More migrants moving through...

It felt like a good morning for searching for migrants this morning, so I headed off to scrutinize the Government House grounds bright and early. The great things about this location is that if the birding's total pants, I can at least be back home in about 3 minutes and guilt-free from not having used the car!
As it happens, it was pretty good; a decent selection of passerine migrants were on site.
A mini-influx of American robins was evident with several clattering around a fruit-filled rowan tree. 3 cedar waxwings were also joining in the feast.
As I walked along the path to the rear of the main building, I became aware of the sound of yellow-rumped warblers calling as they fed high up in the oaks. Scanning through I counted 6, and also discovered 2 black-throated gray warblers (my first in the grounds, as it happens), a pair of orange-crowned warblers and a yellow warbler. At least 4 brown creepers, 2 red-breasted nuthatches, a Pacific-slope flycatcher and a Bewick's wren were also in the flock.
Further down the path I came across 3 Lincoln's sparrows, and soon another 4. All around the trail I encountered yellow-rumped warblers in ones and twos and a Wilson's warbler, plus another couple of Pacific-slope flycatchers. A delightful hermit thrush came out to investigate my pishing, as did a fox sparrow and I saw the first Pacific wren that I have ever come across down there. A bit of local low-scale movement?
 
 

All Quiet Around The House

Another early wander around the Government House gardens and woodland trail this morning failed to reveal much of note.
A fox sparrow was seen as were two hermit thrush, with a third heard. Just 3 territorial orange-crowned warblers were heard and seen, and only one ruby-crowned kinglet.
Pine siskins were bombing around, chasing each other in pairs.
Other than the usual towhees, Bewick's wrens, nuthatches and such it was pretty quiet.

A morning trundle around the Government House grounds on Thursday was equally unremarkable,
the highlights being 1 each of hermit thrush and fox sparrow.
A couple of ruby-crowned kinglet were seen but it was otherwise quiet passerine-wise.
An adult Cooper's hawk was busy doing that flappy nighthawk-like display flight over while a young bird was also doing the rounds.
Two large skeins of white-fronted geese passed over - very high. One group contained around 120 birds, the other about 160. At least 3 smaller birds, presumably cackling geese, were discernible.

Early Trundle Around The Parish

Started off the morning with a maiden visit to the Chinese Cemetery, just to check it out, following Ian Cruikshank's recent advice on the BCVIBirds forum.
It certainly has all the appeal of good vagrant passerine habitat! Unfortunately no on told the birds, and the place was conspicuously quiet. At least there was quite a bit of stuff off-shore to divert me.

The usual pigeon guillemots, rhinoceros auklets (terrible pic attached!), harlequin ducks, surf scoters and pelagic and double-crested cormorants were all present in reasonable numbers, as were the expected gull species. The latter were augmented by 5 fly-by Bonaparte's gulls, looking smart in their summer garb.
I headed along the coast to Clover Point, ever mindful that I needed to get there in advance of the joggers and dog-walkers.
Talking of which, what is with the hound-lovers?
Do they set off from the house while it's still dark? It's almost impossible to find a bit of potentially decent birding habitat that hasn't got some old dear and her beloved yappy hooligans trampling all over it... 
Anyway, it was still early and the point car park had fewer than 6 vehicles parked up when I got there. Scanning the rocks I counted 21 black turnstone and 2 black oystercatchers.
A river otter was gamboling around and as I checked offshore I noticed a couple of porpoise and a sealion sp. breaking the surface.
Also out at sea were 19 brent, with another pair flying by. Again, the usual alcids and ducks were all visible and a further flock of 16 Bonaparte's gulls joined a throng of activity offshore, where I noticed another one of those very bleached out mew gulls.
On the beach there were 26 dunlin feeding along the tideline close to a bunch of harlequin ducks.
Just before 8am I decided it was time to go and look for some migrant songbirds, so I headed for Government House.
Highlights of a trundle around the garry oaks and woodland path included a neat hermit thrush and a couple of singing orange-crowned warblers, but no other obvious arrivals. The usual red-breasted nuthatches, towhees, Bewick's wrens, Anna's hummingbirds and such were all making themselves known.
I found a couple of active nests - as unalike as it's possible to get. One, the neat and delicate moss and web woven structure that is a bushtit's exquisite creation, the other a large bundle of precarious sticks and the handy work of a Cooper's hawk.    

New Year, new year list.

My first bird of 2011 was dark-eyed junco. Not too surprising, given their continual attendance at my feeders...
Jenny and I took off to Biggs Park for a walk to Jack Point. The sun was bright, there was no wind and visibility was excellent.
Offshore there were large rafts of mallard, plus scattered bufflehead, horned grebe, common loon, both goldeneye species and a few greater scaup.
There weren't too many passerines seen or heard along the way but a hermit thrush was a nice, unexpected find. Occasional chickadee flocks were encountered, often with accompanying Bewick's wren, red-breasted nuthatch or golden-crowned kinglet.
Off the point, there were several surf scoter, plus a river otter, numerous harbor seals and a sealion. 
After stopping off at home for a very welcome mug of hot-chocolate, we went for a walk to Hemer Park. 
It was fairly quiet here too. A group of hooded merganser were on the main lake while a number of American wigeon, 2 ring-necked duck and yet more mallard were on the mostly frozen pool. There were 22 trumpeter swan and a belted kingfisher here also. A pileated woodpecker called from within the forest. Pacific wrens seemed to be all over the place!
On our way out, we were somewhat surprised to see what was, presumably, the same white robin we came across in the same spot earlier in the year.

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...!