Well, this is different. In order to get this blog done today, I am dictating it from a field between Layritz Park and the VIATEC campus. Of course, by the time you see it, I will have edited it so it won’t look quite as silly as the voice-to-text feature on my phone interprets my words.

So why am I here? There has been a Clay-coloured sparrow reported in this field and a number of people have have apparently heard it. It’s not as straightforward as that, however, because the field is full of Chipping Sparrows, some of which are doing fantastic imitations of Clay-colored Sparrow. To count this bird for my list, I will have to see it. Under normal conditions, “heard only” is acceptable, but not for this bird. I brought a lawn chair and I found a tiny spot of shade. I have things to eat and drink, so I can stay here for a while.

This week a couple of  birding trips have taken me out of the doldrums.  Last Saturday, I went with the VNHS Saturday morning birders to Jordan River.  Some very good birds have turned up on these trips in the past, and I couldn’t take the chance of missing something the group turned up.  The more eyes, the better the chances of finding something. Despite our best efforts, and although we got a pretty impressive day list, there was nothing new for my year list.

 

On the way home, though, I stopped at the end of Petworth Road above Prospect Lake in hopes of getting a nighthawk.  It was still a bit too early, so I entertained myself by taking pictures of butterflies.

Finally, just about the time that I was about to give up, I heard it.  “Peeeent”.  Then another.  Two Common Nighthawks gave me 224 species for the year!

On Monday, I took the slow way north stopping at new places like Fuller Lake  on my way to Campbell River. I am so amazed at how many beautiful spots most of us never see as we buzz up and down the island. Fuller Lake is only a couple of minutes off the highway between Duncan and Chemainus. Not only is there a decent size lake, but there are trails as well. I wonder if anyone ever birds that area.

 

In  Lantzville, I took a side trip to Legacy Marsh, a mainstay of the Brant Festival Big Days I participate in when I was a newbie birder.  What a difference a decade makes!  There were only a few spots where you could see into the marsh and there are now many houses along the edge.  Birds were plentiful and even cooperative, but the dragonflies stole the show.

The best stop of the day however, was at Dawson Road in Parksville. in the era of the Brant Festival Big Day, this was the favorite spot to find Cliff Swallows, and that is why I stopped. I have Cliff Swallow for the year, of course, but I didn’t have them for the Nanaimo Regional District. I didn’t see any swallows  at all, but there was an unfamiliar song coming from the nearby trees. I listened. I pished. I listened some more, but I couldn’t really say for certain what was singing. As others will tell you, I have been trying to turn just about everything into Lazuli Buntings for the last few weeks. I decided to go down the road and see if there was anything else to see and then check again on my way back. I was about 50 meters shy of the highway when I heard the song again,  this time coming from an Arbutus tree.

 

I stopped the car and got out. I listened. I pished. I listened some more. I waited.  I looked. I pished. Nothing. About the time that I had pretty much concluded it must just be a goldfinch I decided to play the Lazuli Bunting call. Immediately a bird flew from the Arbutus and landed on a shrub. I could see as it flew past that it was not yellow and with a quick flick of the binoculars could positively identify it as a male Lazuli Bunting! Just as quickly– before I could raise my camera–it flew back to the Arbutus. I sent out a few quick messages and made a few phone calls and then headed towards the Englishman River estuary. Christopher Stephens called me in response to my message, which he hadn’t checked yet. Turns out he’s been looking for one of these for almost 10 years! He headed to Dawson Road and I turned around and  headed back to meet him. By the time I arrived, he had his binoculars on the bird! A great day for both of us!

I continued on my way north, stopping in Courtenay to look for Green Herons. a couple have been sighted around Victoria and Duncan, but I have not been able to find them. Last year, though, they nested along the river and were reasonably easy to spot. Not so on Monday evening. I left Courtenay to meet up with Ken Walker and Jenny Clark, who I would be traveling with the next day.  Before the sun set, though, I managed a sprint to Elk Falls to check out the new suspension bridge (and hopefully see some Black Swifts).

