Okay, I did give up.  For now. Great Gray Owl – 5, VI Big Year – 0

The day started very early with a 4 am alarm.  I had decided to do a “proper” owl survey, stopping every mile along the route, listening for owls, playing a Western Screech Owl call, listening, playing and listening again. This uses a sound file that is used by the BC Nocturnal Owl Survey (arguably the most boring citizen science project I have ever done — sorry, Dick Cannings–but necessary to guage changes in owl populations).

There is almost no noise at this time of the morning on Quadra Island, and with no wind, it couldn’t have been a more perfect setting.  I didn’t expect to lure in the Great Gray, but I thought that travelling the roads at that time of the day, I might bump into it, and in the meantime, get to listen to some other owls.

Things started off reasonably well.  At my second stop, I could hear a distant Great Horned Owl.  Really distant.  In fact, I’m not sure it was even on the island.  Given the stillness of the night, the sound could have been carrying over the water from Vancouver Island.  The rest of the stops went the way most of the stops go for my regular route in Victoria.  Listen. Play. Listen. Play. Listen.  Nothing.  Drive a mile.  Repeat.  A big difference is that I only had four cars pass me along the entire route; in Victoria, one of my stops has hundreds.

About half an hour before first light, I returned to Harbour Brook Rd and waited.  Predictable results. I really like birding.  I am definitely not enjoying the stakeouts. Time to throw in the t-owl!

I went back to the hostel and picked up my stuff for one last birding adventure before heading home.  Rebecca Spit had been calling me all week, and I was going birding!

There was nothing new to add to my year list, or even to my region list, but it was so good to just be out enjoying the birds.  There were more Harlequin Ducks than I think I’ve ever seen in one place, Barrow’s Goldeneyes were courting and even the robins seemed to glow.

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This White-winged Scoter was trying to impress a female by demonstrating how well he could find clams.  I was just impressed with his good looks, including the trademark infringing “swoosh”.

This year, I intend to meet a few personal goals, including becoming a better birder.  That doesn’t necessarily mean racking up the numbers, although that could be a side effect.  By spending more time in the field, I hope to learn more about bird behaviour as well as improve my identification skills.

I’ve never been a big “chaser” for a couple of reasons.  One is that I often miss the bird, and that’s just frustrating.  The second is that I normally don’t really care if I add a bird to my “list”–I don’t normally  even keep lists, although eBird is changing that.  However, my decision to do a big year has made 2015 different.  I DO care if I add the Great Gray Owl and all other birds to this year’s Vancouver Island list (still at 148).

I think I’ve figured the owl out.  It definitely has been showing a pattern, at least with regard to a route.  Unfortunately, we have only a couple of spots on that route identified.  I should probably have realized that once it left Carla’s sighting area, it wouldn’t be back for a while.  It seems to be clearing an area of rodents, then moving on to the next area.  For at least the last few rounds, it has appeared at one spot, then a few days later, at Carla’s, staying as little as one day or as many as four.  If it is seen on Harbour Brook Rd again, I may have to go back to try again.  But for now, I’m back in Victoria.

Chasing rarities is a matter of both skill and luck.  I’m in awe of the rarity-finding skill of some of by birding friends, including Ian Cruickshank and Jeremy Gatten, and of the incredible bird-locating skill of others, including Shawneen Finnegan and Dave Irons.  The luck part is that the bird has to be in the vicinity.  The skill part comes down to figuring out exactly where and when it will be in a particular spot–habitat, behaviour, getting inside the birds’ heads and knowing exactly what to do to find them.  I am determined to get better at both.

I will admit that I am totally happy when I appear at a rare bird scene and see birders with their binoculars raised and cameras clicking away.  I’d rather spend time watching the bird than looking for it.  It’s less important to me to find it than to study it.  That said, I really want to find some good birds to share with others this year.  And get better and finding them.  If there were only some good signs….

Another beautiful, but owl-less day on Quadra Island.  While Carla checked her street, I checked the other “hotspot” and a few other select locations. At one place, there was a starling doing amazing imitations of a Common Nighthawk.  Given the “needle in a haystack” twist this has taken, I decided that I’d devote a couple of hours at dawn and dusk to the owl search, but that I’d also do some other birding as well–cell service or no.

It was clear early on that the owl was not hunting in either of its most visible sites.  It seems to have a route, but not a set schedule.  I don’t think it will be back at Carla’s until it’s shown up at the other site.  No telling when that will be though.

There were still some streets around Heriot Bay that I hadn’t checked out, so I went on a little tour. I had found a patch using Google maps that I wanted to explore.  It looked like a logged or potentially boggy area not too far from the places the owl had been seen. If I was a Great Gray, this is where I’d hang out.

