting in the nearby fields. Only 28 trumpeter swans were on the flooded field and wildfowl in general was much reduced. There were approximately 180 common merganser, and a single American coot on the lake.  

My kind of birding

Suffering from severe withdrawals, I headed down to the Nanaimo River estuary at first light this morning. And what a glorious morning it was too - below freezing and awash with crisp white frost, but bright and clear.
A few Barrow's goldeneye, bufflehead and common mergansers were on the river, adjacent to Raines Road and a gathering of glaucous-winged gulls were assembled in the usual spot where the river splits.
A couple of varied thrush were in the big oak, and there were good numbers of American robins around the place.

A male northern harrier was perched up in a shrub out on the marsh, while a northern shrike similarly was keeping watch from a small tree nearby. The usual numerous bald eagles were much in evidence, and I even bothered to take a pic of one - as seen here.
Over the course of the next couple of hours I saw another 2 northern harriers (both juvs), a couple of belted kingfisher and just 3 western meadowlarks.
A trio of trumpeter swans were honking around the place, while a drake Eurasian wigeon was picked out from among a throng of American wigeon on the marsh.
Trying desperately to dig out something out-of-the-ordinary from the large junco and golden-crowned sparrow flocks I could only find 3 fox sparrows and 1 Lincoln's sparrow.
A flock of some 40 or so mobile red-winged blackbirds were kicking around throughout the morning. 
I located 3 roosting short-eared owls, and managed to observe them well at range without disturbing them.

Having exhausted this part of the estuary, I headed round to Holden Creek to see what was occurring there. 
I immediately spotted another northern shrike sat up in the large dead trees by the farm. A couple of killdeer were in the field, as were 7 greater white-fronted geese. Reasonable numbers of green-winged teal were out on the creek along with smaller numbers of American wigeon, mallard and pintail.
I was delighted to see that the American kestrel was still in residence, hunting from the fence posts out in the fields - at one point being mobbed by 6 western meadowlarks!
Other than a couple of red-tailed hawks, it was pretty quiet.

It was now nearly 11am and I figured I could easily squeeze a quick of Quennell Lake before making myself available for husbandly duties.
There were still 88 trumpeter swans by the flooded field and lake - much of the water was frozen here. Small numbers of northern shoveler, bufflehead, ring-necked duck, and common merganser were in the area as well as many American wigeon. A group of 47 American coot were sat in one small area of open water.
As I was 'scoping a pied-billed grebe a female ruddy duck swam through my field of view - perhaps that same returning bird I saw here in spring?

Later in the afternoon, as the sun and temperature were dropping, I headed back to Quennell with a half hour to spare. I was surprised to see another American kestrel sat on a telegraph pole just before I reached the lake. And a peregrine was sat up in a nearby conifer.
Checking through the significantly increased number of American wigeon on the flooded field, I found 3 Eurasian wigeon (one of which is pictured here, upper right). A few lesser scaup had joined the throng and the ruddy duck remained on the lake.
All in all, a really good day's birding, with some satisfying finds if nothing too extravagant!

Eurasian wigeon joins yanks

Jenny and I took a stroll down to Jack Point late morning.
We didn't see too much in the way of birds, but out on the water I saw my first buffleheads and horned grebes of the season plus good numbers of red-breasted mergansers, several common loons, and one Pacific loon.

We dropped by at Holden Creek on the way back.
The greater white-fronted and cackling geese were still in the fields. A scan through the 300, or so, green-winged teal revealed just a handful of mallard, pintail and American wigeon. Given how few wigeon were present, I was surprised to find a drake Eurasian wigeon. I wonder if there are more among the 500+ American wigeon out on the estuary?
A greater yellowlegs flew in.
The American kestrel was hunting in the fields, as was a northern shrike. Two northern harriers were quartering the marsh. A pair of belted kingfishers were charging noisily around the area.

Later I stopped off at Quennel Lake. Not too much going on, just a couple of lesser scaup, a drake Barrow's goldeneye and my first post-breeding American coot. The soon-to-be flooded fields at the northern end of the lake had attracted a pair of trumpeter swans, plus a small flock of white-fronted geese.

Pretty birdy morning.

It was a bright morning, and the hunters were thin on the ground, making my visit to the Nanaimo River estuary rather enjoyable.

