Plans for the trip to Mount Cain changed several times over the week, but the final roster of participants was Randy Dzenkiw and me in the Honda Fit heading to the mountain on Friday, and Daniel and Sofia Donnecke with Sandy Briggs coming on Saturday after a side trip to a mountaineers’ event near Gold River on Friday.

We didn’t have to rush, but since we didn’t really get out of Victoria until about noon, we headed on a more or less direct route.  There was time, however, to stop at Dawson Road in Parksville to see if we could find the Lazuli Buntings. Much to our surprise, we found not two, but four of them!  It seems like only yesterday they were first seen, but they were feeding at least two young in the bushes where the adults had been regularly seen.

On Sunday evening on our way home, we stopped by again and saw the female.  We have confirmed breeding.  The references say this is a species that can double or even triple nest during a season. Will there be a repeat?  mid-island folks, keep looking!

We arrived at Mt. Cain about 7 1/2 hours after we left Victoria, or about 2 1/2 hours longer than Google thought it would take.  A problem with GPS and Google maps is that they don’t take into consideration the human factors: traffic lights, grocery shopping, Tim Hortons, bio-breaks and birding!  Although the sun was getting low, it would remain light until after 10 pm.

We were hearing some strange noises coming from the area of the ski cabins. Gunshots?  Bears shredding things? Wind blowing sheet metal around?  Every ten minutes or so, something we couldn’t quite get a handle around.  The Mount Cain Alpine Park Society is a non-profit, volunteer group that has put this amazing site together.  We contacted them to get permission to camp to give us more time to actually climb the mountain.  At the moment, the park facilities are only active in the winter, although there are a number of privately owned ski cottages on site.

Eventually, it all became clear.  Walking up the road were about half a dozen guys. It was kind of weird seeing a group of people walking up there. You expect vehicles but not pedestrians!  Turns out there was a bachelor party weekend at one of the cabins.  We still don’t know what the noise was, but we chatted with the guys several times over the weekend.  The party was to celebrate the upcoming Salt Spring Island wedding of Rob Buckler and Jean Burrows.  The guys said that they were also planning on climbing the mountain, but I think they thought better of it in the morning and they went swimming instead!

We set up camp as the wind started howling.  Rocks were needed in tents to keep them in place while we tied things down.  It was a full moon, so flashlights were totally unnecessary. It wasn’t a particularly restful sleep, though, as the tents barely resisted getting airborne.  An unexpected bonus was that the ski hill washrooms were open!

The next morning, Randy and I made our way up the lower T-Bar slope, crossing over to a ski run to get to the ridge trail. Here is the official map:

There was an awful lot of up, interspersed with boonycrashing.  Although the experts had suggested it would take about 90 minutes to get to the top of the upper T-Bar, I figured it would take me about double that, going at birders’ speed and my own comfort level.

We had arbitrarily set a goal of 20 species for the mountain, with White-tailed Ptarmigan at the top of the list.

The trail wasn’t exactly easy going, either up that first slope or along the ridge.  We took a lower trail when given an option and came to the bottom of the upper T-Bar.  Man, that one is really steep!  I guess that makes sense since it is in the middle of the black diamond runs.  A little along the lower trail, we had been hearing a Sooty Grouse hooting.  We went looking and found it!

 

Now if ptarmigans would just be as cooperative!

Backtracking to the ridge trail, we continued our upward trek. Our path took us along the ridge between the west and east bowls.  Apparently, they can be fun to ski, but they didn’t look like great places to hike.

 

Along the ridge, just below the top end of the upper T-Bar, I caught the movement of a ptarmigan-sized bird out of the corner of my eye. The colour wasn’t right–more gray than brown or white.  We scoured the area and couldn’t refind it.  We carried on.

 

While sitting on the edge of the east bowl, scanning for any signs of movement or whiteness of male ptarmigans, we made radio contact with Daniel. His group had arrived and were making their way up–the steep way up.

It only took Daniel, Sofia and Sandy an hour to climb to the point that had taken us three.  They were both much more fit and determined.  With five sets of eyes, we were set!

The trio had been at a gathering of mountaineers the night before and had the scoop on ptarmigan. Just a little farther along the ridge (and by farther, I mean both along and of course, up!), there is a famous spot where skiers fire off golf balls after a day of skiing.  They’d been told that this was a sure-fire place for ptarmigan.  10/10 times.   At that point, Randy and I had been unable to find even any evidence of ptarmigan droppings, so we were game.

From this higher elevation, you could see Mt. Waddington, the namesake of the regional district, on the mainland far away.