Of course, if you look closely, there are several other great spots for a Great Gray here, there, and everywhere.  Buker Road took me to within a stone’s throw of my target spot, but there were no trails.  Everything was private property.  It wasn’t especially birdy, but I was surprised to hear a Gray Jay in with a couple of Steller’s on one of the hilltops.  The view was spectacular, which is pretty normal around here.  The photo below is Rebecca Spit.

Before you call your real estate agent, be forewarned.  Apparently this neighbourhood has alligators. 🙂

It was also obvious that there was a pretty good cone crop here this year, although  most of these look pretty much open.

I made a short stop at Heriot Bay to file an eBird checklist, and then dropped by the Java Cafe for a warm beverage.  It was beautiful, but chilly out!  I talked with the women there about the Great Gray, which neither had seen, but one had been awakened by an owl this morning.  By her description, it sounded like a Western Screech.  I played the call for her, and she confirmed it.  Hmmmm…. maybe an owl survey is in order!

Still thinking about that tantalizing location, I remembered seeing a trail into a woodlot off West Road.  I headed there and spent two hours following a number of trails, turning up Virginia Rails and something that sounded remarkably like a Black-capped Chickadee (way across the field–unreachable).  Again, not too many birds, but I did find some interesting things in the woods.

Someone, some time ago had figured out how to use rocks and chains as a weight to keep a gate open or closed.  I’m glad I didn’t have to lift these up onto the gate.

I came across a slime mold, on of my favourite things.  For the uninitiated, this is technically a plant, but it moves around.  I had one in my garden once, and I’d go out every day to see where it had gone. It streams kind of like an amoeba and can go a surprising distance in a relatively short time. Most of the ones I have seen around here are yellow.  I don’t know what kind this is.
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This blog post by Jocie Ingram provides a lot more information on them, and even has a picture of one that I believe is the same as this one.

Spring is springing up all over the place, leaving remains of last years leaves as mere skeletons of their former selves.

After a stop for lunch, I went to April Point.  This lodge, like many others on the island, is closed for the winter.  No people, but lots of beauty.  The seabird numbers are low. I hear there is an early herring spawn near Denman Island, so that may explain the dearth of seabirds here right now.  Looking off the main deck of the resort I was thinking about sea otters–until I saw this:

Thousands of green sea urchins blanketing the harbour floor.  In this picture, you can also see a red and purple urchin, and there were several bat seastars in the area as well.  There can be no sea otters with this many urchins around!

Although there weren’t many birds, there was a show for voyeurs.  A Common Merganser pair were definitely enjoying the weather and the location.  She made her best “come hither” moves by lying flat in the water, head extended and tail lifted “just so”.  She swam in this posture for at least five minutes without raising her head.  He swam close by, occasionally lifting his head straight up, indicating that he was paying attention.  He made a couple of pretty lame attempts to mount her, but maybe that’s why they are starting early.  Perhaps success takes some practice and patience. Hmmmm……

Before I left, I noticed another interesting sign.  Apparently the lodge is trying to discourage smoking fish.

I went back to one of the owl’s hunting sites for a couple of hours at the end of the day, then cruised the streets of Quadra Island looking for an own swinging on the power lines. When an owl extends its habitat to power lines, it truly could be absolutely anywhere!  The guys at the hostel think I’m a bit crazy.  Maybe they’re right.

I am still here.  The owl is probably still here.  Let’s hope we meet up soon!

Another early morning.  Out the door before the official sunrise to be in position to see the Great Gray Owl that would certainly show up at first light, right?  Right??  Wrong!  Another no-show!

One of the best things about my big year adventure is that I have several objectives and the bird list is just one.  An important one, but just one.  Today, I set my mind on the others: to try to get some usable photos of birds and to explore new areas.  After giving the owl search a couple of hours, I decided to head farther north on the island.  I have been concentrating on the south because that’s where the owl has been hanging out, but there is much more island to explore.  Carla had promised to text me if the owl showed up, so off I went.   My adventure was short-lived, however.  I did see an Emu (not countable), but I wasn’t very far down the road when I realized that I didn’t have cell service.  That could be  a problem!  The only thing worse than the owl not being seen would be if it is seen and I somehow miss it.  So I headed back towards the south.  Still out of range, I stopped for this shot at Heriot Bay.  This is a beautiful place, even if owl spotting is pretty sketchy.

