Birding on a Wet Weekend

On Saturday I managed to scramble a few hours together and chose to concentrate my efforts on birding along the coast. My intention being to try and locate a rock sandpiper or two... 
I started off at Clover Point, scoping out over the waves and checking the rocky foreshore. I came across the expected black turnstones and surfbirds but there was nothing else wader-wise to be had. Offshore, there was plenty going on - hundreds of mew gulls and good numbers of glaucous-winged gulls wheeling around but nothing more enticing noticeable among them. The regular western-type was present around the parking area.

Red-necked grebe

Also bobbing around on the water were common and Pacific loons, surf scoters, buffleheads, harlequin ducks, red-breasted, common and hooded mergansers, horned and red-necked grebes  (pic) and several smart long-tailed ducks.
Alcids were represented by common murres, pigeon guillemots (many now in breeding garb) and a few rhinoceros auklets. The usual cormorant species were all present and correct.
I headed along the coast, checking out Harling Point and the Chinese Cemetery. Here the birds were much the same, though I did add white-winged scoter and a western grebe to the day-list.
A good scan around the Oak Bay Marina revealed little of note. I couldn't even find any greater yellowlegs; the only shorebirds seen being 6 killdeer roosting on a small islet.
At Cattle Point, a single Thayer's gull provided a little larid relief but my diligent search along the kelp draped rocks failed to turn up my hoped-for rock sandpiper and I had to be content with more surfbirds and turnstones. Oh well, next time eh? 

Another quality self-portrait...

On Sunday, Jenny and I chose to explore a previously undiscovered (by us, that is) spot by the name of Gowlland Tod Provincial Park by the Saanich Inlet. We started our hike at the McKenzie Bight access point and headed up along the Timberman Trail.
We trekked through the ridiculously verdant old growth rain forest as far as the Squally Reach Viewpoint - where on a day when the cloud wasn't at eye level, I am sure there are spectacular views to be had.
The birds were mostly silent, and mostly invisible.

Barrow's goldeneye

We returned via the Cascade Trail, a steep descent alongside an impressive wee waterfall that leads to a pebbly beach.
Here were spied a few Barrow's goldeneyes (pic) and admired the decidedly Scottish-like views. Or am I thinking of Norway..?
We slogged our way back up the muddy McKenzie Bight trail in the drizzle.

The Misty Wee Hills Of Gowlland Tod

We both really loved this placed and can't wait to visit again on a clear spring day when we will follow the high trail over to Jocelyn Hill. Maybe.
On our way home we stopped off at the Red Barn Market, and I slipped round the back to check the flooded field. Six trumpeter swans and 3 American coot were in among the many mallard.     
 

Rusty Blackbird Makes The List

Today, I decided to go and look for a specific bird.
No, not the BC mega - a brambling that local birders have been getting all excited about, but a rusty blackbird that has been seen on and off in the Martindale Road area in Saanich.
I did try and see one of these a couple of years ago when one was in the Victoria area but I dipped, and have since been rather keen to catch up with one. 
According to the limited info available, the rusty blackbird has been seen hanging out with a flock of Brewer's blackbirds and European starlings in the agricultural area to the southwest of Island View Beach.
Jenny had a desire to visit nearby Michell's Farms Market, rather conveniently, so it provided an ideal opportunity to do some birding in this large open area.
The wet fields had attracted lots of Canada geese and a small number of cackling geese. Two Canadas were sporting red collars, but they were too far away for me to read the numbers. A pair of adult trumpeter swans were by one flooded field while a lone juvenile was close by.
A sizable flock of American wigeon contained no Eurasians, though 4 gadwall were a pleasant sight in among the many mallards.

Ring-billed gull

Scanning through the mew and glaucous-winged gulls I came across a smart ring-billed gull (pictured), always a treat to see on the island.       
After checking a few stubble fields and likely looking roosting trees we eventually came across a flock of mixed starlings and blackbirds along Welch Road. The birds were sat up in roadside trees and after quite some time I located the rusty among the squawking throng. It wasn't exactly giving itself up easily, keeping its back to me and remaining in the centre of the tree. I managed a few crappy shots (one of the better ones seen here) before the birds flew down to feed in the roadside field.

Rusty blackbird

Here the rusty blackbird really came into its own and looked spectacular, even if the flock was constantly moving at a rapid pace. Another icterid in the bag!
Pleased with our fine find, Jenny and I headed over to the Indian Food Store on Cook St, procured some pakoras and samosas and went to Swan Lake for an impromptu picnic and a walk around the nature reserve.
We didn't see much, but the stroll was a pleasant enough way to spend the early afternoon. 
 
