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!        

Birding the Nanaimo River Estuary

We headed up to Nanaimo over the weekend for a spot of mid-island socialising and I managed to squeeze in stops on Saturday at Quennell Lake and the Nanaimo River estuary for a bit of birding.
The lake, and adjacent field, was absolutely alive with wildfowl. 
On the water I counted over 2,000 mallard. Scattered among them were smaller numbers of other species including northern shoveler, pintail, gadwall, lesser scaup, ring-necked duck, common merganser, hooded merganser, bufflehead, wood duck, American wigeon and common goldeneye.
Around 20 American coot were also present, but strangely not a single teal.

Trumpeter swans

A large herd of swans were roosting and feeding in the, as yet unflooded, field immediately north of the lake. A small number were on the lake itself. I counted approximately 230 trumpeter swans and found a single tundra swan among them. None were ringed, or bore neck collars. There were only 12 young birds among them... sign of a poor nesting season?
Also in the area were several hundred Canada geese (no Cackling geese found with them) and 14 greater white-fronted geese. An adult northern shrike was showing well and a juvenile northern harrier was quartering the fields between the lake and the Crow & Gate (where, incidentally we enjoyed a fine roast beef and Yorkshire pudding dinner on Saturday evening...).

We then moved on to the Nanaimo River estuary. I really miss birding at this place, and I was delighted to be back on my old local patch. Better still, I had the place to myself.
There were 4 trumpeter swans on the river and a further 6 flew in. Up near the bridge the annual arrival of Barrow's goldeneye had taken place with well over 50 birds present.
Down at the estuary, I scanned from the raised platform and soon found an adult female northern harrier sat up on a post. As I checked the area for other interesting birds I noticed a very late barn swallow flying over the marsh. I watched it for some timeas it actively flew up and down the water's edge.
As seems to be the case when the salmon are running, there were scores of bald eagles sat out around the the estuary.
After a short while, I walked out onto the marsh, (optimistic as ever, I was secretly hoping to relocate the Gabriola Island snowy owl...) and soon came across a single western meadowlark.

Scanning the distant posts I spotted a short-eared owl (pictured, with customary crapness) and within a couple of minutes was watching a second one as it hunted over the saltmarsh, occasionally drawing attention from the local ravens.  
I checked the hedgerows for sparrows and such, but it was relatively quiet. Among a group of dark-eyed juncos, I could only see song, golden-crowned and white-crowned sparrows.
A second adult female northern harrier appeared, and for a while both birds were hunting in the same area.
As I headed back to the car a short-eared owl sailed across in front of me - maybe it was one of the birds I'd seen earlier, but I suspect it was actually a third owl as it came in from a different direction.

Seeing as I mentioned snowy owl - are we seeing the first signs of an 'invasion' year? There have been three reports from different areas of Vancouver Island in the past week, and as with other tundra breeders, snowy owl populations are closely tied to lemming/vole cycles. Has this been a boom year for Arctic rodents? Might we see yet more snowy owls on the island in the coming months, and will other northern migrant predators be more plentiful too?

Time will tell...!   

Cinnamon Adds Spice

Despite the lack of activity on this blog during the last week I have been out and about but, to be honest, I've seen little worth reporting.
This all changed on Friday when Jenny and I were back up mid-island, primarily to attend the wedding of Rich Mooney and Lori Lynch at Quallicum on Saturday. We tied in a visit to our friends David and Susan in Nanaimo on Friday evening, but prior to that I managed to squeeze a few hours of birding in, while Jen attended to work matters.

I started off at Holden Creek. I was delighted to find some shorebirds upon arrival and over the course of the following hour or so I located approximately 100 least sandpiper and around 50 western sandpipers (pictured). A lone greater yellowlegs was the only other wader present - disappointingly, there were no spotted sandpipers in yet.

Among the Canada geese out in the fields were 8 greater white-fronted geese and in excess of 40 American pipit. Hirundines were here in force and good numbers of cliff swallow and a single northern rough-winged swallow were among the barn, violet-green and tree swallows. A couple of purple martins appeared overhead and then I noticed a flock of 11 sat in a small tree (pictured). 
Other birds seen here included common yellowthroat, American goldfinch, Audubon's yellow-rumped warblers and good numbers of white-crowned and savannah sparrows.
Next, I headed for the Nanaimo River estuary. The tide was way out, and the birding was hard, with little showing. I flushed a Wilson's snipe, and found a handful of yellow-rumped warblers (both Audubon's and myrtle) 2 Lincoln's sparrows and American goldfinch but little else of note.
Finally I checked out Quennell Lake, which was teeming with birds.