I thought I might bird Rebecca Spit.  Jim Danzenbaker and I checked it out on January 2nd, and it looked like a great place to spend some time, but no cell service there, either so I moved closer to the supposed owl ground zero.  I had noticed a trail that I hadn’t checked out within cell range so off I went to the Haskin Farm Trail.  To the beach!  This trail is right in between two of the locations that the owl has been seen.  Could it?  Maybe? As with the rest of the island, owl habitat is abundant along this trail.  Hairy Woodpeckers, Pacific Wrens, Spotted Towhees, but no Great Gray.

I continued along the trail, eventually coming along to this one:

This is not a good sign!  The reason for the horse restriction is that the trail is narrow, winding and steep, heading down to a cobble beach below.  What (or who) goes down, must come up, and given my recent Pine Grosbeak expeditions, I wasn’t so sure I wanted to do this.  But I did.

The beach is west facing and was spectacular.  The people of Quadra Island are very comfortable with island living and had left some artifacts for visitors to enjoy. The Hippie Dippie Hobbit Hole had a custom firepit, complete with primitive drawings.

I knew I could not visit this kind of beach without seeking out my sister Esther’s passion, beach glass.  While there was plenty of plastic, there wasn’t a lot of glass.  Can you see the two pieces in this photo?

There were only a few birds within binocular distance, so I grabbed a walking stick from the abundant driftwood piles and started up the hill.  I think the elevation change was pretty similar to Eagle Heights (the hill that has me reconsidering a trek for ptarmigan in August), but the switchbacks made it a fairly easy climb.  My calves were whining a bit, not screaming, and while I was breathing a little harder than normal, I didn’t feel like my heart was going to burst from my chest.  This is the kind of climb I need for ptarmigan!  Fortunately, during yesterday’s owl chase, Guy Monty suggested an alternative to the heart-wrenching, lung-busting climb up Crest Mountain– Mount Cain.  I passed the signs to Mt. Cain when I went to Woss last Monday.  I’m going to have to look into that a bit further.

Continuing along the trail to Fir Rd, I found salmonberry in blossom. Can Rufous Hummingbirds be far away?

A trip along the road back to the car still didn’t turn up any sign of the owl.  Now mid-day, I figured I could safely leave cell coverage for a bit of exploration.  After grabbing some stuff for lunch, I headed to Cape Mudge.  All my life I’ve heard weather reports reference this spot, but until this year, I’d never seen it.

There is also a great campground very close to the lighthouse.  It’s where I would have stayed if I had managed to get my van started.  Maybe I’ll come back and stay here another time, but hopefully not in search of the Great Gray.  I want that battle won on this trip!

Along the water’s edge, Harlequin Ducks were starting to feel the springlike weather.  Two males were actively pursuing a coy female.

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After the golf course, I returned to owl central, and walked the road right around the time it had been seen hunting last week.  I found an ant nest coming alive in the late afternoon sun, but no owl.I headed to the second site, and hovered for more than an hour, and no owl there, either.  Clearly, this owl has other hunting sites.  I sure wish I knew where they were!

Back to the hostel for the night, but not before picking up some fixings for a decent cup of tea!

Catching up on emails, I learned today that there may be a rare bird not too far from home.  Jody Wells found a towhee that looks like an Eastern at Island View Beach.  I will wait for a confirmation before I have to make the tough decision whether to abandon the owl in hopes of getting the towhee.

Tomorrow.  Yes, let that owl show up tomorrow!  Save me from having to throw in the towel yet again!

Today started with great promise.  My fifth trip to Quadra Island in search of the Great Gray Owl had several special aspects.  The owl had been seen in the same location for four consecutive days, morning and afternoon .  I had a team to help seek out the bird, which meant we could cover more territory and actually be in two places at once.  And there was no fog!

At first light, Martha Keller, Brian Hume and I made a quick recon visit to the two sites where the owl had been seen most often, but didn’t turn it up. No issue, really.  It was earlier than the bird had been seen, and we had three more people en route to help for the day.  We met Guy Monty, Christopher Stevens and Dave Erickson at the ferry and continued to a spot along Heriot Bay Rd where the owl had been hunting last week.  Optimism was high, so it was with some disappointment that we didn’t find the bird right away.  We were treated to two Hutton’s Vireos singing from the nearby forest, though.  Nearby Bushtits were a surprise, too, as they don’t often get this far north.

No matter!  There were trails to be searched.  We broke up into two groups and thoroughly searched the Community Centre trails.  It had been a cold night, and hoar frost coated many of the branches that had been blown down by the wind.  Some of the icy coatings were more than an inch long!  It almost looks like a crystal fungus is growing from the wood. Hoar frost is formed when supersaturated air freezes gently, allowing the ice crystals to build up on each other.  It requires cold temperatures, moist air and no wind.  Birds were scarce, with only a few species detected: Marsh Wren, Varied Thrush, Pileated Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker and Pacific Wren among them.

