Flycatchers and Deer and Racoons, Oh My!

I was hopeful, thanks to the overcast skies, that this morning might prove more fruitful than the past couple of days and I headed off to have a walk around the grounds of Government House at 7am.
A band-tailed pigeon was sat up in the trees near the back car park, indicating that there was at last some migrant movement. 

The deer photographed here was more intent on keeping its eye on the dog being walked past - I offered little threat, obviously.  
As I carefully and slowly made my way along the trails, stopping for the occasional bout of pishing, I soon realised that I wasn't going to find myself in the midst of an historic fall of epic proportions. A hermit thrush showed and a couple of skulking golden-crowned sparrows emerged from the brush but otherwise it was business as usual for the most part.  
I continued to pish, make pygmy owl noises and tweak my rustic 'Audubon Bird Call' as I made my way along the path and eventually got some response from a yellow-rumped warbler. I looked up, it was a female.
Then another bird caught my eye up on a snag. It was an empidonax flycatcher - nice, my first of the year. 
It flitted between a large fir and the exposed branches of an adjacent garry oak, keeping mainly in the upper reaches.
It looked like a Hammond's flycatcher, then it called, further confirming it. Phew. That was easier than it could have been!

As I was grilling this small empid, a rather cumbersome racoon (pictured) came along to check me out. I'm sure that long-time residents and natives of this fair land are ambivalent about these mammals, but I have to say I'm still very much charmed by them... 

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.

Mid-Island Year-Tick Fest

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

One Good Tern...

After a drizzly night I woke to find that it was still grey and overcast this morning, with lovely showers to entice me out. I had toyed with the idea of going to Oak Bay Marina to see if I could locate the rock sandpiper reported from there yesterday, but the lure of a few fallen migrants proved too strong and I headed off to the Government House grounds.

Well, what a poor decision that turned out to be! After covering the area as diligently as I could, and finding little more than a single Lincoln's sparrow, I started to think about that sandpiper... and by 8am I was heading home to get the car and head off to the coast.

It took less than 10 minutes to get there, and the rain really stepped up its game. I spent a good hour scouring the rocks to the north and south of the marina but failed to find any rock sandpipers. Three distant summer plumage dunlin momentarily caught my attention, and a group of 8 black turnstone did their best to compensate but frankly, failed.
Now, I'm not too prone to chasing ticks much these days, but I've never seen rock sandpiper and it's one of only 5 or 6 North American shorebirds that I haven't seen, so I was a little disappointed not to connect with it, but hey - it's not like I won't come across one sooner or later. Sooner would be nicer, though.
On the plus side, I did get a 'year-tick' while I was out there getting soaked. A pair of majestic Caspian terns came by, improving my mood a little... 

Me, atop Moss Rock - looking windswept and uninteresting.

Later, after I'd done my daily quota of work and washing up, Jenny and I decided to walk down to Moss Rock Park - just to check it out. The views are great; looking south across Juan De Fuca Strait to the US, and the impressive mountains of Olympic National Park, and north back toward Government House.
I can imagine it being a great spot for grounded migrants in the right conditions - for the first hour or so of daylight, after which I expect they would melt away or simply re-orientate themselves and continue moving in whichever direction they should be going.  

Good Morning For A Mourning Dove

Although it was encouragingly overcast as I looked out the window this morning, the forecast rain had failed to materialise. Nonetheless, I trundled off to Government House just to see if the southerlies and cloud cover had caused anything to drop. The cloud ceiling was a touch high, and my optimism waned somewhat as I walked through the gardens toward the bluffs.
It was eerily quiet, with few birds singing. Even the Bewick's wrens and towhees were reticent, and took a while to get revved up. In fact the noisiest birds were the Cooper's hawks - a juvenile bird was making a right racket and was being chased around the place by the adult male. In fact, this went on throughout the hour or so I was there, and every time the young bird approached the area of the park where the nest is located, the adult came out to see it off. Later, I located both adult birds near the nest; the female was pulling some hapless songbird apart while the male looked on, from several feet away. I'm assuming that it's too early for a fledged bird of this year, and that the youngster is one of last year's offspring?
As I slowly made my way around the trail I came across several orange-crowned warblers, a lone male yellow-rumped warbler, a couple of ruby-crowned kinglets and the other usual denizens of the area.
Just as I coming away, however I noticed a mourning dove sat up in the trees near the parking area. I think I'm right in saying that this is the first one that I've ever seen on the island, so that certainly made the walk worthwhile!
On my way back, I once again saw the flock of cedar waxwings on Joan Crescent - there were 16 present.

