After my last post, I continued searching for birds that refused to show up for several more days before I had a bit of an epiphany.   While not finding Gray Jays (but getting a flat tire) on the Malahat, I had plenty of time for introspection and review of my year to date.  It has been awesome to get out birding almost every day this year, but admittedly, some days have been better than others.  I started to build a ranked list of what kind of birding days were the best and what were the worst.  Here’s what I came up with, from best to worst.

1. Finding an unexpected bird while out with friends
2. Finding an unexpected bird by myself
3. Finding a target bird with friends
4. Not finding a target bird with friends
5. Finding a target bird by myself
6. Birding with friends without a specific target
7. Birding by myself without a specific target
8. Not finding a target bird by myself
9. Being the first person to see the last person who saw a target bird.

 

At this point I had 263 species on my list (including Gray Jay — I was trying to augment my Victoria list), and the chances of many more days where I might find a new bird was very low.    A few days earlier, Mike McGrenere had told me that one year, he didn’t get one new species in the last 6 weeks of the year. How would I feel if I was done–if I didn’t get even one new bird for my list?  The more I thought about it, the more I realized that 263 was a fantastic number!  I’d known since about June that my arbitrary total of 275 was probably going to be unattainable without an awful lot of luck.  I thought I might end the year with around 265.  I was pretty much there!

When I put all of these thoughts together, I had a strategy for the rest of my big year.  I didn’t want most of my days to be a #8 kind of day.  I would certainly continue to chase any rarities that showed up, but I am not going to dwell on adding new birds.  I am just going to get out birding every day, preferably with friends, and enjoy the days.  I have plans for the Christmas Bird Count season, and an idea for Christmas week, but I decided I was really going to be fine if 263 was it.  December will be filled with good birding days!

Friday birding at Maber Flats was atypical.  The cold weather had frozen most of the water and all of the ducks were huddled together in one spot.  Raptors were the highlight of the day, though.  A Peregrine Falcon and Bald Eagle were playing “chicken” with each other above us, while closer to us, an American Kestrel snagged a Townsend’s Vole for breakfast.

 

 

Later I met up with Jenna McCullough and her dad, Mike, from Idaho. They were doing a whirlwind trip of Vancouver Island, so we hit birding hotspots Goldstream Park and Esquimalt Lagoon, then headed to Victoria Harbour for some sunset shots.

 

On Saturday, Derrick Marven phoned with news that the errant Snow Buntings were still in the Cowichan Bay estuary, most recently seen on the central dike.  He recommended an early start would be the most likely way to get them.  Unfortunately, I had a commitment on Sunday afternoon, so I thought I would try for the buntings on Saturday afternoon.  I called Mary Robichaud and the two of us patrolled the dike. We didn’t find Snow Buntings, but we did find an unexpected Least Sandpiper  and  even less expected Common Redpoll,  feeding all by itself in a small alder tree.  That made it a #1 kind of day! We checked a couple of other potential Snow Bunting places, but still didn’t find them.

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Despite my plans on Sunday, I decided I had to go back for another try.  I’d headed out on the dike and came across a couple with an energetic dog coming the other way.  They hadn’t seen the buntings, which I was sure their dog would have flushed.  I turned around, set to check out the dock road and was almost at my car when I got a text from Mary.  “Two SNBU 2/3 of the way out”.  Texting is a great communication tool, but sometimes you just need to talk. I called Mary, who it turned out was already out on the dike.  She’d found the birds, but they had flown off!  Erggghh!   I hurried out to find the point last seen to start my own search.  At least they were still in the general area. We walked the rest of the way out to the viewing platform, where I was determined to stay until I saw  the buntings moving in the field.  I’d been up there about 10 minutes when an unfamiliar sound came up behind me.  Sure enough, they passed over my head and into the field where Mary had seen them earlier. #264!

 

Seconds later, Jody Wells called with a potential Redhead at Martindale Flats.  Now that I’d decided that 263 was okay and after an 18 day drought, could I possibly get two new birds in one day?  A confirmation call a few minutes later said it was a false alarm.  The duck was a scaup. Mary and I looked around for a Redhead for a bit, then I had to get back to Victoria to do a slide show for the Cridge Seniors Centre.  (I do these shows to raise funds for RPBO.  If you belong to a garden club, seniors group or any other community group, and want a birdy slide show, let me know!) After the presentation, I had a text from Mary. She’d checked out the duck and thought it might just be a Redhead.  Off I went.  The light was fading, but I got a few bad  pictures–just enough to be optimistic about the ID of the bird.  It was hanging out with a Canvasback, just like a Redhead should.  Richard James managed to get some better shots which I shared with some folks that were more knowledgeable in duck ID than I am,  but felt good that I had #265.   However, it was not to be. The final consensus was that the bird was a weird scaup, just as Jody had suspected.

I so wanted this bird (right) to be a Redhead. But it was ruled a scaup.

In the meantime, though, a report of a Yellow-breasted Chat came up through eBird.  A chat?  There were only three records for the Victoria Checklist, but one was an early November record.  And there were photos!  Definitely a chat.  I made plans to meet up at the location with Daniel Donnecke and Mary Robichaud before sunrise the next morning. Thankfully, the feeder was visible from the street and the hosts were folks who had participated in the Christmas Bird Count for years, so were birder-friendly.

An equally unlikely report of a Nashville Warbler in Port Alberni popped up.  Really?  Two uncommon summer birds on the island at the same time.  Could I get them both?

We stood in the cold and the dark Monday morning, eyes glued to the bird feeder, when just about ten minutes before sunrise, we heard a chat chatter.  Within a minute, it was up on the feeder where it had been photographed at dusk the day before. Success!  #265!

I took advantage of the early success to drive to Port Alberni, meeting up with Sandy McRuer at the spot where he’d seen the warbler.  The next few hours were spent strolling the neighbourhood and back lanes looking for this elusive bird.  I found an Orange-crowned Warbler and some very spotted Spotted Towhees, but no Nashville.

 

 

A bio break at the nearby Tims raised a question about my gear. I told the server about my quest for the warbler, and when I got my cup of tea, she’d written a note on the lid.

I’ve been back to the chat site (the bird one, not an online discussion group) a couple of times with other friends, and have gone out birding this week with Guy Monty, Kim Beardmore and Elaine Preston. Today, in the pounding rain, Kim and I did a bit of civilized pelican searching at Cathy Carlson’s place near Jordan River.  There haven’t been any more new birds, but it’s been a fun week.

Oh, and I guess I should mention that I received a second-hand report of a possible Great Gray Owl in the French Creek area of Oceanside last Sunday.  Could I…..?