As the likely additions to my year list dwindle, there is one area still with good potential. I have to get out on boats and go after the marine birds!
With that in mind, I headed to Tofino on Tuesday morning in advance of a Thursday morning pelagic trip. Before I even got out of town, an alert came in from Rocky Point: They had an Eastern Kingbird near the banding station! I have no kingbirds on my list yet–something I desperately want to change. But…. access to Rocky Point is restricted and since I had no legitimate (i.e. allowed under our permit) reason to go out there, I sadly had to leave that species unchecked. This was, in fact, the second Eastern Kingbird seen there this year. Or the same one in both the spring and fall. We’ll never know. Of course, by the time that I did have a reason to go to Rocky Point a few days later, the bird was long gone.
There was a consolation prize to be had, though, if I could get there in time. Passing by several Tim’s en route, I got to Chesterman’s Beach in Tofino in the late afternoon. Adrian Dorst had found a Franklin’s Gull there two days earlier, the first he’d seen in Tofino in 31 years. It had still been there in the morning.
The beaches around Tofino are well worth a visit any time.
With very specific information on its favourite hangout, I made my way down the beach and…
Yes! Franklin’s Gull for species 237!
While watching the gull, my phone rang. It was Lyndsey from the Whale Centre with a heads up that things weren’t looking too good for Thursday. The winds were coming up and the forecast was looking pretty ugly. But these things can change, so you never know!
Wednesday morning, I explored the beaches near Green Point while waiting to see if I could get a campsite for another night.
A Wandering Tattler flew in and posed for photos right in front of me!
Mark Yunker arrived in Tofino on Wednesday afternoon and Jody Wells on Wednesday evening, all set to join a group of about ten for the 40 km offshore trip. Mark and I spent the afternoon looking for birds, but the Franklin’s Gull was now AWOL. However, a trip to Wickaninnish Beach gave us great looks at Wandering Tattlers and Spotted Sandpipers foraging in the fresh vegetation left by a descending tide.
We met at the Whale Centre at 6:45 am on Thursday with high hopes but expecting the worst. Two to three metre seas at eight second intervals, with impending gale force winds may technically not be the “worst”, but it was sufficient to cancel the trip. Pelagic list additions would have to wait. I hadn’t been to Amphritite Point yet this year, so we went to the lighthouse for a seawatch. Among the birds were distant Sooty Shearwaters enjoying the conditions that would have made it a rough day for me and others.
I took a side trip on my way home to check out Deep Bay north of Qualicum where Guy Monty had seen a Common Tern earlier in the week, but I couldn’t relocate it.
Friday was a local day with stops at Maber Flats, Cattle Point and the Oak Bay Marina (Turkey Head). My plan along the water was to look for a Red Knot, and bird that had been eluding me since the spring. Many Black-bellied Plovers had been seen along the waterfront and I had it on good authority that knots would sometimes hang out with them. When I got to the marina in the early evening and scoped the offshore yellow (due to lichens) rock, there were thirty-seven plovers. And one smaller, redder, sleeping shorebird! Could it be? I was maxed out on my scope, but I could see that it had a medium long bill. Daniel Donnecke was kayaking somewhere out there, but I couldn’t see him. I called Marie O’Shaugnessy. She lives very close to the marina and has a long telephoto lens. Could we make this bird out to be a knot?
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While Marie and I were discussing the possibilities, Daniel came into view. Marie thought it might be a dowitcher. I didn’t think they would hang out on rocks like that. Daniel could get close enough to ID the bird–if only we could get his attention! He carries a marine radio for safety, and I carry a cell phone. Unfortunately, the two can’t communicate, so we had to rely on analogue techniques–me, jumping, waving and yelling from shore! Eventually, Daniel did get to the islet, saw the bird and got some photos. Sadly, when I caught up with him later, he confirmed the bird’s ID: Short-billed Dowitcher. Curses!
