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!
In some instances ED sensitivity is caused by modification of different pattern order generic levitra Click Here of nerve signals. Most of viagra professional generic these ovarian cysts are fairly harmless when they are triggered, as a consequence of physiologic or practical reasons. It causes differences amongst the two of them that is the man and his partner. canada tadalafil 10mg Men with problems having and holding erections benefit from taking Kamagra either in tablet, jelly, levitra generika 40mg or gel form.
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…..