Between the teams, we covered all of the trails, but still no owl.

The next stop was Cafe Aroma for some much needed refreshment.  Their beverages and baked goods are both highly recommended.  Then it was on to the second site where the owl had recently been seen hunting.  This roadway ends in a track to a clearcut.  Not the most beautiful setting, but one with all the features suited to a Great Gray Owl.  After another careful search along the road and cut woodland, the best we could come up with was some wolf scat.

We met up with Carla for lunch and a slide show of the many photos she has taken of the owl.  You can see some of these and many other of nature photographs here. We strategized about the afternoon.  Heading back to our first location, we split up, going in four directions for about forty-five minutes.  Since the bird didn’t seem to be out hunting yet, a careful search into the woods seemed in order.  Still nothing.

From last Tuesday to Friday, though, the owl had returned to this very site to hunt between 3 and 4 pm, so we scheduled a rendezvous for 2:30.  When we regrouped, we were concerned that too many onlookers might keep the owl away, so we again split into two groups with Martha, Christopher and me going to the second site, and Guy, Dave and Brian keeping an eye on the first spot.

Tic, tic, tic.   Waiting is painful. My team couldn’t stand it and after about an hour with no action, we decided it was time to tour the roads of south Quadra Island. We cruised along all of the streets where the Great Gray had been reported, but to no avail.  By the time we met up with the others, it was time for everyone but me to head to the ferry and back home, sadly without a Great Gray experience.  On my own again, I did the loop one more time and called the hostel to book a bed.

I think we were all surprised that after four consecutive days of sightings, the owl was once again MIA.  I can add some other sentiments as well, chief among them frustration.  I have chased this bird incorrectly with extreme precision.  It seems that every time I am here, it is not and as soon as I leave it returns. I’m getting a complex!  And I’m staying.  Take that, owl!
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Although I was a bit hungry, I figured the mood altering act I needed most was some sleep. I decided to take a nap and once refreshed, start the search pattern all over again.  You know, I really think I didn’t read the Big Year manual chapter about planning carefully enough.  I hit the road again just after 8 pm, to find that the grocery store was closed.  So was the coffee shop.  Hmmmm…. After checking the two owl hot spots and one other potentially good road for sightings, I headed to the Heriot Bay Inn, where there was a pub with a good food reputation.  I don’t spend a lot of time in pubs, and I spend even less (like none) on my own, but it seemed to be the only option on a Saturday night on Quadra Island.  “Seemed to be” is the operative phrase, because once I settled in at a table, I learned that they don’t serve food after about 8 on a February Saturday night.  I asked if there was any place that I might find some food, and the bartender suggested I try the gas station.  I think that if I ever come across a greasy spoon called “The Gas Station” I will have to have a meal there!  I left the pub as unfulfilled as I was when I left the owling spots.

Heading back to the prime location, I was discouraged to see a person right at that spot (probably scaring the owl away), so I drove by.  As I did, I noticed that it was a cyclist, and his bike was on the ground.  I turned around and went back to see if he was okay.  He was, but his bike was not. The chain was broken.  As luck would have it, the back seat of my Honda Fit was empty, and I had no particular place to go. I knew if we took a wheel off, I could take him–and his bike–to his destination.  It took a bit of work (including deflating the tire) to remove the wheel, but within a few minutes, Soren and I were on the way to his friend’s house.  Soren is 16, and his mom had been worried about him heading out so late.  She may get to make sure he has a safe ride back home after all!

Maybe it was all meant to be.  If we’d found the owl, or I hadn’t taken a nap or the grocery store was open, or there had been food at the pub, Soren could still be sitting on the side of the road with a broken bike.

Oh, and for the record, the gas station was closed, too. I made one more round of the hot spots and came back to the hostel for the night.  Maybe tomorrow…..

Unlike the Whitesnake song referenced in today’s blog title, I am NOT doing this on my own this time.  Yes, I am back on Quadra Island, determined to get a Great Gray check on my year list.  Plan A was to pack up the camper van I bought specifically for birding adventures and to come to Quadra and stay until I found the owl.  My van had other ideas though.  Gas-guzzler that it is, I only use it when I need a van, which hasn’t been that often over the winter.  It wasn’t a surprise when the battery was low.  (Yes, I know I should start it up more often.  Noted.)  That wasn’t a problem.  I have a charger and know how to use it.  However,  even when the battery was charged, the engine wouldn’t turn over.  Ugh!  No time to troubleshoot and repair it before I had to leave.