The sea is my best shot for new species right now, so about two weeks ago, I took the online Pleasure Craft Operator’s Card course. It takes about three hours followed by a pretty easy 50 question multiple choice test. I passed, but that doesn’t mean that I can actually operate a boat. It seems kind of weird to me that you have to do so much to get a car license, but you can legally take a boat out after very little “classroom” learning and absolutely no practical experience. Saturday, Daniel, Liam Singh, Sharon Godkin and I rented a boat at Pedder Bay for my first boat driving lesson–and of course, to look for some birds!
The sea was beautiful on Saturday, almost flat calm. The birds were few and far between. We ended up spending about 3 1/2 hours on the water with nothing unusual to report. Is Pedder Bay the only place on the south island (or anywhere on the island, for that matter) where you can rent a small boat? I can’t find any others. Lots of charters for fishing–not many options for birding!
Saturday was also the day that Ian Cruickshank returned to Victoria, and in true Ian style, he had a rare bird within minutes of arriving home, I think. While heading to Tod Flats to try to see a Green Heron that had been found earlier, Ian called to say he had a Common Tern in view. At Oak Bay Marina. On the rock that I’d stared at for three hours on Friday night. At the same time of the day that I had been there. <roll eyes here> The only good thing that I can say about that is that we visually scoured that rock on Friday evening, so I am certain that the tern was not there then. I rounded up the folks at the Red Barn and two carloads headed to the marina to be the first people to see the last people who saw the tern.
On Ian’s advice, Liam and I went back to the marina for sunrise. Mary Robichaud and Aziza Cooper also came to look for the bird. There was a beautiful sunrise. Smoke from the Washington State fires made it possible to look at the red sun in such detail you could see sun spots.
Sometime under cover of darkness, the tern had made its escape! I was leading a field trip on a boat four hours later, so intended just to bird around the area. Our group split up. Within minutes, Aziza called to say that Geoffrey and David Newell had found a Red Knot at the foot of Bowker, just a couple of kilometres away. Off we went! I was surprised when I got there that there were no recognizable cars, and no people. Was I hallucinating?? I set up the scope and was working my way through the Black-bellied Plovers when the phone rang again. It was Aziza asking where I was. Turns out I’m probably the only birder in Victoria that didn’t know that the “foot of Bowker” doesn’t mean the foot of Bowker, but rather a small lane one block south. Same general spot on the beach, but a much better view from there. When I got there, Mary had the bird in her scope, so I took my look for the “tick” (238) and then set my scope up to savour the look. I had just found it when again my phone rang.
Jody Wells had a Yellow-headed Blackbird at Saanichton Spit. He was pretty excited and this was a bird I definitely needed. I had just enough time–if the bird was cooperative–to get out back out to Saanichton (where I live) and then return to Oak Bay for the field trip. A potential fly in the ointment, though, was a major cycling event that would be travelling many of the streets throughout the region. It felt kind of like I was in a video game maze, trying to pick the clearest paths to get to the goal.
When I got to the spit, Jody was perched staring into some tall sedges and used his phone to steer me in the right direction. He had sat there watching the grasses moving as the bird wandered through them so he’d know where the bird was when I arrived. Talk about dedicated friends! The bird popped up almost immediately, then flew down again. Then up and into a shrub, very badly backlit, but with a view sufficient to make it out as a young male. Carefully moving around the shrub, we were both able to get some decent shots. Not even 9 a.m, and I had two species for my list!
I managed to get back to Oak Bay and find a parking spot without getting held up by the cyclists. A group of twelve headed out for a two-hour tour around the Oak Bay islands. All eyes were watching for the tern, but it was not relocated. It was a very pleasant trip on the water, though, with fantastic looks at Common Murres and Rhinoceros Auklets up close. An afternoon trip had similar results.
Ian and Daniel were also on the water, but in a kayak. They spent several hours poking around Chatham and Discovery and the area. And yes, they did find a tern–a different one than the one Ian saw the day before–and a Tufted Puffin!