The flooded fields at the northern end were being drained and there was a huge amount of black sludgy porridge to attract hungry shorebirds. There were around 400 least sandpipers plus a few scattered westerns here and there busily feeding on the muddy edges. A pair of greater yellowlegs came into view, as did another Wilson's snipe, and a flock of 12 dowitchers were busy mud-probing on the far shore. It really looks good for a solitary sandpiper, or something of that ilk... if only it gets checked by birders.
Among the 146 green-winged teal and 58 northern shoveler were two pairs of cinnamon teal (drake pictured).
Once again, I couldn't help think about what great birds must pass through these sites, unseen and unrecorded... it could keep me awake at night worrying about such stuff!

Mid-Island Year-Tick Fest

Yesterday (Tuesday) Jenny had to go up to Nanaimo for much of the day for work purposes and so I decided to do the decent thing and keep her company. Of course this meant that I had to fill my day somehow, and I eventually chose to spend several hours on my old stomping grounds.
I started off at Holden Creek.
Although somewhat disappointing on the shorebird front with just a pair of least sandpiper and a couple of killdeer present, the wet fields had attracted a flock of c40 American pipit, and around 20 savannah sparrows. An American goldfinch was singing near the sluice, and a single northern rough-winged swallow came through, joined by barn and violet-green swallows.
An osprey circled over, and several turkey vultures cruised over the firs. A pair of greater white-fronted geese were among the Canadas in the fields.

I then headed along Gordon Road where I added common yellowthroat to my yearlist in the marshy area near Harmac Road. The ubiquitous red-winged blackbirds were here too, as was a showy, singing marsh wren.

Arriving at the Nanaimo River estuary, I noted a hefty and ominous cloud headed my way. Could be good, I thought... and indeed it was as a pair of purple martin preceded it and showed well above me for a few minutes.  Further hirundines came trickling through including my first cliff swallows of the year. No swifts materialised, but you can't have everything...
A female northern harrier was hunting over the marsh and a lone cackling goose was hanging around with 4 Canada geese on the river mouth. A handful of green-winged teal, American wigeon, pintail, bufflehead and common mergansers were also present. 
The tell-tale call of yellow-rumped warblers revealed a couple of males - one each myrtle and Audubon's. Since my last visit on 9th April, the number of savannah sparrows had gone through the roof and they were all over the place. White-crowned sparrows, having been absent all winter had replaced golden-crowneds with just on of the latter seen. A single Lincoln's sparrow was in the brambles by the big oak.

After grabbing some barely edible grub in Cedar, I went to see if anything was happening at Quennell Lake. Not much, as it happened. 12 northern shoveler, a few GW teal and lesser scaup were pretty much the best of the bunch. Tree, violet-green and barn swallows were all present in good numbers.

My next port of call was the airport where I hoped to see vesper sparrow. The first bird I saw as I stepped out of the car was however a lovely bright chipping sparrow, one of a pair present. I soon heard what I thought sounded right for a vesper singing and eventually located it sat in a distant bush.
It soon came a little closer but refused to stay still long enough to allow me to get a pic.
It then flew toward me and started feeding on the ground just about 6 feet away from where I was stood, scope and tripod at the ready. Way too close to focus, follow and photograph with my primitive set up... oh well, i got a really good look at it and even managed to read one of the numbers (2) on its metal ring! I probably could have seen more but for the fact that it was constantly moving, and favouring short grassy areas that obscured the ring somewhat.
It also sported darvic rings: orange over blue on the right, and a black over the ABA ring on the left. That should identify the individual - not sure who uses this info but if anyone reading this wishes to pass this on to the relevant person/people or let me know who to contact, I'd appreciate it.
I did get some nice sharp pics of it with its back to me, and the one here is the only one that shows its head. Not too sharp though... apologies.

After having my fill of this fine bird, I left it grubbing around in the dirt and headed off to Buttertubs Marsh before picking Jenny up. 
On my way, I noticed another osprey - adding sticks to a nest just by the highway south of College/5th. Noticing the time, I realised that my time at Buttertubs would be short and I barely had time to walk up to the platform. There were a handful of yellow-rumped warblers along the way, as well as downy woodpecker, Anna's hummingbird and marsh wrens blasting out from the rank vegetation. On the water there were just hooded mergansers and a pair of wigeon.