On to Plan B. I drove up to Quadra this evening to stay at the Boutique Hostel, meeting up with Martha Keller and Brian Hume, who will be part of the team trying to find the owl on Saturday.  Normally this place is filled with tree planters, but they have the weekend off.  It’s a beautiful lodge with room for 16, but tonight it’s just us birders.  I’m sure it’s not normally this quiet.  Guy Monty, Christopher Stephens and Dave Erickson  will be joining us as well for the owl chase.  Formidable!

Catching up with the activities of the last few days, I was pretty close to home since Tuesday.  Every day, I got a little bit of birding in, and while I’ve filled in a couple of “county” cells (including Barrow’s Goldeneye in Saanich Inlet, and finally, White-throated Sparrow at Panama Flats) in my species list, nothing new to report.

Spring is definitely springing here, though, with dawn chorus getting underway even though it’s only the middle of February.  Pacific Wrens are doing rap battles in my yard every morning, American Robins are heralding the pending change of season, and Anna’s Hummingbirds are plucking fluff from the cattail hanging next to their feeder. Reports of swallows at Swan Lake sent me back there.  While I didn’t find any swallows, I did see a very orange-faced Double-crested Cormorant.
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Meanwhile, on Quadra Island, that owl has been seen every day this week — except Monday when I was last here.  Carla has been tracking its comings and goings, and if it holds true to pattern, we have a decent chance to catch up with it on Saturday.  We’ll see!

Harris’s Sparrow update: Eric Demers saw it again Friday, in the afternoon, at the Nanaimo River Estuary.  Sigh!

Fingers crossed for the morning!

Two texts came early from Carla on Quadra Island.  Unfortunately, the owl was nowhere to be seen.  Plan B was about to take effect.  One of my goals for my big year is to explore Vancouver Island, getting to know the area better and visiting places I’ve never been (or “bin” for my American friends 😉 ).  With the Great Gray back in hiding, my destination for the day was Woss, in the Mount Waddington Regional District (“county” in eBird).

There is very little development north of Campbell River, so I filled the car with gas, not knowing where I might get it otherwise, or how much it would cost.  The north end of Vancouver Island is all about forestry.  Lots of forests, lots of clearcuts, lots of logging trucks.   I drove straight past the exit to Sayward, planning to stop there on the way back.  I was bound for birds in my list’s last district on the island!  Every bird would be a new one for my list, under at least one category.

At Keta Lake, the “Entering Mount Waddington Regional District” sign signalled my arrival, and coincidentally, there was a rest stop, so I stopped.  And listened.  And listened some more.  It was quiet—far too quiet.  Not a bird to be seen or heard!  I had not expected that.  Hmmmm…..

About 15 km farther, there was another rest stop.  So I stopped. And listened.  Nothing.  A man arrived to give his two dogs a bit of a stop as well, so I thought I’d see what he knew.  I asked where I might find some birds.  I might as well have asked where I might find ghosts!  He told me that there were eagles in Port Hardy, but I wasn’t going that far.  There are elk in the area, he reported.  (I’d already seen some en route.) But birds?  He hadn’t really noticed any.  I asked about ducks, thinking he might have noticed them.  Well, maybe near Woss, he thought.  So on to Woss I went.

Along the way, I saw about half a dozen ravens, and that was it.  However, the next rest stop was going to change things–a bit.

The Hoomac Lake rest stop was quite a bit fancier than the earlier ones, and sported a trail as well as one of the most breathtaking lakeviews I’ve ever seen.

I think this trail is going to need exploring on a future trip!  On Monday, though, there were only four species of birds: Common Raven, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Pacific Wren and Common Merganser.  There are no ripples on the lake because there are no birds on the lake!  (Well, a few mergansers were on the far side.)

As it turns out, Woss is just a stone’s throw down the road, and I was soon in the first settlement in 66 km.  This is really a forestry camp, with a pub, a general store and about 80 homes (pop. 200).  Imagine my surprise when the first birds I found were Eurasian Collared  doves! Talking to folks in the general store, these doves have pretty much taken over the town.  They didn’t know where I might find other birds, though, except perhaps on the lake.  I did manage to find a blackbird flock (Brewer’s, Red-winged, and accompanying starlings), and a few Steller’s Jays.  Flickers and a few other species put in brief appearances. Then I headed to the lake for lunch.

There were a couple of ducks on the lake, but no passerines to be heard.  It was so strange to be in this beautiful habitat, surrounded by silence.  And then… Who cooks for you?  Who cooks for you all?  I don’t think I could have been more surprised than if it had been a Great Gray!  (Okay, I admit it–a Great Gray would have been more surprising.)  Barred Owls arrived on southern Vancouver Island late in 1969, and here one was in the middle of the wilderness on northern Vancouver Island.   This does not bode well for the smaller native owls in the area.

