Today was a birding day, not a chasing day. While I hoped to pick up a species or two (or five), there was no specific bird that I had my heart set on.
It’s been a while since I headed west to Jordan River and beyond. The weather forecast wasn’t great, but as anyone on the west coast can attest, that doesn’t mean much. A rain forecast can mean 5 minutes of drizzle or a full day full on deluge. You won’t know until you get there.
I was accompanied today by Ian Toews, a videographer who is working on a project on Vancouver Island birders. If you bird on the island, you may see him soon at a birding hotspot near you! He’s done some amazing work in other regions, including some stunning videos on grasslands. You can see samples of his work here.
Our first stop was at the former Jordan River Campground. It is still open to the public during daylight hours, but fear over the possible failure of the upriver dam during a catastrophic earthquake has prompted the CRD to close the campsites. A shame, IMHO. Most of the birds were well off shore, but a few gulls obliged by resting on the rocky spit.
If you look closely, you’ll see my first California Gull of my big year!
Ian Cruickshank and friends joined us briefly to help scope the waters. Marbled Murrelets, cormorants, Common Goldeneyes, assorted grebes and scoters, and a few other species were flying or swimming by, pretty much all headed east. Hmmmm… did they know something we didn’t know? Thanks to Ian’s keen eyes, I was also able to add Brant to the year list.
Ian C. and friends left to go hiking and Ian T. and I headed west to Port Renfrew and Botanical Beach. The weather was still holding when we started out on the loop trail, but shortly after we made it to the shore, the drizzle started in earnest. Although I carry a lot of things, I felt bad for Ian given his camera and tripod weigh much more than mine!
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However, even without the birds, Botanical Beach is a stunning place to visit, rain or shine.
Tuesday, I return to Courtenay, and to chasing. Mountain Bluebird and Marbled Godwit, I am coming to see you! Then it will be off to Port Alberni to see what I can see there, gradually filling in my regional district/county lists.
Pine Grosbeaks and a certain Harris’s Sparrow are also on the list I hope to see this time around.
and…
A Great Gray Owl has shown up at Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Vancouver. Could it be the Quadra Island owl? If so, my search for that bird is probably over for the spring, but I’m still standing by, just in case!