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!