Wow, the days are just zipping by!  Although the calendar still says there are two and a half months left in the year, in reality, most of migration is done.  Thete is only one week left of songbird monitoring at Rocky Point and Pedder Bay, and we’ll finish the owl project for another year in just three weeks. With the bulk of migrants gone, my searches will really be for the rarities.

After the brilliant few days last week where I managed to add three new birds in two days, I was prepared for a bit of a lull.  Friday morning’s hunt for the Sage Sparrow failed to turn up any likely suspects.  In the afternoon, Swan Lake had a “grand opening” for their new section of the lake trail boardwalk. Fall is definitely in the air and a lot of our “winter” birds are starting to arrive in good numbers.

Swan Lake has been surprisingly quiet this year.  Some goodies have shown up, for sure, but it is typically one of the true hot spots in Victoria.  Chris Saunders is keeping up his end of the lake, but the sections normally scrutinized by Ian Cruickshank haven’t had their usual coverage since he’s been away.

Saturday, I planned to go west to see what might be hanging out between Sheringham Point and Port Renfrew. I made a stop at Whiffin Spit for another look at the Black-throated Sparrow, a contender for the most cooperative rarity of the year.  While there, word came that a small white egret had been chased from the field at Lansdown Middle School by a dog.  I headed back to town to search for a probably Cattle Egret.  I spent some time in the Blenkinsop Valley, checking out the pipits on the turf farm, trying to conjure up a Red-throated, and scanning the valley for the egret. From the viewpoint on Mount Doug, I saw a promising “speck” in a field a long way away, but couldn’t get to the private property to check it out.

After a few hours of searching, I had to head out to Pedder Bay for an RPBO function.  One of the challenges on being at either of the Rocky Point banding sites is that there is poor or no cell service.  When you are doing a big year, communication is your lifeline.

On my way home, (yes, at Tim’s), I found I had a voicemail.  Tom Michell had photographed a Cattle Egret in his back yard in the Martindale Valley! A dilemma: Could I phone a farmer at 10:30 pm?  I decided not.  Birder friends come to expect phone calls at odd hours–like dawn–but I didn’t want to disenfranchise someone who had called me about such a good bird.  I sent a text and made plans for the morning.

At sunrise on Sunday, Mary Robichaud and I were checking out the fields and barns, and thanks to Tom’s tip, located the bird (#257) near the corner of Puckle and Island View Roads. The alarm was sounded and several other birders got to see this rarity before the morning was out.

Then it was off for another boat trip from Oak Bay, thanks to Ben  van Drimmelin.

Although it wasn’t nearly as birdy as the trip that Daniel Donnecke and I took with Ben little more than a week earlier, we still managed to find a few birds–but nothing new for my year list. While the gulls were still plentiful, there were very few murres and we didn’t see a single jaeger. What a difference a few days can make.

Drugs with this ingredient assures a long lasting and hard erection that lasts for the adequate period of time during sexual intercourse. viagra order uk Your sex, age, lifestyle can contribute to the development of viagra canadian impotency. cialis cheap uk http://amerikabulteni.com/2017/12/14/abd-otoriteryan-rejime-mi-kayiyor/ Erection issues are common but when they exist for a longer period of time then the chances of getting affected by erectile dysfunction get increases. Other reasons for order viagra online male impotence include use of any of the aforementioned approaches and some others as well. There were no new list birds added to the list last week after the egret, but lot of trips to birdy places on the south island, culminating with a wonderful shearwater-filled Victoria Natural History Society field trip on the weekend.  Here are a few photos:

 

Yesterday, the trailing winds of Hurricane Oho passed by the island.  While the Juan de Fuca strait remained calm during the morning, the west coast was battered during the day.  Commitments keep me from heading to Tofino, but I am hitting the road for  Port Renfrew in a few minutes.  Wonder what I might find out there today?