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.

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.

Frosty morning larks

Managed to drag myself out bed this morning and got a good hour of birding in before heading into Nanaimo for work.
It was sub zero and once I'd de-iced the car, I headed down to the Nanaimo River estuary for a scout around.
Practically the first bird I saw was a rather miserable looking female northern harrier, complete with a veneer of ice on her mantle. From the viewing platform, I could see the male harrier too - equally hunched and thawing out. As usual, a few eagles were cruising around, or sat loafing on tideline logs or in the riverside trees.
There were reasonable numbers of pintail and American wigeon around, plus smaller numbers of other common species of duck.

Walking along the long hedge, I was struck by the apparent lack of passerines. Eventually, I came across a small flock of 10 western meadowlark. A couple sat up in the hawthorns, and I managed the fairly poor shot shown here.
Heading back toward the big oak, I finally found some sparrows. A flock of around 30 golden-crowned sparrows and approximately 15 dark-eyed juncos were feeding together. In among them were a couple of song sparrows and a very neat little Lincoln's sparrow - the first I've seen here for quite some time.
As I was leaving, the intentions of the owner of the truck that was in the car park when I arrived was made clear, as I heard shots out toward Holden Creek. The wildfowl season may technically be over, but for some it just never ends...

Post-work birding

Managed a quick sprint down to the Nanaimo River estuary after work tonight.
The tide was a million miles out, so waterbirds were either absent or simply too distant to bother trying to discern with any degree of accuracy.
A couple with 3 very lively and noisy dogs were out on the river mouth, adding further to the dearth of birds.
The only aves of note came in the form of a couple of northern harriers that flew in, in tandem, from the south-east. They were both juv-types, and given their size and structure one each male and female.

A Tale of Two Teal

Jenny joined me for my Coastal Bird Survey on Sunday (a week after it should have been, but better later than never, eh?) and we enjoyed the unforecasted sunshine as we trundled to Jack Point, counting as we went.
Bird-wise, it was bit on the quiet side and highlights were few. Just 3 greater scaup, 1 common loon, 3 horned grebe, 6 red-breasted merganser and 8 surf scoter were seen among the much more numerous common goldeneye and bufflehead.
Passerines were thin on the ground too, with just a few kinglets, chickadees and such to divert us from our oceanic gaze.

Later, I headed out to see what, if anything, was kicking around Quennell Lake. It wasn't much birdier there than offshore at Jack Point. A single American coot, a few shoveler, ring-necked duck, lesser scaup, mallard, American wigeon, common merganser and pintail were all seen, as were a few green-winged teal, along with the bird pictured here. It appears to be something on an intermediate between common teal and green-winged. Or is that vertical white stripe within the variable characteristics of green-winged?
Please offer any opinion, I'd love to know what others think.
A lone cackling goose was with the mass of usual Canadas and there 28 trumpeter swans present.

I headed off to the Nanaimo River estuary for the last hour and a half of daylight. A couple of hunters were returning empty-handed, and I was soon alone with what few birds were still around.
The male (pictured) and a juv female northern harrier were hunting over the marsh, but no short-eared owls emerged. 40+ trumpeter swan were out on the water's edge.

Not-so-great-blue heron

My only window of birding opportunity today coincided with the onset of rain, early afternoon.
I headed first to Holden Creek.
Among 300ish American wigeon dabbling in the wet fields by the farm was a single drake Eurasian wigeon. A small group of 7 trumpeter swans were also here along with several Canada geese. Further out in the fields were more wigeon and a couple of hundred green-winged teal. I couldn't locate any common teal among them.
Other than a handful of gadwall, the only birds out on the flooded marsh were a few mallard and pintail. Then I noticed an American coot on the creek - certainly the first I've seen here.

The Nanaimo River estuary was calling, so I headed down to Raines Road.
A couple of brace of dogless hunters were out on the marsh, but there was little actual shooting going on, just one failed attempt at bringing down a passing bufflehead.