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Heading back south, I made the trek to Sayward and Kelsey Bay.  Both were smaller than I expected, and not especially birdy.  I was contemplating another visit to Quadra Island, so I was on a self-imposed schedule and couldn’t spend a lot of time in the area.  As I left the Kelsey Bay dock, a large gray accipiter crossed the road in front of me.  I pulled over and grabbed my bins in enough time to confirm  the size, shape, colour and behaviour.  As it crossed the estuary, it made an attempt on waterfowl at the shore.  A Northern Goshawk!  Yes!  According to Art Martell, this species is more common on the north island than Cooper’s Hawks are, but I really hadn’t expected to luck into one, considering how my luck has been going.  I’ll take it!

I made it to the Quadra Island ferry just as they were loading.  Although I kind of thought I’d given up on the Great Gray, I knew I’d kick myself if I just drove by and it was seen on Monday afternoon.  So on I went for attempt number four.  I visited the usual haunts (twice), cruised all of the neighbourhoods where it had been reported, checking every fencepost, rail, snag and spire along the way, but no luck.

I got to see a beautiful sunset.

After the sun went down, I visited the sites again, even playing the Great Gray call a few times.   Nothing.

In the movie, “The Big Year”, Kenny Bostick spent his whole year pursuing a Snowy Owl.  In real life, that bird was Greg Miller’s nemesis bird during his big year.  I think the Great Gray has earned that status for me at this point.  I still had a four-hour drive to get home, so boarded the ferry at 7 pm and headed south again.

It was good to sleep in my own bed.  Except that I woke to this:

He spent most of the day in Carla’s neighbourhood. Definitely a nemesis bird!

With Pine Grosbeak “ticked”, I turned my thoughts back to Harris’s Sparrow today, determined to be in the right place at the right time.  My previous trips to the Nanaimo River Estuary were all late morning or afternoon while all of the eBird sightings were in the morning, so I set off just before sunrise this morning.  I arrived at the estuary by 8:30, well before the sighting times by successful sparrow seekers.  Western Meadowlarks were singing, and spiders had been hard at work on their webs. 

Thinking back to the Rustic Bunting in Golden Gate Park, I decided to go to the spot where the bird had been seen several times, and just stay put.  For three hours…

When I raised my binoculars, there was no Harris’s Sparrow, but two fellow birders, Bruce Whittington and Wanda Dombroski, coming down the trail.  It was good to have company, but even with their expert eyes, we couldn’t turn up even a Golden-crowned Sparrow.

Leaving the estuary and Nanaimo behind, I headed north along the Inland Island Highway, the quickest route to Qualicum Beach.  Many years ago, I participated in the annual “Big Day” at the Parksville-Qualicum Brant Festival and decided to retrace some of those routes today.  At the beach, as you might expect, I found a good number of Brant.  I didn’t notice at the time, but some of them are wearing bands.

The Big Days were a lot of fun, with teams from all over the island chasing around trying to get the highest number or most unusual birds of the day.  In later years, more of the teams went “green”, participating on foot or bicycle.  It was a great way to get to know birders from different communities.

The northern boundary for the Big Day was Deep Bay.  Instead of heading out to the “new” highway, I followed the coastal route, the only one that existed during our competitions.  It seems very small and outdated now, but it was the island highway then. Street names like Kinkade and Columbia evoked memories of searches for specific birds and the best shorebird spots.  I stopped at French Creek to check out the gulls, but there’s not much activity yet.  Just wait until the herring spawn!

At Deep Bay, though, there was a spectacle!  All three local scoter species were present in good numbers, including my first Black Scoters (147)of the year.

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Continuing along the coast, I stopped briefly at Fanny Bay for a look at sea lions loafing on floats.  There were several other visitors taking in the view and snapping photos.  Competition for the best spots was sometime fierce–among the sea lions, not the photographers.

As the light faded, I arrived at Kye Bay to look for a Yellow-billed Loon.  Unfortunately, there wasn’t enough light for me to distinguish them so I had to resort to watching a beautiful sunset against the coast mountains.  Gulls and seabirds were joined by dozens of eagles in the last sunrays  As I watched, an Orca surfaced!  Despite the fact that I’ve lived on Vancouver Island all my life, seeing Orcas from shore is a real treat.

Tonight I am in Campbell River, just in case an important message from Quadra Island arrives in the morning.  If it doesn’t, I just may make it to the Mount Waddington Regional District tomorrow for my first birds for that “county”.

