It might seem odd to be writing on this topic a mere 12 days into my quest, but as I learn things along the way, I will share them with you. Those who know me know that I’m not normally a lister.  Since eBird came along, I’m trying to be better about submitting trip lists, but I’m really a more casual, “let’s just enjoy what’s out there” kind of birder. My Vancouver Island Big Year is a stretch for me, and I expect to learn a lot along the way.

Although there have already been some fabulous misses (some which I intend to remedy), that’s not what’s been driving me a little nuts.  I’ve been chasing a lot of “regular” birds this week and they have been surprisingly challenging. They are there, I think.  The problem has been that on too many occasions, I’ve had to be somewhere else.  That has meant that I couldn’t commit the time to wait for the bittern to appear or to check the second spot where the Marbled Godwit was seen (it was there).  I’m still very much in rush, rush, rush, mode.   In fact, I’m writing this as the minutes tick down before I leave for the ferry.

This is really the story of my life.  There are so many things that I want to do, and even more that I should do,  and I operate under the foolish assumption that I can do them all. If I had to do it all over again, I would definitely try to clear my calendar more, especially for the first couple of months of the year.  Lesson learned, I will make an effort to do so for the last couple of months, but I know I have already made several commitments for November and December.

I have been out birding the last couple of days, going for some known birds in known locations.  The list is getting smaller, though, so this meant some really targetted birding.  Ruddy Ducks are not common near Victoria, but there are a few good spots .  Going on a tip from Michael Simmons, I decided to check out the Retriever Ponds at Beaver Lake Park.  There were a couple of ducks on the pond, but nothing I could count.

Despite trying several spots for the Ruddy Duck, Pied-billed Grebe and Brant, I went hope Saturday with no new birds.  I did add to the Capital Region checklist by visiting King’s Pond on the Cedar Hill Golf Course.  A day can’t be all bad if it has Wood Ducks in it.

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Outerbridge Park was the opening destination for Sunday morning.  JoAnn Outerbridge built this sanctuary and garden in Saanich a couple of decades ago. It’s a very interesting story that you will undoubtedly hear as the year goes on. JoAnn passed away last year, and her estate has been very generous to Rocky Point Bird Observatory.  We have committed to leading a monthly bird walk in the park on the second Sunday of the month, and this was the first.  Daniel and his son Leo took the lead.  We tallied 25 species in the hour or so that we were there.  Then I was off to Swan Lake to finally get that Pied-billed Grebe.  Not.  However, in the parking lot, two birders reported that the American Bittern had been flying around.  That would be a sweet addition!  Joining a few more birders on the boardwalk, we spent about half an hour scouring the reeds for the bird. One of them had seen it land “just over there”, but there was no sign of it.  I was the first person to see the last person who saw the bird, a phrase I am reluctantly using a lot these days!

I was definitely starting to feel the need to get some additions for the list.  On Saturday, the Victoria Natural History Society’s field trip to Esquimalt Lagoon had turned up more than 70 species, including four that were not yet on my list.  A quick trip added three for me: Western Grebe, Western Gull and, finally, Pied-billed Grebe.

I did take the time to pick through the grebes looking for a Clark’s, but most of the birds had their heads down.  Species count as of January 11 – 121.

In a few minutes, I’ll be heading to the ferry for the first leg of the trip to the Morro Bay Birding Festival.  I normally would take the first ferry of the day, but by taking the 9 am, I just might pick up a few more birds within my big year envelope!