Now I don’t mind endurance efforts, as long as I can go at my own pace, but I don’t like steep vertical climbs.  When we got to the “Golf Club”, I put my foot down.  Both feet.  I wasn’t going up there unless they saw some sign of a ptarmigan!  If they did, they’d see just how fast I actually can do a vertical ascent.

I took a kinder, gentler slope just across from the Club and scouted from there.  We had great views of the bowls, and at one point when Daniel climbed down into the trees, he was certain he heard one, but we couldn’t get a look or repeat vocalization. We played calls, which apparently work like a charm, but nothing, nothing, nothing.   We waited and watched for a couple of hours, but still nothing.  Daniel and Randy climbed a little way down into the bowl to try to find what Daniel had heard.  Finally a chance to get some concept of the scale.  You’ll need to enlarge this one to see both Daniel and Randy sitting down in the middle of the picture.

 

 

Eventually it was time to head back down. Taking a different route down, we were just below the upper T-Bar station when a gray bird flew in front of us.  Gray Jays were around, so that seemed the logical culprit, but a closer look turned up a crow-sized bird.  Clark’s Nutcracker!
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The bird was skittish, and even voices seemed to move it around.  We got some evidence shots and then it was gone. This was most likely the bird that had caught my attention earlier, which meant that it had been sticking around the same area for several hours.  I wonder if there is any possibility of breeding going on there.  If you are up on Mt. Cain, keep an eye out!

This was an even “better’ bird than a ptarmigan.  While there are definitely ptarmigan on the island (mostly out of my range), nutcracker sightings are flukes.  I was happy to take this bird as number 231 for my big year list.

The trip down the mountain was actually more treacherous than the trip up.  A good chunk of it was on a poor condition, steep  service road where the gravel slipped under foot frequently.  As much as I complain about “up”, I was more concerned about hurting myself on this section than any other of the trip.

The mountain wasn’t especially birdy, although crossbills were there in good numbers.  The butterflies and plants put on an excellent show, though. Here are a few shots I managed while waiting for ptarmigan.  Sorry that I don’t have identification for many of them.  If I waited until I had that, this post would never get written.

 

 

The next day, we started off with some great birds in the parking lot.  Both Pine and Evening Grosbeak showed up, and a family of Gray Jays entertained us greatly. One even went into my car and perched on the steering wheel, but I missed that.

 

 

We also puzzled over the smoke hanging over the mountain top.  Did it come from the mainland?  Was there a fire just over the ridge?  How would we know? Ultimately, we decided if we started seeing water bombers, we would beat a hasty retreat, but none showed up

Daniel, Sandy and Sofia went back up to make good on their plan to reach the summit of the mountain.  Randy and I were more sane, so took a meandering route down the mountain.  The clear views from Friday night were replaced with a growing haze, probably from the Port Hardy fire.

It was much worse on southern Vancouver Island.

More birds, flowers and butterflies from the descent:

By the time we reached the highway, we had 37 species, almost doubling our original target.  No ptarmigan, but a Clark’s Nutcracker was such a good find, only my legs are disappointed.  I guess they’ll have to go on another ptarmigan quest.

A quick stop at Hoomak Lake added Steller’s Jay, Warbling Vireo and Hammond’s Flycatcher to the list for 40 species for the Mt. Waddington area.

Daniel and crew caught up to us in Parksville where we waited with the female Lazuli Bunting.  As is often the case, it flew off just a couple of minutes before they arrived, but Common Nighthawks overhead lessened the blow.

All in all, a great weekend adventure, with a wonderful prize and some special moments with young buntings and jays.

Randy suggested that it’s time for me to ask for opinions on what my next species will be.  Any takers?  I’ll try to come up with a prize for the first correct guess–before I actually get the bird.

Also, one other thing I am doing this year, even though I know that birds could show up here while I’m gone, is the Rio Grande Valley Birding Festival from Nov. 4-8.  If you are interested in going, check it out.  It’s an awesome festival with lots of trips with less stress options, and I’m pulling a loose group together for it. Several birders from Victoria are already registered and some of the trips fill up quite quickly.  Let me know if you plan to go.  I can get some group “perks” for us. 🙂

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I had a few things to get done before Joe and Corinne Bartel arrived from Arizona early Tuesday afternoon. I’d arranged a ride to pick up my now fixed van with enough time to get home to change vehicles before heading to the airport.  Just enough time.  So you know what happened, right?  Sure, you do!