One of the first birds I saw was the northern shrike, sat in the large oak. There were lots of juncos, song sparrows, and golden-crowned sparrows in the vegetation around the area. A small flock of chestnut-backed chickadees had, sadly, failed to attract any transient warblers or similar.
A single Lincoln's sparrow was in the large hedgerow.
From the platform, I could see a single mute, and a pair of trumpeter swans, plus large rafts of American wigeon out on the water. A gathering of some 62 bald eagles was quite impressive.
At least 3, probably 4, northern harriers, including a male, were seen hunting over the marshes. A large Cooper's hawk flew through and an adult peregrine spooked the wildfowl over the estuary.
Met Ralph Hocken, who was getting some superb shots of the harriers. As always, it was good to stop and have a chat with Ralph - I eventually left him to his photography, and headed off to Holden Creek for the high tide. 

The goose flock was still present in the near field, comprising 116 cackling and 96 greater white-fronted.
The male American kestrel was still hunting around the fields (see rubbish video below). Might this bird stick around for the winter? A further couple of harriers were seen - presumably two of the same as seen earlier.
Large numbers of green-winged teal were dabbling out on the marsh, along with a handful of wigeon.
3 killdeer flew over.

Raptor raptures

The forecast wind and rain was pretty much over and done with by the time I raised my head from the pillow this morning, so after a bit of essential domesticity, I headed down to Holden Creek for the dropping tide.

The place was teeming with green-winged teal, plus small numbers of American wigeon, mallard and pintail. There were far more wigeon there at this time last year. Equally, there were good numbers of long-billed dowitchers present into November, while today just one was on the creek. 
The mixed goose flock was in the far field and, once again partly obscured by the hedge, and accurate count wasn't possible. I could see at least 48 cackling geese and 54 white-fronted geese.

A nice surprise came in the form of a male American kestrel, hunting along the fence-posts (pictured, typically poorly) - I think this is a pretty late date for this species, though I believe small number do over-winter on the island.
Other raptors in the area included a juv northern harrier, juv peregrine, 3 red-tailed hawks and several bald eagles.
The call of a pectoral sandpiper alerted me to a single bird overhead. It did several circuits of the marsh and creek, before deciding to carry on south.

Weekend round-up

Been without broadband for a couple of days, for some reason, so here's around-up of events since Friday... 

An early morning pre-work amble around the estuary on Friday in search of migrant waifs and strays proved, sadly, fruitless.

The most noticeable thing was the arrival, en masse, of dark-eyed juncos, several of which had joined the sparrow flocks. Conversely, the continued departure of savannah sparrows continues, with just a handful being seen in the area. Lincoln’s sparrows are still very much in evidence, with at least 5 seen, while the white-crowned and golden-crowned sparrow numbers seem to have dropped off a bit with some having presumably just moved through. The only warbler I saw was a single yellow-rumped.

Common mergansers have built up to the 20ish mark, and 3 hooded merganser were also on the Nanaimo River.

A Cooper’s hawk was working the long hedge, must to the concern of the purple finches and towhees. The male American kestrel put in appearance, and was briefly mobbed by one of the local ravens.

Unfortunately, I had limited time for birding on Saturday, due to other commitments, and I decided to dedicate what time I had, to the estuary (just for a change). It was, perhaps, the worst idea I’d had for a while. I’d briefly toyed with the idea of a trip to Buttertubs Marsh (inspired partly, by local bird photographers Steve Large’s recent sighting of a green heron there). With hindsight, I should have done that...  

The estuary was super-quiet. There were very few passerines around, and I had to work hard to even find any significant numbers of sparrows.  Either the couple with two large dogs touring the area, or the Cooper’s hawk and merlin patrolling the hedgerow had contributed…

On the river there were around 40 common mergansers and a small group of turkey vultures and ravens feasting on the discarded skin of a butchered deer. Yum yum.

A single long-billed dowitcher flew over, calling, headed in the direction of Holden Creek. With that in mind, I took off there, dreams of ducks and waders on my ever-optimistic mind.

A group of 48 dowitchers were feeding on the sluiced creek, just by the path. Several flighty green-winged teal were also here, but no sign of the cinnamon. The marsh, and other creek areas were pretty quiet, though the family of white-fronted geese were still in the fields, despite the total absence of the usually omnipresent Canada geese. 

Sunday, Jenny and I took a stroll around Hemer. All the action seemed to be outside the park, with good numbers of American robins seen around the Cedar area, including another albinistic bird. This one was almost entirely white, with just a few dalmation spots. A pair of red-breasted sapsuckers showed well, and several Steller's jays were mucking around.

Later, I headed for Holden Creek for a post-tide amble. On arrival I met some remnants of the Nanaimo Birdstore Sunday Bird Walk crowd who mentioned that they had been watching a pair of short-billed dowitchers among the long-billed on the creek. 

Short-billed dowitcher - Holden Creek

Later, I saw these same birds, both juveniles, and got a few snaps of the brighter of the two, as you can see here. Now, I may well have overlooked these over the past few visits to the creek, or they may just dropped in. I counted a total of 54 long-billeds in total.