Despite the obvious attraction of the brambling (UK readers may find this amusing, but consider the excitement that any Yank passerine causes in Blighty - after all aren't twitchers back home chasing a dark-eyed junco around Hampshire at the moment?), I've been more interested in a visitor in my own back yard this week.

Every morning there has been a western tanager in the apple tree outside our kitchen window (pictured). Now the reason that this bird hasn't attracted much attention from the locals, despite its incredibly rare status as a wintering bird in this part of the world, is that western tanagers are pretty easy to find in spring and summer. So, I suppose it's a bit like finding a wintering sedge warbler at Leighton Moss - certainly noteworthy but not exactly front-page news!

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...!   

Swan day wonders

I was limited to just a check at Quennell Lake today, birding-wise.
There had been something of a swan exodus, with a considerable reduction in the number of birds present.
Trumpeter swans were down to 118, and not a single tundra remained.
Ducks were represented by the usual multitude of mallard, 8 northern shoveler, several hooded and many common merganser, lesser scaup and ring-necked ducks plus a few wigeon. Notably, there were 3 American black duck. 
A single cackling goose was among the Canadas.

Swan fine day

Started off at Quennell Lake this morning, expecting more swans to be present. I wasn't wrong!
A couple of days ago, there were 28 trumpeters and 1 tundra.
Today, there were 178 trumpeter swans and at least 12 tundra swans on the flooded field.
One of the trumpeters was a collared bird.
The variation in the bill patterns of the tundra swans is quite remarkable, some have no yellow at all, while others have clear loral patches.
One bird in particular actually looked more like a Bewick's (see the photo below).
It was encouraging to see many young birds and family groups, of both species.

Otherwise, it was pretty unremarkable - no interesting aythyas among the ring-necked ducks and lesser scaups.
There were good numbers of American wigeon, loads of mallards and common mergansers, plus a handful of shovelers.

I then headed round to the Nanaimo River estuary.
A few trumpeter swans and Barrow's goldeneye were on the river. At the estuary, at least 2 juvs and an adult male northern harrier put on a good show. A northern shrike was hunting from the hawthorns on the marsh.
A male slate-coloured darke-eyed junco was among a flock of regular birds. Incidentally, an individual of this form was at my feeders this morning too.  

A drake Eurasian wigeon was among its commoner congeners on the kidney pools (see pic) while many hundreds more American wigeon and green-winged teal were out on the water - occasionally put to flight by a lone hunter.

Taking an eary morning gander

Spent half an hour or so this morning checking the wildfowl at Quennell Lake, in Cedar. It was freezing! But at least it was bright and dry...
There were 28 trumpeter swans on the flooded field at the northern end of the lake, plus a tundra swan. This is the first 'tundra' swan I've ever seen, although of course it's just the north American race of the Euro-version known as Bewick's swan, with which I am very familiar.
There were 2 greater white-fronted geese among the many, many Canadas.
The bulk of ducks were mallard with smaller numbers of green-winged teal, pintail, gadwall and American wigeon thrown in.
On the lake itself, there were approximately 160 common merganser and a dozen ring-necked duck.

Late lake look

A healthy hangover, thanks to a night in the Cambie, prevented me from an early start today. Instead I subjected myself to numerous 'essential' chores (including a Craft Fair and a trip to the Bird Store) with Jenny.
Late afternoon, we were back in Cedar and I was getting withdrawal symptoms. From birds, of course, not the booze.
So, I headed out into the drizzly gloom for a quick check of Quennel Lake. On the lake itself was a large raft of duck comprising mainly mallard, plus several American wigeon. Large numbers of common merganser were also present as were 20+ ring-necked duck. A single pied-billed grebe, and a couple of hooded merganser added to the tally.  
On the flooded field were lots of Canada geese, a sprinkling of cackling geese, more mallard and wigeon, a couple of pintail and 24 trumpeter swans.

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.

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.

Hard work, but worth it.

Blimey, it was hard work down the Nanaimo River estuary this morning. Quiet? Not half!
There was a very low tide, and as such all the wildfowl and gulls were miles out. The hedgerows were uncannily bereft of birds, no finch/sparrow flocks, at all... just the odd house finch, towhee and song sparrow.
I could hear a western meadowlark singing in the fields somewhere, but couldn't locate it.
There was a bit of activity overhead, with numerous bald eagles kicking around. Up to 5 were soaring together at one point, plus a couple of red-tailed hawks were busy hunting around the area - much to the chagrin of the local ravens.
A northern shrike showed up, and posed beautifully while I rattled off a couple of crap shots. See attached.
Only 2 trumpeter swans were out on the marsh, and a further 4 were on the river.

