They say you should go big or go home.  I didn’t go home last night after the Duncan Christmas Bird Count, but headed instead to Campbell River in hopes of seeing a Great Gray Owl on Quadra Island today.  This would be a fantastic bird to get for many reasons: LIFER!!, probably the only one that will be chaseable this year, and just an all-round very cool bird.

Despite a lovely but cold evening last night, Jim Danzenbaker and I had noticed that the clouds were coming in while we travelled north on the highway.  This morning we awoke to a light drizzle and a bit of snow on the car and on the roads.  Catching a pre-dawn ferry, we were set for a morning of exploration on Quadra Island, a place neither of us have visited before.  We knew we’d add to the year list and had our fingers crossed for that particular bird.

The Great Gray Owl, unfortunately, had not been reported since just before Christmas, so we knew it was a longshot.  A couple of island residents had been keeping an eye out for it, so we had a good idea of where it wasn’t–just no concept of where it might be.  A drive around the island showed lots of great owl habitat, and there was probably a lot more that we didn’t see, reaching far into private properties.  We scoured the south end of the island, then along the east side to Rebecca Spit, a beautiful Provincial Park.

The east and west sides of the spit are only about 100 m apart, but have very different characters.  The windblown east side is covered in driftwood and provides a vantage point to see species like Pacific Loon, Surf Scoters, Horned Grebes, and Common Murres.  The west side is a sheltered bay that had many of the same species, but also birds seeking a bit of shelter from the wind, including Common Mergansers, White-winged Scoters and a Belted Kingfisher.

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We spent a bit of time near the Cape Mudge lighthouse and ended the morning with 38 species from Quadra Island.  Although the Great Gray wasn’t among them, it wasn’t really a miss.  To the best of our knowledge, no one has seen this owl in 2015.  If it turns up again, you can bet that I’ll be heading back!

Most of the afternoon was spent counting Bald Eagles and Common Ravens as we made our way south on Hwy 19.  Although there were a lot fewer along the highway than I have seen in the past, the eagles kept ahead of the ravens all the way to Nanaimo.  Just south of city, we headed to the Nanaimo River Estuary Conservation area in hopes of seeing a Rough-legged Hawk that has been there for a while.  This bird knows how to put on a show! We were barely out of the car when we could see the hawk perched on a snag a short distance away. As we walked along the path to the viewing platform, the hawk made a hunting strike on something on the ground and then flew to a fence line a little farther into the estuary.  For the next 30 minutes, it flew back and forth, stopping on a variety of perches, ensuring that we had as good a look as we could have possibly wanted.  Maybe the Great Gray Owl could pick up a pointer or two here!

Tomorrow morning, weather permitting, Dave Fraser is going to help us on our second attempt to find Western Screech Owl, after which Jim will return home to Washington State.  It’s been great having him start the year with me.