All in all a decent day's birding, and a reminder of why I love birding around estuaries.  

Last Post from Cedar - Hello Victoria!

Amongst the tedium and relative chaos of packing our belongings, hiring and driving a 16ft truck to Victoria and back, and giving our Cedar suite a thorough cleaning, I actually managed one last visit to the Nanaimo River estuary last Tuesday morning.
Apologies for the late posting, but a combination of zero internet service and lack of time for such luxuries prevented me from doing an update until now.
So, Tuesday - it seems like an age ago now... what were the highlights?

Well, the obvious arrival of the first savannah sparrows of the spring was notable, with at least 8 birds seen. Four of those were already establishing territories, and singing heartily.
Otherwise, it was pretty quiet with little to suggest the arrival of migrants.
A handful of turkey vultures drifted lethargically over during the morning, and the familiar 'resident' flickers, kingfishers, towhees, bald eagles and such went about their business as usual.
The Lincoln's sparrow was again with the golden-crowned sparrow flock by the large oak. 
A total of 3 northern harriers showed, 2 females and a male. Among the decreasing wildfowl out of the water were the expected species; gadwall, mallard, bufflehead, common merganser, green-winged teal, American wigeon and of course, Canada goose.

Now that we're 'settled' in Victoria, I'm looking forward to discovering what the south island has to offer a Brit Birder in BC!
I've had a wander around the local area, and have identified what may be a potentially interesting spot for migrants - the gardens and garry oak woodland area by Government House.
This is in easy walking distance, and given my penchant for local patching, could become something of a regular haunt.
I have no idea whether anyone already covers it, or whether it has any previous form, but I'll give it a whirl and see... So far my paltry, casual list there includes Anna's hummingbird, ruby-crowned kinglet, golden-crowned sparrow, Bewick's wren and hairy woodpecker, among other common birds.
Jenny and I walked down to the waterfront today, where we were treated to the sight of horned (Slavonian) grebes in spectacular breeding plumage, harlequin ducks, 20+ black turnstone, black oystercatchers and a pair of surfbirds.
Here's to a new home, and some new birds to find!

Cedar round-up

Early this morning, singles of both peregrine and Cooper's hawk were seen over the house.
After an essential visit down to Victoria this morning, we got back to Cedar mid afternoon.
Despite the persistent drizzle and grotty conditions, I found a couple of hours to go for a quick trawl around my favoured patches.
I started out at Holden Creek. Out in the fields, the usual party of 5 greater white-fronted geese were back with the gaggle of resident Canadas. Other than a few mallard, green-winged teal, common mergansers and a pair of bufflehead it was pretty quiet.
In the distance, a raven was mobbing a female northern harrier and a couple of juv. bald eagles were sat around, looking damp and bedraggled.
I then took off for the Nanaimo River estuary to see whether there were any decent soggy birds in residence. It was incredibly, incredibly quiet. The most interesting sighting concerned what was almost certainly the largest gadwall flock I've seen down here - 42 birds in total.  Otherwise, highlights included a Lincoln's sparrow among the golden-crowneds, 2 northern harriers (smart male included) and good numbers of violet-green swallows.
So, slightly dejected I headed for Quennell Lake for a spot of duck spotting. There were no unusual aythyas among the 40 or so lesser scaup on the main lake, the only other species being a couple of ring-necked ducks. In the shallower areas there were a few pintail, shoveler and a nice drake common teal among the numerous green-wingeds.
I couldn't locate any other species than violet-green and tree among the 100s of swallows feeding over the water. A northern shrike was hunting from fence-posts in the adjacent fields and a yellow-rumped warbler flitted through the nearby shrubbery.

Cut Across Shorty

Made a quick stop by the Nanaimo River estuary after work today and had a quick check while Jenny remained in the car and occupied herself with a sudoku (or sodoku, or soduko...).

I took a walk along the hedge, it was quiet. I scanned the marsh, it was quiet. I checked the posts and shrubs for bluebirds, phoebes, etc, they were quiet. I looked up, it was quiet.

Then just as I was about to call it a day, I nearly stood on a short-eared owl. It flew up from its temporary roost and flopped off, dropping down again approximately 100 metres away. Having not seen any owls for several days, and given the rather unfamiliar orangey appearance of this bird, I suspect it was a migrant as opposed to one of the wintering ones. Needless to say, I left it where it was.
Checking the distant small trees along the embankment, I noticed a northern shrike actively hunting.
Then I went home.