Late blue heron

A more convincing dead bird concerned a deceased great blue heron (pictured), strangely found under a small tree.
It was a fairly fresh corpse, and there were no obvious signs of cause of death. It did appear to rather emaciated, so perhaps it had starved?   
The estuary was pretty quiet, and I trudged around vainly in search of interesting birds.
A single female northern harrier made a brief, and most welcome, appearance.
I spent a fair bit of time scrutinising both the large dark-eyed junco and golden-crowned sparrow flocks, but I couldn't find anything of note in with them. Just the attendant song sparrows, towhees and a couple of chickadees added some variety.
 

Happy New Birding Year etc, etc.

Five greater white-fronted geese flew over me as I put some petrol, or gas if you prefer, in the car in Cedar this morning. I couldn't help thinking as I set off to work, that I"d much rather be going down to the icy estuary and optimistically scrutinising every bush, tree, frozen pool and clump off weedy grass for avian gems.

As it happens, I managed to leave work at 3pm, so thanks to the brilliantly bright weather, I was able to squeeze a good hours' birding in just before, and up to dusk.
Naturally, I found myself heading toward the Nanaimo River estuary.
The tide was well out, and so too were the more aquatically inclined birds. I could see good numbers of American wigeon, pintail and few other bits and pieces. Around 30 trumpeter swan were in the area.
A lovely male northern harrier was initially sat out on a small tree on the marsh, and spent much of the time I was there sailing closely by me and showing beautifully. A juv. female joined him for a short sortie, before heading off to the outer estuary marshes.
2 killdeer gave themselves away, calling noisily as they flew over the marsh. 
I came across a sizable finch flock in the hawthorns, made up of mainly dark-eyed juncos and golden-crowned sparrows. A handful each of song sparrows and spotted towhees were also in the long hedge, as were 2 fox sparrows.
A Cooper's hawk came over, heading determinedly toward Briggs Park area.
Just as I was leaving I spotted a newly emerged short-eared owl. It showed well for a short while before heading off to hunt beyond the fields. Another short-eared passed over, at height from the north of the river.
And with that, I can confidently say that short-eared owl was the last bird I saw in 2010. Not every year I can say that.

So, many best wishes to all for 2011 
- and next time I discover a major local rarity, let's hope that I'm aware of the gravity of the sighting at the time...

Toowit, two owls

Once again, managed a quick trundle around the Nanaimo River estuary for a spot of post-work birding.
It was nice and bright, and a couple of wildfowlers were out shooting at the water's edge.
A single juv northern harrier sailed over.
As I walked around I noticed a flock of some 15 or so western meadowlarks flying low over the marsh. I crept toward the area of long grass in which they'd landed, and as I approached, the strikingly bright yellow of an adult glared out from the rank vegetation. About time too! I watched the group for a while, before heading off in search of owls.
At 6.15pm a short-eared owl appeared, hunting over the area of rough grass near the 'bluebird' posts. As I stood on a raised gravel mound to watch it, it headed toward me and buzzed me, uttering its barking call. It did a repeat of this move, and then as I watched it head off over the marsh I noticed a second bird, hunting beyond the channel. By this time the light was getting pretty awful, so armed with a brace of owls in my mind, I headed back to the car.

Fog at the bog...

Thankfully, the day stayed bright and clear to allow me to squeeze a good 40 minutes out down at the estuary, before the dusk, and heavy mist, completely stopped play.
It was all quiet initially, with the exception of the multitude of garrulous gulls on the riverside.
I eventually spotted a juvenile northern harrier sat out on a post on the marsh. As I trudged along the long hedge, a pair of adult harriers passed low over me, calling and interacting with one another. Very nice.
Just after 6pm, as I turned to return to my fog-shrouded car I noticed a movement, which turned out to be, as I suspected, a short-eared owl. It flew onto a stranded log and sat looking around before flying off and vanishing into the blanket of mist lying over the marsh.

* in other news... a 'slate-coloured' junco has been hanging out with the regular dark-eyed juncos in our yard for the past couple of days. (This is the form that I've seen a couple of times as a vagrant in the UK, in Portland, Dorset, and in Cheshire.)

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.

Brief visit

Just squeezed a dusky half hour down at the Nanaimo River estuary this evening on my way home from work.
A northern shrike was hunting from the 'bluebird posts', and a solitary juv northern harrier was hunting nearby. A single Lincoln's sparrow was the only notable passerine.
The number of eagles continues to build, with 20+ out and about.