A post to VIBIRDS announced that Geoffrey Newell had just found a Least Flycatcher in Uplands Park.  This is a species that rarely sticks around, although one on Welch Road did just that for more than a week last year. I couldn’t take a chance. I quickly rearranged the van pickup and headed to Uplands Park–just about as far away from me as you can be and still be considered in Victoria. Okay, Sooke is farther, but you know what I mean.  It was an hour after Geoffrey reported the bird when I arrived. I scoured the area with a sense of deja vu, recalling the Lazuli Bunting I didn’t find there earlier in the year.  After about 90 minutes of no luck, it was time to head to the airport and hopefully some better luck with the species Joe and Corinne wanted to see.   To the best of my knowledge, the bird was never refound.

Meeting up with Joe and Corinne, the first (expected) stop was at the airport to look and listen for Sky Larks.  We got a few sound bites, but nothing truly satisfying.  We headed off to the Central Saanich Road field that has been pretty reliable for me.  We were quickly rewarded with a couple of displaying males and fly-bys of several other individuals.  Yay!

The two other birds on their wish list were Marbled Murrelet and Sooty Grouse.  We went next to Island View Beach, but there were very few birds and the waves were a little high for murrelet searches.  We tried again at Esquimalt Lagoon, but the waves were even higher.  There were 40 Great Blue Herons hunting in the lagoon, though. Quite the spectacle!

Of course, the next stop was Goldstream Heights on the Malahat, the most reliable spot for Sooty Grouse this year.  Several had been seen in the last week, so optimism ran high.  Apparently, too high, as we couldn’t roust a grouse.  I heard a very faint one some distance away, too far to count.  Giving up, we headed to Mill Bay to try again for a murrelet and to have dinner.

We tried again for the grouse early the next morning without success.  However, that day’s trip to Mill Bay turned up an excellent look at a Marbled Murrelet on flat waters. Two down, one to go.

The rest of the week went like that, too.  Several trips to Goldstream Heights, but not a grouse to be seen.

In between, though, there was a day of adventure.  Friday morning, I decided to go to Port Alberni to build up my Alberni-Clayoquot list.  I had stopped at Little Mountain for a look-see when a text message came in. Northern Mockingbird at Wickaninnish Beach!  I was on my way!

 

I was still a couple of hours away,  but I was two hours ahead of where I would have been otherwise.  This looked good for finding this bird, the first mockingbird reported this year.

The beach was beautiful, but deserted–no people, no mockingbird.

 

I walked the beach and parking lot pishing and twitching for the next three hours.  No mockingbird, but I did see a couple of interesting things.

 
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I also ran into a couple from Britain who had been birding with Rick Schortinghuis in Victoria earlier in the week.  Even with their help, no mockingbird.

Just as I was about to leave at around 5 o’clock, I heard an email alert on my phone.  The mockingbird had been seen at the airport around 11 am.  Sigh…. Either there were two mockingbirds or I had been searching in the wrong place the whole time.  I called Adrian Dorst to get more details and headed to the airport. I searched for an hour before throwing in the towel and heading home.  A close look at a Red-tailed Hawk on my way out was the consolation prize.

 

The rest of the week was filled up with wanderings to Fishboat Bay to see Cathy Carlson, getting RPBO’s trailer ready for the upcoming migration season, and of course more trips up to Goldstream Heights in search of the grouse.  We did see something I’d never seen before–a huge flock of Violet-green Swallows sunbathing on the heated rocks.  They’d roll on the rocks, spread their body and wing feathers, mouths gaping the whole time.  It was very curious behaviour.

We never did find any grouse but I did get some photos to share over the course of the week.

Tomorrow, the quest of the year.  I am heading to Mt. Cain to look for White-tailed Ptarmigan.  Wish me luck!

 

 

 

My side trip to Mount Cain put me a little behind schedule, and as I continued south, it was clear that I couldn’t make it to Campbell River before dark.  A quick stop by the side of the road let me confirm that the Ripple Rock RV Park allowed tents (many RV parks do not), so it became my destination for the evening. Like most RV parks, it had a self check-in procedure for late arrivals.  I paid my fee and hurried to get the tent set up before dark.

While I was setting up, two cruise ships–including the one I had seen earlier at the Cluxewe park passed by.  The second was a Disney cruise.  For a bit of history of Seymour Narrows and Ripple Rock, check out this video:

And if you are intrigued by the obscure musical reference in today’s blog title, here is Ripple Rock, by the Evaporators.

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Within the hour, two more cruise ships headed north through this formerly notorious channel.

 

One of the cool things about camping away from the cities is that the night sky can be very interesting.

This RV park is pretty posh by most standards. They have a fantastic gathering room/building where guests can get together for movie nights, parties, etc.  They have a fitness cottage and a hot tub.  Of course, I wasn’t staying long enough to benefit from any these features.

In the morning, I was packing up when I got a text from Donna Ross.  She was nearby and free to go birding!

