It was another early start on Tuesday, as I was determined to do a “redo” of my quest for a couple of birds in Courtenay,  My GPS and Google maps say that it’s only a 2 hour and 45 minute drive from my place, but they don’t know about red lights, traffic and Tim Hortons.

The Mountain Bluebird has been around since last fall, but is on private property, so seeing it without an official guide was a longshot.  Fortunately I had a plan!

If I left home early enough and timed things correctly, I thought I could manage a short foray to the Nanaimo River Estuary to try again for that Harris’s Sparrow.  I left about 30 minutes late, however, so that was going to cut it kind of tight.  As I drove by the exit, I realized it was not to be. Had I left on time, I could have made the stop, but it would have still been too dark anyway.

Since I had a little extra time, I took a swing up to Nanoose Hill to see if luck would bring me some Pine Grosbeaks without too much of a walk.   There were a LOT of earthworms, and big ones at that, but not an early bird to be seen.

As it turned out, my timing was now perfect, and I had just enough minutes to spare to pick up a tea before heading to the Comox Bay Farm to meet up with Kathryn Clouston for her weekly swan count.  It was during these counts that she first came across the bluebird, so my fingers were crossed for a repeat. On arrival, though, this was the outlook:

Not exactly prime viewing.  But as we walked down the roadway, a small foggy bird flew from one tree to the next.  Could it be?  Yes! it was a Mountain Bluebird, foggy subspecies!

Each week, members of the birding community survey the known locations of swans in the area.  The Trumpeter Swan story is a happy one, with the birds brought back from the brink of extinction about 80 years ago.  Now numbering in the tens of thousands, many of the wintering birds make the Comox Valley their home.  After the count, the birders get together for tea and coffee at the Grotto, where we met up with a couple of others I know, Maj Birch and Art Martell.
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Then it was off to find the Marbled Godwit.  When we arrived at the Riverside Trail, the tide still covered the mudflats, so Kathryn and I took her dogs for a bit of a stroll. Fog ebbed and flowed, providing some interesting photographic effects.

Eventually, though, the water height was just right and we returned to the spot where the bird had most often been seen.  On eBird, this is listed as the Courtenay Airpark. In reality, it’s on the foreshore at the south end of the airpark.  The only evidence of birds at the airpark was a strip of gull feathers on the runway suggesting that one bird did not make a successful landing.

The fog was up, and sure enough, at the end of a small spit of land, there was the godwit!  I also managed to find a Ring-billed Gull amongst the birds on the mud. I think Kathryn must be a good luck charm! The fog rolled in within minutes covering up the opportunity for any better looks.

At this point, it was time for me to head to Port Alberni to meet up with Sandy McCruer and add some birds to one of two remaining regional districts on the island that I hadn’t visited this year.  Sandy was gracious in showing me some of the birding hotspots which I will revisit on Wednesday.

We walked the Log Train Trail and stopped at the Burde St. ponds, then on to the Somass Estuary.  I see a lot of potential in this area. To cap the day, the stroll ended with a Great Horned Owl hooting nearby.