Warning: Long post today to catch up!

In the category of things I would do differently if I was to do this again, I would definitely pay more attention to the food supply.  I think most of us know that this is the driving force for finding birds, but it’s often in the backs of our mind, not front and centre (or center, for my American readers). Case in point is the abundance of berries on Arbutus (Madrone) trees.  We had a good supply of berries this year, bringing with it regular reports of Pine Grosbeaks.  What a difference a month makes!  The grosbeaks had been reported often on Jocelyn Hill, a decent, but moderately strenuous hike.  But now, mid-February, both the berries and the birds have disappeared.   The only option to find this species was to move to higher ground.

Thursday, the weather forecast had promised clearing skies, so with a bit of drizzle in the air, I headed north with Ian Cruickshank and Mike McGrenere.  A damp and foggy tour of the Malahat and Shawnigan Lake area made it clear that there were no berries left on the Arbutus–at least within the 50 ft visibility that we had.   But Ian knew a good place along the Koksilah River, so off we went to Eagle Heights.  The key word here is “heights”.  After a relatively easy ascent along a logging road (with us now on foot due to a locked gate), we came to the trail.  It isn’t a long trail–maybe 500 to 600 m– but it is definitely steep.  The fog had lifted, but the drizzle had increased, making the climb both steep and slippery.  Yay!

I will fully admit that I am not in the greatest shape. Not horrible, but not great.  I can walk all day without an issue, but speed or steepness gets my heart pumping hard, and it’s a sensation I don’t like.  Not to mention the screaming calf muscles.  I know I have some work to do if I hope to get ptarmigan this year, but that’s August.  Lots of time to prepare!  We were getting close to the viewpoint when lungs and legs gave out and I had to urge Ian and Mike to just leave me where I fell and go on without me. I would settle for a lower lookout.  I knew I could muster the energy if they found the birds, but I needed to stop.  However, after about a ten minute rest, I was good to go and joined them at the summit of the heights.  It was a beautiful spot, with a great overlook of the forest. A few juncos and robins showed up, but the berries were gone and so were the grosbeaks. Empty-handed, we headed down the hill, and on to Duncan to see what we could see.  And I am seriously rethinking ptarmigan….

Despite the forecast, the drizzle continued on and off for our stops at Bench Rd,, the sewage lagoons, the Drinkwater Rd. trail and a couple of other places to scan through gulls and ducks.  While I was able to add several species to my Cowichan Valley list, no new birds for the year.  Any day birding is a good day!

Friday started out with lunch with Ann Scarfe, who gave me a couple of cool gifts–a pair of lucky socks and a book on birdwatching with American women. This could come in handy, as I often go birdwatching with American women.After lunch, I set out on my own to visit a few good birding spots in Colwood and Metchosin, just to see what I might stumble across.  After a quick stop at Esquimalt Lagoon, I headed to the Royal Bay development/gravel pit.  This has turned up some good rarities in recent years.  During an earlier exploration trip, I had seen something I wanted to check out more thoroughly.  As a vertically challenged person, I often have trouble getting a good view.  Going along the road less travelled, I found a wonderful new viewing spot that provided a great lookout for both the gravel pit and an alder woodlot that I have long felt would turn up something great.Friday, there were just the usual suspects, but I now have a new spot that will allow me to see the tops of these trees when the migrants start coming in.  This is going to be a favourite, I’m sure!

I found a good raft of Western Grebes off Taylor beach, but they were too distant and the skies too cloudy for me to turn any of them into Clark’s.  As the sun started to fade, I headed back to town in the hopes of finding the American Bittern at Swan Lake.

Having been skunked from the boardwalk, I decided to try Ian C.’s strategy of hanging out at the Saanich Police station’s helipad and watching for the bird coming to roost.  By this time, there was a bit of the recurring drizzle starting, so I had to “dress” appropriately if I was going to sit there for a while.  I have a lovely high-end tarp that I found last year on the beach at Jordan River.  It was perfect as make-shift rain gear to keep me dry while I waited.  Yes, that’s right.  I sat on a picnic table, wrapped in a tarp, behind the police station.  I wondered if the bittern or an officer would be the first to show.  After about an hour, the question was answered.  An officer came out to check on my sanity.  We had a nice conversation about the view and the birds.  I’m not sure what conclusion he drew!  Before the skies went completely dark, I managed to hear a single Virginia Rail for species 143, but no bittern–again.

Saturday, Ian and I headed to Salt Spring Island to resume the grosbeak search with Karen Ferguson.  From the ferry, we spotted several Rhinoceros Auklets (144), so the trip was a success with or without Pine Grosbeaks.