Hopefully I'll get a chance to give the place a good grilling tomorrow... maybe turn up some meadowlarks, if nothing else?

Swan-ee River

Spent the first 40 minutes or so of daylight down at the Nanaimo River estuary this morning.
On the way to the parking area, I pulled over for a quick look at a group of 18 Barrow's goldeneye, new in on the river.
Going through the many, many glaucous-winged gulls on the shingle banks, I picked out a 'decent' herring gull. Small numbers of Californian gulls were floating around over the marsh.
From the viewing platform, I could see large rafts of American wigeon at the estuary mouth, while green-winged teal, mallard, pintail, common merganser and hooded mergansers made up the remaining wildfowl.
A small flock of cackling geese passed over, and the large white blob floating on the sea turned out not to be my first wild swan of the season, but a mute swan. Pah.
3 different northern harriers made appearances, and the ever-singing northern shrike kept me entertained while I scanned the marshes.
A noisy greater yellowlegs, eventually showed, and flew off in the direction of Holden Creek. 
I couldn't locate anything out of the ordinary among the small flock of chestnut-backed chickadees, or various sparrow groups.

After work, I returned to the estuary. In the half hour of fading light, I clocked a single juv northern harrier, and the short-eared owl emerged just after 6pm. It showed well again, and even treated me to views of effortless vole catching.
My disappointment at finding that crappy mute swan this morning was eclipsed by the sight of 13 trumpeter swans flying over, heading south.

Asio like it...

Managed to squeeze in a visit to the Nanaimo River estuary on my home this evening, and just about caught the last half hour of decent-ish light.
A quick scan through the gulls revealed nothing of earth-shattering note. Good numbers of common merganser were on the swollen river.

As I walked toward the large oak, a distant bird caught my eye at the back of the meadow; it turned out to be my first short-eared owl of the winter. Nice. (The pic shown here was taken last winter, by the way).
According to Sibley, it fitted the description of a male, but I have to concede, that his is the only book that I have ever seen that makes reference to the identification of sexes in the field. Even Claus Konig and Friedhelm Weick make no mention of sexual dimorphism in their Owls of the World... what's the deal here?
I watched it hunting for a couple of minutes then headed to the platform for a scan of the area.
A pair of northern shrikes were chasing each other around, doubtless establishing territories for the winter.
Adult male and female northern harriers were hunting over the marsh to the west of the river, while a juvenile was hunting along the long hedge. A further adult female came onto the marsh from the fields to the south of the area.

Before it got too dark, I headed along the hedge where I got ace views of the short-eared owl as it hunted, and it even came to check me out before landing on a post and posing nicely.
Well, it may have only been half an hour, but it certainly set the pace for the next few months of winter birding on the estuary!

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.

Calm before the storm

Started off the morning at Holden Creek. Looking at the forecast, this might be my best chance to get any decent birding in before it gets all nasty...

I was pleased to see that the white-fronted goose and cackling goose flock was still in the near field. The lone snow goose present last week had moved on..
There were approximately 90 whitefronts and 60 cacklers; the viewing angle, and the birds' proclivity for feeding just behind the hedge, made an accurate count impossible.
Up to 300 green-winged teal were feeding out on the water-logged marsh. A handful of American wigeon and mallard were also there.

After a while, I took off to see what was happening round at the Raines Road end.
There was nothing notable among the mass of glaucous-winged gulls on the river, just a handful of mew gulls and the odd Thayers.
Both the juvenile and the male northern harriers were showing well, hunting over the marsh.

I could hear a northern shrike, chattering from the small trees in the meadow, but I couldn't see the secretive little blighter...
A single Wilson's snipe flew over.
Nothing much in the way of passerines around, just the usual juncos, song, golden-crowned and white-crowned sparrows etc. Although, a flock of cedar waxwings that briefly dropped in were the first I've seen here in quite some time.
Still no sign or sound of meadowlarks.
Checking last year's records, the first short-eared owls weren't seen on the estuary until November 1. So, I guess they could turn up any time in the next couple of weeks, depending to some degree on weather.