The Blues Are Still Blue

I managed to drag myself out of bed nice and early this morning, realizing that the overnight rain had stopped.
What transient goodies might be lurking undetected down at the estuary?
What amazing spectacle of migration might I witness in the first hour of daylight?
These are the sorts of things that rattle through my fugged brain as I contemplate resetting the alarm for another hour...
But no! You've got to be in to win it, as they say, and given that I have only a few days remaining as a Nanaimo resident, and I shall have to wave goodbye to my beloved, adopted patch, I headed off to the estuary full of my customary optimism.
As ever, it didn't quite work out as planned and I spent a good hour and a bit desperately searching for something of interest to cast by bins upon.
I eventually rooted out a northern shrike, who showed well for a while and even treated me to some weird buzzing sounds.
The regular female northern harrier put in an appearance, but no other raptors were seen, except the ubiquitous bald eagles. 
Good numbers of violet-green swallow were in residence, and as I scanned though in search of other hirundine species I only saw a few tree swallows.

Checking the ducks on the river, I noticed a drake common teal (pictured) among some green-winged teal, gadwall, American wigeon, mallard and common mergansers.
A gaggle of Canada geese came through low, and among them were 5 greater white-fronted geese. I presume these are the Holden Creek birds either out for a spin, or starting to head off north... 

On my way home from an exciting day in the office, I decided to drop by at the aforementioned Holden Creek for a wee nosey around.
It was pretty quiet, with very few birds on the creek or around the marsh. Checking the fields and fenceposts, there were at least 30 American robins kicking around and then I noticed something blue on the ground.
Was it a windblown wrapper from a chocolate bar, or a discarded crisp packet?

No. It wasn't.
It was a mountain bluebird, of course.
I expect it's the same one I saw here on Sunday, rather than a new bird.
Anyway, as it was again so far away, I only managed the poorest of pics - as demonstrated here. Through my 'scope it looked lovely and bright and sharp, but in the fading light with a compact digital camera held shakily in front of the eyepiece, it appears less so.
I think Mike Yip will sleep soundly tonight.

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.

Nanaimo Estuary Springs To Life

Another fine morning, and another early jaunt down to the estuary...
It was quite hard work today though, and the saving grace provided by the impressive sight of the migrating swans and geese witnessed earlier in the week was, of course, completely absent.

I arrived at the end of Raines Road just before 7.30am, and other than a couple of American robins muttering away, it was all quiet. Over the next half hour it picked up only slightly, with Bewick's wrens and song sparrows adding to the morning chorus.
I had a good trundle around hoping to come across something interesting, passing through.
I didn't.
There were 3 northern harriers seen in total, the usual male and female plus a 1st year bird. There were no owls on show.
A couple of noisy belted kingfisher rattled around the area and a lone brown-headed cowbird represented the only 'vis' as it flew high over, calling. A couple of tree swallows twittered around the nest boxes.
Then suddenly, just around 8.10am things really picked up. A pair of western meadowlark appeared, and one started to sing, then it seemed as if someone had emptied a bucket of robins out, with several darting about the place.
Next up was a northern shrike, which appeared from nowhere - presumably another migrant, as there haven't been any in residence here for the last few months.
And finally, to really add a bit of spring magic, the sound of a greater yellowlegs emanated from the river, soon followed by the gangly wader itself, as it rose up and flew off over the marsh.
Despite the encouraging upsurge in activity, I had to leave and go and earn some rent money...

After work, I made a brief stop at the Nanaimo River estuary again on my way home. the shrike was still in much the same area, singing its little heart out. Sadly, the video below does little justice to its delightful, jumbled song.
The only other thing of note was a solitary short-eared owl.
 

Wildfowl Exodus Impresses

Headed down to the Nanaimo River estuary this morning before work in the hope of stumbling across an early mountain bluebird, or something better! The first turned up down here on 31 March last year, and given the light southerlies overnight I thought it might jut be worth a check.
As it happens, there were no grounded passerine migrants, but between 7.30am and 8.20am there was a significant northerly movement of geese and swans. A total of 180 or so trumpeter swans headed over, with one flock containing 96 birds. A single tundra swan was among a smaller group. The bulk of geese moving were Canadas, though a single cackling and a handful of greater white-fronted geese added to the skeins.
It was a particularly high tide, and there were American wigeon, teal, gadwall and pintail scattered around the area.
Three northern harriers were hunting the area, as were 2 short-eared owls, a peregrine and a merlin. At one point the female and 1st yr harrier mobbed the peregrine, a particularly large and dark individual.
Small numbers of tree swallow were twittering around the nest boxes, and engaged in a bit of prospecting.