Owls About That Then

An early scout (6.45-8.30am) around the Government House woodlands this morning wasn't without its rewards.
The area was positively buzzing with the sound of birdsong and even a few migrants had dropped in to brighten things up a bit.
As well as the 'resident' species, there were several yellow-rumped warblers (all Audubon's) around plus a number of what appeared to be 'new' ruby-crowned kinglets.
A savannah sparrow popped up and I came across two Lincoln's sparrows.
A pair of noisy red-breasted nuthatch led me to discover a roosting barred owl (pic).

Not Bad Friday

The garry oaks and bluffs below Government House, Victoria

I just had a trundle around the Government House garry oaks area and gardens in the brilliant sunshine this morning. Bald eagles were soaring high, as were a couple of Coopers' and a single sharp-shinned hawk. A couple of 'new in' orange-crowned warblers were singing, adding to the voices of those already present.
A pair of downy woodpeckers were busy chasing each other around in between bouts of drumming and nest-hole excavation.
I came across my first 'myrtle' yellow-rumped warbler of the spring, all the birds I've seen previously have been 'Audubon's'. A single barn swallow passed through, but there was little other sign of visible migration. 
As ever, Anna's hummingbirds were all over the place, as were red-breasted nuthatches, chestnut-backed chickadees, bushtits, Bewick's wrens, spotted towhees and the like.
 

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.    

All At Sea

After managing to drag myself out of bed early this morning I headed out to Clover Point, in an effort to beat the crowds. It was delightfully quiet when I arrived and I spent some time checking the rocks for shorebirds and scanning the water for, well, waterbirds.

Just 5 black turnstone and a lone black oystercatcher were sifting through the seaweed, while harlequin ducks dabbled around the edges. Offshore, there were the usual pigeon guillemots and rhinoceros auklets, plus a couple of common murre.
A breeding plumage Pacific loon was preening close to shore and several surf scoter were diving in the calm waters. A pair of brant flew by and I added barn swallow to my year list.
I headed north along the cliff top path and in some shrubby areas I heard and saw my first orange-crowned warbler of the spring (pictured).

All along here there were also numerous Anna's hummingbirds (male pictured), plus Bewick's wrens, spotted towhees, song sparrows and the like.
It was getting towards 9am now and the place was getting a bit heavy on the dog front, so I took off, stopping at Government House on my way.

The first bird I saw was a cracking Cooper's hawk sat out in full view, in the bright sunshine. Sadly it didn't stay still long enough for a snap. I heard, then saw several pine siskin, but other than a couple of ruby-crowned kinglet and a fly-by tree swallow it was pretty much business as usual. Given the decent light and the fact that I had my scope with me, I got a pic of the Anna's hummingbird nest I'd found a few days ago, high up in a Garry Oak. Just as I was headed back to the car, a merlin zipped through.

Later in the day, once work and chores and other boring stuff had been dealt with, Jenny and I took a stroll around the block and came across a nice flock of c18 cedar waxwings along Joan Crescent.

Local birding

Work kept me in for most of the day today, but I did manage to sneak for an hour late afternoon (not the best time time of day, admittedly).
I took a stroll down to Government House and had a trundle around the woodland path, to the rear of the building. The bluffs and garry oaks here really do help conjure up visions of lost vagrants and weary northbound migrants... we'll have to see about that! 
The place was actually quite birdy and alongside the common chestnut-backed chickadees, bushtits, Anna's hummingbirds and the like, there were still good numbers of ruby-crowned kinglet and a pair of yellow-rumped warbler busily gleaning insects from the emergent buds.
Red-breasted nuthatch, brown creeper and northern flicker all kept me entertained and several smart golden-crowned sparrows looked neat in their newly acquired breeding finery.

Oh, and our first Anna's hummingbird came to the feeder this morning. Hopefully, we'll see more hummer action - it's been a bit slow thus far... 

Sometimes, Good Guys Don't Wear White

Regarding yesterday's gull - I was grateful to receive word from two top local birders, Jeremy Gatten and Ian Cruickshank, that the bird is indeed a mew gull - but simply a heavily worn bird. I have to say that I have never seen as bleached-out a worn first year common gull, and I didn't realise that mew gulls could appear so strikingly pale. The pale brown/cream primaries really threw me, hence my assumption that it was a leucistic bird.

Thanks Jeremy and Ian - your comments were most welcome - I'll certainly be looking at 1st cal mew gulls more closely from here on in! As they say, every day's a school day...
Here are a couple more pics of the bird for those who might want to see some other shots.