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...!   

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.

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.  

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.

Weekend birding highlights

Jen and I were in Victoria for the weekend and although we had a full itinerary, I managed to squeeze in a couple of small birding opportunities.
On Saturday I found a few moments to spend at Clover Point - there were no stringy eiders this time, just a handful of dunlin, black turnstones, black oystercatchers and harlequin ducks, etc. The assembled jumble of gulls contained nothing of particular note.

Sunday, we decided to check out Cattle Point, only really known to me as the location of a small group of rock sandpipers that were there recently. Although they hadn't been reported for about a week, I still felt compelled to have a look, as I was in the neighbourhood! Sadly, no sandpipers were found, but I did manage to get a shot of a fine looking surfbird (pictured). I can never see enough surfbirds.

Returning to Cedar later in the day, we stopped off at Quennell Lake for a quick look before heading home. Green-winged teal numbers had increased since my last visit, but the common (Eurasian) teal that had been around for some time was nowhere to be seen. Just 3 northern shoveler were present among the pintail and mallard.
The regular male American kestrel was hunting in nearby fields.   

Later, I paid a visit to Holden Creek, where large numbers of wildfowl were feeding in the flooded fields. Among the several hundred Canada geese, I saw a group of 5 greater white-fronted geese.
Scanning through the 225 American wigeon dabbling in the wet fields I came across 4 drake Eurasian wigeons. Certainly the most I've seen together here.
A northern shrike was perched up in a hawthorn out on the marsh. 

As I was in the area, I couldn't ignore the Nanaimo River estuary, and I headed there for a late scout around. Upon arrival I bumped into Bernard Schroeder; a great fellow and, without doubt, one of the world's leading authorities on marbled murrelet! He was busy shepherding his 2 lively boys while trying to get a bit of birding in. We had a good chat and saw a female northern harrier, before going our separate ways.

Other than a few trumpeter swans, gadwall, common goldeneye, etc., I didn't see much to get excited about. A short-eared owl came to the rescue with a last-minute appearance, and even stopped hunting long enough for me to rattle off a pic.

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.

Some Photographers Don't Give A Hoot

With a modicum of daylight to tease me, I headed to the Nanaimo River estuary this evening on my way home from work. And with that simple, single event, spring seemed to be temptingly close.
I had a good 20 minutes of reasonable light before dusk descended and I managed to see a female northern harrier and a short-eared owl. Both were on the undisturbed, northern side of the river.

Talking of owls and disturbance - I recently had a conversation with a local photographer who described some of the scenes he witnessed down at the estuary earlier in the winter as nothing short of a 'gong show'.
Now, I know some people think that my concerns over disturbance from photographers is somewhat unwarranted, but this fellow described seeing some excessive behaviour by those in pursuit of the 'perfect' owl shot.
Of course there were gangs of tripod wielding paparazzi chasing owls from one side of the estuary to the other, but apparently some photographers were observed using lures on fishing rods to bring the birds closer.
Frankly, that is appalling and pretty inexcusable.
Hardly surprising that these birds became increasingly harder to observe as winter went on. The combination of shooters, dog-walkers, severe weather and over-enthusiastic fieldcraft-free photographers was surely enough to cause unrest among even the most hardy of birds. Some conservation area the Nanaimo River estuary turned out to be...

Birding Back Up North

Arrived back up north from the sub-tropics in the early hours, and boy did it feel cool and damp.
After a good lie-in and some essential chores, I headed out to reacquaint myself with the Nanaimo River estuary.
Now that the wildfowl hunting season has finished, I had the place to myself for a couple of hours. And what a treat it was, to do some birding without feeling as if one was in the middle of a re-enactment of the Battle of the Somme. I'm sure that the birds, were they capable of conscious thought, would agree.
Among the usual commoner stuff, I clocked a short-eared owl, a juvenile female northern harrier and 5 western meadowlarks. There were good numbers of pintail and American wigeon plus smaller numbers of green-winged teal, gadwall and bufflehead. A couple of dozen trumpeter swans were out on the estuary mouth.
The only thing of note that I could find in among the reduced numbers of golden-crowned sparrow and dark-eyed juncos was a lone fox sparrow. A Cooper's hawk buzzed through causing considerable panic.
There were plenty of bald eagles, mainly juvs and sub-adults sat around the area today. Hence the pic of a grumpy looking individual here.

