Having finally ticked the solitaire, there weren’t any “must have” species in the area to pursue.  Well, there was one — a Long-billed Curlew in Tofino.  That’s a good six-hour drive away for me.  I am going to be there for the Shorebird Festival in a couple of weeks, but it would be unlikely the bird would stay that long.  We sometimes get them in Victoria, but they are rare.  I had decided to gamble and not chase this particular individual, something I knew I might come to regret.

Instead, I decided to spend Sunday adding to my Nanaimo district list and checking out the Chemainus River Estuary.  My first stop would be Buttertubs Marsh in Nanaimo. This is an impressive wetland that has an easy loop trail. The birds were pretty much as you might expect–blackbirds, ducks, Common Yellowthroats, Marsh Wrens and other common species.  That was fine, as I was not really thinking I would find any new birds here.

 

One of the things that is done very well at Buttertubs is the signage.  Every junction has a map that lets you know exactly where you are relative to every entrance.

The folks at Saanich Parks could learn something here.  I have been turned around and “lost” on Mt. Doug more times than I would care to admit. It doesn’t help to know that I’m looking for the Mercer Trail if there’s nothing around to tell me where the Mercer Trail is.

One of the most interesting finds during my walk was a “gang” of male Brown-headed Cowbirds displaying to each other.  Males will display more vigorously to other males than they do to females. With about nine males in one tree, there was a whole lot of puffery going on!

Birds aren’t the only animals to use Buttertubs Marsh. Unfortunately, American Bullfrogs also call the marsh home.

This invasive species was introduced to Vancouver Island through the restaurant supply industry–growing frogs for frog legs.  Now much of the freshwater on the island is hosting these voracious amphibians, much to the detriment of native species of insects, fish, amphibians and even birds.  An adult bullfrog can capture and consume ducklings and shorebirds.

Next stop was a brand new location for me.  Back in February, Karen Ferguson, Ian Cruickshank and I looked across the strait from Salt Spring Island wondering about how to gain access to this incredible estuary.  A little bit of web research revealed that much of the property was owned by Ducks Unlimited and was sometimes used by hunters.  I knew someone who would know how to get in!  John Costello told me about the Swallowfield Rd. entrance. I’d started down that road once but turned around because of the no trespassing signs.  Turns out that some of them are out of date.  Property adjacent to the road is indeed private, but the best kept secret apparently only applies to birders. When I arrived there on Sunday, there were several dogwalkers, fishers, picnickers, and moms with their babies in strollers all using the roadway to the estuary.

The first part of this level easy walk is through a riparian area with warblers, wrens and sparrows. The road comes to a T junction with the left arm heading through well-disturbed areas filled with blackberry and other plants. Lots of sparrow habitat!

I had White-crowned, Golden-crowned and Lincoln’s Sparrows in the same binocular view.

The road is lined with both coniferous and deciduous trees and remains high above the estuary all the way to the river.
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I left the roadway and headed down a riverside trail towards the shoreline. Boots weren’t essential on Sunday, but I suspect would have been very useful earlier in the year.

I wasn’t prepared for wading  on Sunday, but a short crossing would take you to the mudflats on the other side.  You can also reach them by heading right at the T junction.  The tide was well out when I was there, but I am looking forward to seeing this place with the tide in!  There is much exploring to do but I think this has potential to be a year-round destination for birding.  It is used for retriever training and trials though, so at some times (like next weekend) it could be very busy with dogs and trainers.  I ran into a few women with about 10 dogs they were training when I was there.

I received two phone calls while I was out.  Elaine Preston had found the Tundra Swan back at Esquimalt Lagoon. While this wouldn’t be a new species for my list, it would be an addition to my Capital county list on eBird.  But more urgently, Ed Pellizzon had seen and heard a Dusky Flycatcher on the trail to the Kinsol Trestle.  I was only about 40 minutes away, so off I flew!  I didn’t fine Ed’s bird, but I did find a Hammond’s Flycatcher along the trail, a new species for my year.

As the sun faded, I rushed south to Esquimalt Lagoon and found the swan right where Elaine had left it.

There was still time for one last stop on my way home. Both Lesser Yellowlegs and Western Sandpipers had been seen at Panama Flats.  I managed to get there in time to positively identify the yellowlegs, but the sun was too low to separate the peeps.

All in all, a fantastic Sunday!