On arrival we headed up  to Shauna Wendover’s place to hike a hill near her hme. It was nothing compared to the Eagle Heights climb, but still a reminder of the work I’ll have to do for ptarmigan in August.  Grosbeaks had been here just five days ago, but there were none to be found today.  Another beautiful place I’d never been before, though.  Bald Eagles circled the hilltop, and the fog-free view was fantastic!

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We also found a really pretty lichen-encrusted rock.But no Pine Grosbeaks.

We were rewarded, however, with my first singing Hutton’s Vireo (145) of the year as we drove on to our next destination.

Karen was focussing on places that she had seen abundant crops of Arbutus berries.  Where there’s food, there’s birds!  We headed to Channel Ridge, an area slated for massive housing development, but with a nice network of trails and natural areas.  We heard plenty of robins on arrival, but no grosbeaks.

Along the trail, Karen pointed out a pair of Great Horned Owls.

Ultimately we found it!  The last remaining Arbutus berry anywhere! Could this be a good sign?

There were spectacular views and signs of spring everywhere including an awakening bumblebee and our first Satyr Comma of the season, but no grosbeaks.  

Deciding to move on, we headed back along the trail.  About 100m before we made it back to the car, a sound!  What??  Yes!! Pine Grosbeaks!  We didn’t manage to see them, but five seconds of Pine Grosbeak calls saved the day!  Species 146 and a big “whew”.   Who knows if the berry crop next winter will be sufficient to bring these birds back, so it was a great relief to have them checked off now.

There was time for a couple of quick stops before we returned to the ferry when there was another sound.  A text from Carla Duffey from Quadra Island.  Yep, the Great Gray was seen at 3:40 pm.  Arghhh!  Do I go again?

Wednesday began in Port Alberni,   There was fog–surprise!– but it was fairly high, allowing decent visibilty for birding, but not for photography.  There was no wind, so I opted to head to the water to look for loons.

The city was very quiet.  When I arrived at Harbour Quay, there was a considerable welcoming party, though. A large flock of feral Rock Pigeons swooped down to the quay from a nearby shop, clearly mistaking me for someone else.

The community has constructed a public dock that extends well into the harbour,  providing excellent birding visibility.  I’m sure that’s why they built it!  Looking back to the shore, I saw that someone with a bucket of birdseed had arrived to feed the pigeons.

Red-throated Loon was an easy pickup on Wednesday. According to Sandy McRuer, it’s the only loon that is regularly found there these days.  I could see a decent flock of scaup on the other side of the inlet, and Sandy had mentioned that it was possible to get to that shore.  Time to go exploring!

I headed back to the Somass Estuary, which coincidentally was on the same road as ran along the shore, only to be greeted by a “no access” sign with a detailed map on how to get to the west side of the inlet.  The alternate route took me up McCoy Lake Rd, one of the hotspots we hadn’t visited on Tuesday.  Despite my best efforts, though, I could not find any roads leading to Shoemaker Bay Rd, the one the would take me to the ducks!

Apparently, my circuitous and somewhat random route caught the attention of my sister who was following me via the “Where’s Ann?” page on this blog.  She sent me a text saying “I have to keep reminding myself that you are not lost!”  I was a little lost, in that I wasn’t getting where I wanted, but I did get to see some new territory.  Some of that territory included logging trucks and deep mud, so I decided to head back to town to meet up with Sandy for a convoy to the Nanaimo River Estuary.

Sandy’s friend, Don Wilshire, joined us, and the quest for the Harris’s Sparrow was on.  Oh, and they wanted to see the Rough-legged Hawk, too!

Reaching the estuary around noon, we trekked the track to the spot where “everyone” had been seeing the sparrow.  As usual, two Song Sparrows were in attendance among several juncos, but no Harris’s.  The Rough-legged Hawk once again stole the show, sometimes perching on top of shrubs, sometimes engaged in aerial battles with ravens.

Two photographers arrived to get photos of the hawk.  Later we’d find that they weren’t just any photographers, but Stu Clarke and Michael Ashbee, fully qualified birder-photographers!
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Another birder arrived on the scene, too. It was busier on a Wednesday than it had been on Saturday!  Dave Baird joined the chase for the sparrow, again to no avail.

Scanning the estuary, I finally set eyes on a new bird!  No, not the sparrow, but a Northern Shrike, one of the species I hoped to get before they started heading north.

So what to do about the sparrow?  Well, it turns out that all of the sightings on eBird have been from the morning.  Could it be that this bird only passes through the hedge once a day?  Hmmm…….

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.