Mystery revealed!

OK - there seems to be little point in going through the identification process with this. 86% of participants plumped for green heron.
Which of course, it is.
Thanks to Steve Large for the shot of this 1st year bird, taken in late summer 2010 at Buttertubs Marsh, Nanaimo. Check out Steve's amazing bird photography here.

To the right, you will see a new mystery bird - enjoy!

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...

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.

Out For The Count

Sunday, I was blessed with dry weather for my Coastal Waterbirds Survey.

Before I really kicked off, I scoped toward the Nanaimo estuary from the path just by the tunnel exit, and could see at least 2 short-eared owls and a northern harrier hunting over the flooded marsh.
The survey itself, was pretty uneventful but continued, at least, to remain rain-free as I walked down to Jack Point and back.
Highlights included 7 horned grebe, 4 common loon, 1 surf scoter, 1 harlequin duck and a Brandt's cormorant. The most plentiful birds were bufflehead and common goldeneye, with reasonable numbers of red-breasted merganser and greater scaup also present.

I made a quick stop at Holden Creek on my way back. The actual marsh was birdless (no doubt helped by the fact that a couple of local gunmen were creeping around at the back), but the wet fields contained approximately 1400 American wigeon plus several hundred green-winged teal and reasonable numbers of pintail and mallard. A peregrine bombed through, attempted a strike at the wildfowl but left empty-handed. Or empty-taloned, I suppose...
5 greater white-fronted geese were still hanging around with the Canadas.
 

Cam-owl-flage

I headed out to the Nanaimo River estuary for the first couple of hours of daylight on Saturday morning. I arrived to find one hunter already out on the marsh, with another soon arriving after me.
There wasn't must shooting going in though, as the majority of wildfowl was staying offshore.
There wasn't a great deal of activity at all, to be honest, and I spent my time vainly searching for birds.

I didn't see a single shrike - most unusual here, and only a lone western meadowlark put in an appearance.
Two 'ring-tail' northern harriers were cruising the marsh but no owls were in hunting mode. I did manage to locate a single roosting short-eared owl, as pictured here. They can be tricky little blighters to find...
A couple of largish finch/sparrow flocks were deserving of thorough scrutiny but, alas, the best I could dig out from among the multitude of golden-crowned sparrows and juncos were a couple of white-crowned, a fox and a Lincoln's sparrow. Pah.

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!

Rich pickings on the Nanaimo estuary

After a birding-free weekend in Vancouver I was pleased to see that my old mucker Rich Mooney had been down to the Nanaimo estuary in my absence and got amazing views of 4 short-eared owls. He also bagged meadowlarks, northern shrike and harriers - as expected. See Rich's blog post at his brilliant birding blog.

Having got so used to only ever seeing chestnut-backed chickadees here on Vancouver Island, I was quite taken aback by the sight of a small flock of black-capped chickadees mucking about in some shrubbery on Granville Street, in the heart of downtown. I forgot they were the common tit on the mainland! The ferry back yesterday wasn't much to write home about - the usual surf scoters, common murres, rhinoceros auklets, common loons and the expected gulls and cormorants, etc.

Jenny drew my attention to a varied thrush by our feeders this morning, the first we've had in the yard this season. There were actually 3 thrushes, plus a Steller's jay, numerous juncos and the afore-mentioned chestnut-backed chickadees.

On my lunchtime stroll down to a bitterly nippy and drizzly waterfront, there was a flock of around 50 common goldeneye by the crabbing pier. Not much else though, a couple of red-breasted mergansers and a few bufflehead.