There were no other waders anywhere out on the marsh, and the only wildfowl were green-winged teal and a couple of mallard. A large sparrow flock was feeding in the newly ploughed field, though I couldn't find anything out of the ordinary with them. A flock of 20+ American pipits dropped in and started feeding in the fields. 

Out at the back of the marsh, 3 yellow-rumped warbler were in the hedgerow along wit yet more robins. 

Falcon's rest

Once again, desperate to enjoy the last few days of post-work birding opportunity, I headed down to the Nanaimo River estuary this evening.
 It was clear and sunny, with great visibility - but there wasn't much to look at!
The majority of savannah sparrows appear to have cleared out, I only saw 3, while the increase in the number of white-crowned and golden-crowned sparrows was evident.
The only real things of interest were 2 yellow-rumped warblers and the off-passage, rather attractive, male American kestrel pictured here.

Given that it's only a couple of weeks until the shooting season kicks off (October 9), there are very few ducks around. I guess the coming days will see the steady flow of wildfowl from the north. Short-eared owls and northern shrikes should have arrived too, by mid-October.

Hawks and Doves

Spotted towhee - Holden Creek

Dropped in at Holden Creek (just for a change) for the rising tide. Arriving simultaneously, were Karen Barry, BC Projects Officer for Bird Studies Canada, and Eric Demers.
After introducing ourselves,  we headed down to the viewing area, from where we noticed that there were some dowitchers on the main creek.
It was a group of c30 birds, and nearby was a pectoral and a least sandpiper. As we scanned, 2 more pecs joined the fun, and a few more dowitchers were added to the tally.
A lovely male American kestrel was hunting from fence posts in the fields, where the family gaggle of white-fronted geese were hunkered down, initially making detection difficult.
As the tidewater rose, the pectoral sandpipers flew off the creek and into the field - revealing a 4th bird. Later, another passed over with 2 least sandpipers in tow.
A distant northern harrier was soaring over the estuary, and both red-tailed and Cooper's hawks put in appearances.
There were fewer teal around today, there was no sign of the cinnamon. A handful each of pintail and American wigeon were present.

Oh, and I keep meaning to mention that I've been seeing collared doves on Bluebell Terrace, off Bowen Road, and again in the Harewood area.

Bad weather - good birds

Well, it just about drizzled, rained and lashed it down all day Sunday.
But of course, that did little to deter me from getting out. Indeed, Jenny joined me as I did my almost birdless Coastal Waterbird Survey down to Jack Point. The only really notable waterbirds were a flock of 47 greater scaup which flew in and landed on the water.
Equally notable were the numerous yellow-rumped warblers moving through, along with a few orange-crowned warblers and many savannah sparrows, plus a few white-crowneds. A couple of barn swallows were keeping low to the path in the drizzle.

Later, I headed to Holden Creek for a soggy trundle. There had been something of an arrival of dowitchers, with a small group feeding on the near marsh, and latterly the creek (pictured) - all those I heard were long-billed, though one bird in the small flock looked like a short-billed.
Another group of 15 passed noisily over and later an impressive gaggle of at least 40 were flying high around over the marsh.
The only other shorebirds were a single lesser yellowlegs and 3 western sandpiper.
The juv northern harrier, a merlin and red-tailed hawk provided all the raptor excitement.
There were savannah sparrows everywhere - many hundreds in the area in total. Scanning the freshly ploughed field (thankfully sans hounds) there was a slowly moving carpet of savannahs, with good numbers of American pipits in there too. I couldn't find any Lapland longspurs / buntings or larks, though the field is pretty darned big and even the nearest birds were difficult to see well between the muddy furrows. A couple of Lincoln's and 2 golden-crowned sparrows were along the path, among 20+ white-crowned sparrows.

Today's news...

On my lunchtime stroll down to the waterfront I saw my first 'post-breeding' horned and red-necked grebes. Also a yellow warbler was with a handful of chestnut-backed chickadees in the park. 

I dropped in at the Nanaimo River estuary on my way home from work, pretty nice now that the rain and subsided. Again, there were heaps of savannah sparrows around plus good numbers of white-crowned and golden-crowned sparrows. A flock of some 30 American goldfinch were feeding near the parking area. At least 2 Lincoln's sparrows were seen.
A party of 6 American pipit were feeding around the edge of the 'kidney pools'.
A few purple finch were feeding on blackberries alongside the house finches. The big oak held a party of noisy northern flickers.  
Raptors were well represented with the juv northern harrier, a juv Cooper's hawk, red-tailed hawk, merlin and an American kestrel was a great sight (my first here since spring passage).
A flock of peeps were flying around way out, and a lone lesser yellowlegs was on the river.