Deciding that I wasn't likely to stumble across much more, I headed to Holden Creek to see what was there.
Just a few dabbling green-winged teal were on the wet marsh. A couple of bufflehead were in the creek. 10 trumpeter swans were in the fields, along with the regular Canada geese and mallards. A pair of killdeer were back in the field, the first time I've seen them here for a while.
Another northern shrike was hunting along the hedgerow at the back of the marsh.

Checking my watch, I noticed that I could just about squeeze in a quick check at Quennell Lake before going and collecting Jenny from work...
There was no sign of the juv snow goose amongst the depleted number of Canadas, though at least 1 cackling goose was still present. A rather impressive 62 northern shoveler were counted. A few pintail, GW teal, and mallard were around as was a pair of lesser scaup and 3 American coot.
Best of all though, were the 40ish hirundines that were feeding high over the lake. The ones that I was able to positively identify, were all tree swallows. Spring! Whoo-hoo!  

Adding to the feeling that things were definitely on the move, we had a turkey vulture over the highway near Jinglepot.

Late lake look lacks life

Unfortunately, I was on the hunt for a much-needed tin-opener during my lunch break today, so the birding was somewhat limited... I made up for this atrocious state of affairs, with a dusky, post-work, visit to Quennell Lake.

The light, although fading, wasn't too bad and I managed a fairly convincing sweep through the 1000 or so Canada geese present - there appeared to be nothing of note amongst them.
On the water, there were about a dozen trumpeter swans plus small numbers of pintail, A. wigeon, GW teal, mallard, bufflehead & hooded mergs. A notable 'influx' of northern shoveler had taken place since my last visit, with 11 birds seen.
I hung around as the light vanished, but my only reward was the sight of a bunny.

Incidentally, I didn't find a suitable tin-opener.
 

Spring has sprung a leak

Having been seduced by last weekend's spring-like weather, it was a bit of let down to go out this morning in such cold and soggy conditions. What a blunt and unwelcome reminder that it is still winter...  The birds didn't seem too pleased either and, for the most part, kept a pretty low profile.
Things started off well though, and within minutes of arriving at the Nanaimo River Estuary I noticed the golden-crowned sparrow/junco flock around the viewing platform. Within a few seconds the white-throated sparrow was showing well and a very weak sun even managed to puncture the greyness for a moment. I added 'non-indiginous-rabbit' to my estuary mammal list.
The next couple of hours were somewhat less productive, and the only other significant bird was a drake Eurasian wigeon. Up to 60 trumpeter swans were again present on the marsh (pictured) plus there were plenty of pintail, American wigeon and green-winged teal around. Out on the river mouth, there was a group of gadwall, common goldeneye, common merganser, mallard and yet more wigeon.
Along the 'long hedge', I came across a 60+ flock of dark-eyed junco but there appeared to little else with them other than the expected song sparrows and  spotted towhees.
Gull numbers appear to building up nicely, but I couldn't see anything out of the ordinary amongst the distant groups.

Up the Creek
I then spent a short time at Holden Creek, which was quiet. A group of around 200 Canada geese were feeding in the nearby fields, but there was nothing of note among them.

What a cock!
By now (early afternoon), the rain had become somewhat more persistent so I took a leisurely drive around Quennel Lake, primarily on the lookout for wildfowl on the move.
As I approached the lake, a movement caught my eye in a nearby field and I smirked at the sight of a cock ring-necked pheasant picking through some long grass. Now, I know that these birds are quite sought after by many Vancouver Island birders, but I have to say it will a cold day in Hell before I get excited by seeing one - outside of their native range, that is.
Just 1 swan was on the lake, and relatively few Canada geese were present. 7 American coot were the first I'd seen for a while and a flotilla of 11 lesser scaup made for a pleasant sight.
A bedraggled 1stw northern shrike was hunting from nearby fenceposts.
I was rather surprised to find a soggy red crossbill singing away from the exposed branches of a small fruit tree by the roadside.

With the forecast looking better for the majority of the week, perhaps we can get back to convincing ourselves that spring really is around the corner..!

Don't forget to have a go at guessing (or studying and making and educated assessment, if you'd rather) the Mystery Bird on the left - only a short time left remains before I reveal the answer. And, of course there will be a new pic for you all to scratch your heads (or not) over.