Post work Postscript
Stopped by at the estuary again this evening. Again, 2 short-eared owls were showing well. I presume the 'new' bird is a north-bound off-passage migrant.
Talking of new birds, a second adult female northern harrier was seen this evening. Similarly, I expect this is also a migrant. In fact as I watched this bird, it spiraled high, gaining height before heading off due west.  

Raving About Ravens

The sun was shining, the sky was a welcoming shade of blue and despite the rather chilly wind it was a great day to be outdoors.
After a few essential chores, Jenny and I found ourselves at Neck Point where the stiff sea breeze and bright sunshine made a beach trek quite invigorating. Hundreds of gulls were wheeling around the area, and packs of sealions were porpoising close offshore. All the ones that we saw were California sealions, in contrast to yesterday's Steller's sealions just down the coast at Jack Point.
Flocks of surf scoter were passing over the waves, and a few harlequin ducks were feeding around the rocky bluffs. A small group of shorebirds included dunlin, black-bellied plover and black turnstone. A single wind-buffeted Anna's hummingbird whizzed by.

Later, once more important tasks had been tended to, I headed out to the Nanaimo River estuary. I arrived to find Lynne and John Thibault in the parking area, having come up from Victoria to look for short-eared owls. They had had considerable success, and as we were chatting the owl hunted over the fields in plain view.
Among the birds Lynne and John had seen were two scarlet macaws! I can only imagine that someone somewhere is regretting opening that window to let in a bit of spring air...
I had a good scout around the estuary area, but didn't see much more than the short-eared owl and a couple of northern harrier (male and female).
Ravens. as always were constant companions, and for once I decided not to ignore these amazing birds and took a couple of snaps of a pair on the marsh. Many of the ravens are now paired up and can be seen and, especially, heard all around the area.
Few birds have a relationship with people as deep-rooted and mythical as the raven. From ancient European and Middle Eastern fables to Native American folklore, these impressive and uncannily intelligent corvids have inspired humankind for millennia.
   

Saturday Birding Highlights

Hoorah! It's stopped raining (for now, at least).
Jenny and I headed out for a wander down to Jack Point. This is Jenny's favourite spot in the Cedar / Nanaimo area for a nice ramble, and I have to say it's one of mine too. It's never especially birdie, but it's a good trek with a nice mixture of habitat to check.
The tide was way out, looking more like Morecambe Bay than the Nanaimo River estuary and it seemed strange to scan over a large expanse of mudflats and not see a single shorebird. There were good numbers of green-winged teal and American wigeon dabbling away at the water's edge but little else.
In the deeper areas, further offshore there were greater scaup, bufflehead, common goldeneye and common loon. Other birds seen included pigeon guillemot, bald eagle, surf scoter and pintail.
We also got great looks at a 3 Steller's sealions, and the usual harbour seals.
On our way back, we dropped in at Holden Creek.
Highlights here included a northern shrike, and 5 greater white-fronted geese in among the Canadas.

Later, I headed out to the Nanaimo River estuary, and I was surprised to find I had the place to myself. Perhaps the recently created plethora of potholes all along Raines Road have put some people off from bringing their vehicles down?!

Anyhoo, I perched up on the observation platform and soon noticed a female northern harrier. Within a couple of minutes a short-eared owl came into view and it hunted close by, giving excellent views (pictured here, complete with badly placed twig in front of its face). At one point a raven came in an started to mob the owl, and amazingly the harrier flew over and started to mob the corvid in return! The raven soon tired of this and flew off, leaving the owl to continue its hunt. Meanwhile the harrier returned to perch up on the log from which it came. Very odd.
Another harrier, the smaller juvenile bird, also appeared briefly.

A young bald eagle sat upon one of the raptor posts was too posing too nicely to ignore, hence the shot here. A merlin whizzed through, causing a stir among the local northern flickers. 
Passerines-wise is wasn't too exciting with just the usual golden-crowned sparrows and such and three brilliantly bright male yellow-rumped warblers - all Audubons.
Before calling it a day, I paid a visit to Quennell Lake where the hirundines now numbered somewhere around 130+. I could only see violet-green and tree swallows among them.
The American kestrel was hunting from the overhead wires and another couple of yellow-rumped warbler were flitting around.
Northern shoveler numbers seem to picking up with 14 birds present. Otherwise, it was pretty quiet with just small numbers of the common duck species seen.