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Tuesday was the day for adventure. Ken and Jenny were guiding a couple from England and the day included a trip to Mitlenatch Island on a boat. The island would have been reason enough to take this trip, as I have heard so much about it from Rod Mitchell and others, but rumor had it that there were a pair of Arctic Terns in the area. That would be a great bird for my list!

We had to take two ferries and cross two islands to get to the Cortes Island dock where the Misty Isles was waiting for us. Although this boat can be chartered for a leisurely sail, the captain, Mike Moore, understood that we had places to go and birds to see!

Mitlenatch Island is an ecological reserve and access is strictly limited. Volunteer naturalists take week-long stints at being wardens on the island, something you might want to consider if you like a little bit of isolation from time to time. The public is allowed on the island for escorted trips on limited trails so we didn’t get to see all of the various habitats that the island offers. Glaucous-winged Gulls and Black Oystercatchers nest there as you might expect, but the biggest surprise was a calling Virginia Rail.

Almost as surprising as the rail, the island is home to a good population of prickly pear cactus.  No bare feet here!

 

We spotted this somewhat dishevelled eagle below the cormorants.  On closer inspection, we can see what the problem might be. This bird’s bill is badly deformed and probably prevents normal grooming.

Our return trip back to Cortez island included a swing by the spot where Arctic Terns have nested in the past. As luck would have it, we were able to spot Arctic Terns on this rock.

We looked hard for  the Hudsonian Godwit that was keeping company with them on Sunday, but it  was gone.

On my return to the Big Island, I headed south to Cumberland. I had reserved a place on Airbnb and figured I should get there before dark. This turned out to be a spot I would recommend to others. It was a two bedroom suite complete with kitchen and laundry facilities, and was less expensive than the most reasonable hotel I could find in Courtenay. Across the street were bike trails, which I followed through various habitats and a gravel pit before walking back home along roadways just after dark. In about 45 minutes I had found 32 species including more Virginia rails and one of my target species for the trip, Black Swift.

The trip home on Wednesday started a trip through an area north of Cumberland which is destined for development.  It was a little depressing to see so much damaged habitat, but there were still a good number of birds.

I ended up at Comox Lake, where I discovered a great series of trails–that I didn’t have time to explore.

After checking out the lake for a while, I headed back to the city for another walk along the river in Courtenay searching for the Green Herons. This time I searched  with  much greater intensity but with the same results as on Monday evening –no sign of a heron. I contacted a local expert and found that they haven’t been reported yet.  Maybe next time.

I dawdled on my way home, heading to Horne Lake,  another Vancouver Island location that I have never visited.This is another gem of a spot that probably doesn’t get birded nearly enough. There is a beautiful campground with many lakefront spots,  as well as mature forests, second generation forests and steep rocky, bluffs. There’s even a group campsite that they offer at a lower rate for nonprofits, if one of our groups ever wanted to arrange a camping trip.  Nearby the Horne Lake caves are an attraction for those who like to crawl around in cold, dark, wet places.

I had stopped in Parksville for a tea when my phone rang. It was Liam Singh and he had just relocated the Clay-coloured Sparrow that had been located by Jeff Gaskin earlier in the day. I put off my planned explorations on my way south and  headed straight for Victoria,  arriving about 7:30 p.m. The sparrow was reported the field between Layritz Park and the Vancouver Island Technology Centre where one was seen for an extended period last year.

During the next 90 minutes, I heard the double-buzz I was listening for,  but it always turned out to be a Chipping Sparrow. I figured it might have been a mistaken ID, but Thursday morning, Dave Fraser heard a “classic” Clay-coloured Sparrow call. So that brings us around to why I was sitting in the middle of a field waiting for most of Thursday afternoon. Daniel Donnecke was here for an hour and a half before me. Elaine Preston came by and we searched for the bird together for about an hour. Again we found double-buzzing Chipping Sparrows, but no Clay-colored. I sure hope someone gets a good look at this bird soon. It doesn’t look like it’s going to be me.