A Cedar sites Saturday

A latish start today, after dropping Jenny at work, and I headed down to Holden Creek. I met Mike Ashbee as I arrived, he was just coming away. He reported that it was bit on the quiet side, but he'd at least had 4 fly-by dowitchers and an overhead osprey to brighten up the morning.
I had no such luck, and despite a pretty thorough search couldn't add anything of note to the birds that Mike had seen.

Least sandpiper numbers were down, probably fewer than 40 birds present, but I counted 5 western sandpipers (pic). Other than 4 killdeer (and the 3 growing chicks), that was it for waders. Even the teal number were reduced.
All the hirundines were in the 'hood, at one time they all got a little disturbed by a passing sharp-shinned hawk.
4 white-fronted geese remain with the Canadas in the field.
As I came away, I met Ralph Hocken, who was hoping to get some shots, particularly of the mud-gathering cliff swallows.

I headed round for a quick check at the Nanaimo River estuary, but it was painfully bereft of notable avian activity... so, I elected for a brief look at Quennell Lake. Unfortunately, that too was on the quiet side with no wildfowl present, bar a few Canada geese. A lovely male American kestrel showed brilliantly, and attracted a violent response from the local Brewer's blackbirds!

Early evening, Jenny and I took a walk along the Cable Bay Trail. Birds here included numerous rufous hummingbirds, 3 red-breasted sapsucker, 3 hermit thrush, and the usual forest denizens. Identified Pacific-slope flycatcher on call - thanks to Rich Mooney's empidonax vocalisations masterclass...!

 

More martins

Despite the unhelpful wind-direction, the overnight rain inspired me enough to pay a pre-work visit to the Nanaimo River estuary this morning.
4 California quail were along Raines Road.
There seemed to have been a bit of a fall of yellow-rumped warblers, with around 20 birds in the area. The majority were males and, surprisingly, all but 3 were 'Myrtles'. A handful of orange-crowned warblers were also flitting around.

Good numbers of tree and violet-green swallows were zipping about, and a pair of purple martin flew through. They landed briefly on a telegraph pole by the parking area (see pic).
The adult female northern harrier was hunting over the marsh.
Just 1 greater yellowlegs was on the river.
A single western meadowlark was feeding in the long grass by the big oak.
Other birds seen included belted kingfisher, red crossbill, pine siskin, golden-crowned & white-crowned sparrows and such...

I made a post-work visit to Holden Creek. Tell you what, it was hard to believe standing there in the chilly evening breeze, that it was 20c at the same time yesterday!
A female American kestrel was in one of the dead tress near the farm. Nearby, the 12 white-fronted geese were still present.
On the creek, 3 greater yellowlegs and a Wilson's snipe were the only representatives of the wader clan, with the exception of the resident killdeer.  

Bluebird morning

Boy, that breeze was a cold one this morning! The radiant sunshine didn't half take time delivering some warmth...
Anyhoo, one of the first things spotted down at the Nanaimo River estuary was yet another mountain bluebird. Again, this 'fresh-in' male was favouring the posts, close to the stranded logs. I then noticed another bird further along the posts - this turned out to be a female, and I had no sooner seen this when another female appeared! A 3 bluebird morning. As I was watching these, Ralph Hocken arrived and he was soon getting shots of the birds. One may assume that his pics will be somewhat better than mine here...
I headed off, leaving Ralph with the bluebirds, and headed up along the hedge in search of, let's say, less obvious migrants. As it happens, it was a bit of a waste of time, as the best I could find were 2 purple finches.
Walking back a pair of barn swallow passed me, low to the ground - my first of the year.
Then, as I scanned ahead I noticed a female American kestrel hovering distantly over the marsh. Cool.
Hoping that Ralph had also picked it up, I watched it as it attempted to hunt, before being bothered by a raven. Then I noticed ANOTHER bluebird - a male again. Was this the same bird as earlier, having moved a way? It looked a lot brighter than the bird before...
When I caught up with Ralph he mentioned that the kestrel had spooked the bluebirds and sent them scattering. Oh, well, I thought - that answers my question!
A male rufous hummingbird whizzed past, making the species' debut on my estuary list. Not that I actually have an estuary list as such, but you know what I mean...
I went to check the river and river mouth, and coming back round I noticed that the bluebirds had returned to the original spot. Then I noticed the really bright male and the earlier male were both present, and there were in fact 4 birds in total. Excellent stuff.

I headed round to Holden Creek for a quick recce.
3 killdeer were on the creek itself, and 3 turkey vultures (pictured right) were cruising up and down. Scanning over the marsh I noticed an American pipit feeding. As I checked the area, I soon located a further 7 birds - another year-tick!