 

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.

Another post-work birding visit to the Nanaimo estuary

Once again the weather was kind and I managed 45 minutes at the Nanaimo River estuary on my way home this evening.
There were several hundred gulls coming in to roost at the river mouth, but I couldn't dig out anything different out from the mass of glaucous-winged, and associated glaucous-winged mutants, other than a few California and Thayer's gulls. 
A group of c50 common goldeneye were on the river, as were a handful of trumpeter swans and a few gadwall, teal, mallard etc.
Three northern harriers made appearances - adult female, male and juv.
A northern shrike was the first I've seen here for some time. Return passage bird?
Other passerines were thin on the ground, just a small flock of juncos and a single fox sparrow to speak of.
A single short-eared owl showed well briefly before heading off to hunt in the fields.

Post Work Drive-by Birding

Just a quick one... there were 2 northern harriers (male and a juv) and a short-eared owl at the Nanaimo River estuary when I stopped there for half an hour, inbetween the rain, yesterday evening (Wed).

Spring seems a long way, away...

Jenny tires of bird talk and legs it - Hemer Park

Jenny and I managed to coincide a walk to Hemer Park with the wettest part of the day (how marvelous). Despite the cold, sleety rain it was still great to get out for some much needed fresh air, especially following the previous night's efforts to imbibe several gallons of Philips Brewery's finest with our pals David and Susan.
The birding wasn't much to write home about - the usual forest denizens were in attendance; Pacific wren, golden-crowned kinglet, brown creeper, chestnut-backed chickadees, and so on.
On our way to Hemer we'd noticed what appeared to be something of an influx of Steller's jays, and also an increase in the number of American robins around the Cedar neighborhood.
The pool was pretty quiet with just a handful of ring-necked duck, a couple of bufflehead and a few mallard. 8 trumpeter swan were on Holden Lake, and a couple of drake wood duck were here too - the first I've seen for some time.
Of note: There were 2 varied thrush, and a slate-coloured junco among the dozen or so dark-eyed juncos at the feeder this morning.

Later, once I'd dried out, I headed down to have a wee root around at the Nanaimo River estuary. Once again, my timing was impeccable as the heavens opened and I spent a good hour trampling around in the cold rain. Of course, having spent most of my life birding in Lancashire, this was nothing new.
I tried to find something interesting among the golden-crowned sparrows but sadly didn't. There seemed to be more song sparrows around today, yet a considerable dearth of juncos.
Just as the rain ceased at about 4pm, a western meadowlark started to sing and I was soon looking at a flock of 10 of these soggy, supreme songsters.

The female northern harrier soon appeared, cruising over the marsh. I headed to the riverside, accidentally flushing a Cooper's hawk on the way.
A dapper Lincoln's sparrow popped up and gave excellent views for a couple of minutes before diving for dense cover.
Scanning the western side of the river, I spotted a hunting short-eared owl. As I watched it, another owl appeared and crossed the river passing in front of me and then actively hunting, much to the irritation of a loudly protesting belted kingfisher.
I headed back and just as I was leaving I noticed that one of the short-eareds was perched up on a post, and beside it was the female harrier.
By now it had started to rain a little again, and the birds were quite a way away, hence the accompanying photo being even worse then my usual efforts! But, I decided it was worth posting in as much as it's an interesting sight...

Nanaimo River Estuary Owls

By the time I finished work at 5pm, the sky was still clear-ish and I headed to the Namaino River estuary with a good hour of daylight left. The place looked incredible; covered in snow and lit by the last rays of the dropping sun.
The first bird I saw was a female northern harrier sat up on a log on the marsh. I had a short wander around but realized quickly that was little hanging around the crab apples or hawthorns.
From the viewing platform I could see good numbers of American wigeon, plus a few gadwall and a family party of trumpeter swans on the river.
Checking the marsh on the other side I picked up the male harrier hunting low, and soon came across a short-eared owl perched up on a stranded large piece of driftwood in the distance (pictured).

Scanning around I noticed a second short-eared owl out over the main marsh. Eventually the two came together and engaged in a fascinating 'mock' fight, briefly being joined by the male harrier.
A few eagles were cruising around but little else other than the odd heron and Canada geese. 
I checked diligently through the golden-crowned sparrow flock only to find the usual song sparrows, towhees, juncos and single fox sparrow.

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.