We met up at Tims in Campbell River and spent the day checking out the birds and scenery between Campbell River and Comox, where Donna was having dinner with family.  It was great to have a birding buddy with me!  We didn’t find any particularly unusual species, but it was a lot of fun trying!

Donna and I parted ways in Comox. I had thought about stopping along the way home for just a bit more birding, but deadlines loomed large on a project I had to do Monday night, so I just made my way back to Victoria. On Tuesday, I was meeting up with some visitors from Arizona, looking for some of Victoria’s special birds. It’s just as well that I went straight home.  By the time I was done what I had to do, I looked at the clock and the sky–it was already 5 am!

 

For those who have been following along from the beginning, you know my big year is not only about the birds.  As someone born and raised in Victoria, until this year, I had never ventured north of Campbell River.  I’m using the birds as motivation to visit places all around the island.

Saturday night was a camping night in Telegraph Cove.  I passed through the village on the way to the campground, just a kilometre from town.   The campground is in a forest setting, but there are trails and a beach nearby.  I met two campers who had come all the way to Belgium to explore the island. In the fading light, we headed to the beach.

From time to time, whaled pass through these waters, but we didn’t see any this time around.

In the morning, I spent some time in the community of Telegraph Cove.  It’s a very interesting setting for several reasons.  The town is all privately owned, including the historical buildings that once housed the community’s residents.

Most of the old homes, many on stilts on the water, have been converted to cabin rentals.  Each one bears a plaque with a bit of its history.

Another interesting “feature” was all of the pay parking lots.  You don’t really expect that so far from civilization, but as privately owned property, it provides another revenue stream to keep things going, I guess.

The dock houses a whale museum and provides moorage for fishing and tour vessels.  I had the good fortune to run into Jim and Mary Borrowman, owners of the Gikimi, the first whale watching boat in BC!  Their business, Orcella Expeditions, offers multi-day trips aboard this historic vessel. Jim tells me the winter population of Telegraph Cove is fewer than 10, but it becomes quite the bustling place in the summer.

On Sunday, whale researchers Ken Balcolmb and Lindsey Kruse were aboard.  Chatting with Lindsey,  we discovered we had friends in common.  She had spent a day with Kate Spencer and Ted Cheeseman aboard Kate’s Fast Raft in Monterey.  It is definitely a small world!

On my way out of Telegraph Cove, I made a brief stop at Alder Bay.  This spot has a beautiful view over to Alert Bay on Cormorant Island.  I may just have to stay here the next time I’m at the north end.

 

Since I was driving my Fit, I thought I’d stick to paved roads, more or less, on this trip. Port Alice fit the criteria–I’d never been there, and it was on a paved highway, so off I went!  The drive along Highway 30 was quite pretty, and there were a few ponds along the way that looked pretty interesting, but there were very few spots to pull off–and of course, none in the right places.

Port Alice seemed like a nice enough community. There were a lot of houses for sale, and I imagine that it was a lot more active in the past.  Bird-wise, it was slow.  I added an eBird list to the Port Alice hotspot, bringing it up to a whopping two checklists and 28 species.  At least there’s a winter and summer list for this spot now.

Moving along, I made a stop at the Cluxewe Estuary as I headed towards Campbell River.  This spot has been mentioned to me a few times as a great place to bird during migration.  I was a little off-season, but the stop was worthwhile.  Beautiful views of the estuary and the ocean–and a cruise ship.  It was funny, really.  Everyone was busy in their campsites until a ripple went through the park.  Cruise ship coming!  All of a sudden, people were scrambling.  This was clearly the most exiting thing that happened that day. People were lining up on the beach to get their photos taken with the ship in the background.

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My destination for the evening was to be somewhere near Campbell River. At one spot on the highway, a Ruffed Grouse was on the side of the road.  She just stood there as cars and trucks zoomed by.  I was concerned for her and stopped thinking I might move her along.  Then, in my rear view mirror, I saw why she was being so patient.  A chick came running across to the centre line, only to be barely missed by a passing vehicle and scared back to the other side.  Mom waited patiently.

Eventually, the chick made it across–whew!–and the pair disappeared into the brush.

I continued along until temptation took over.  I am planning a trip to Mt.Cain to look for ptarmigan in the not too distant future.   I’ve been wondering about the condition of the road, and here I was, coming up to the Mt. Cain turnoff.  It was already 6 o’clock and I was on my own.  Should I go?  Maybe not too smart.  A flat tire at dusk alone on a mountain road didn’t seem too appealing.  I decided I’d start up the road, but if it was too rough, I’d turn back.

The good news is that the road was great!  It was better than the road up Mt, Prevost near Duncan and much better than the road to the Chemainus River.  Round gravel, few potholes, no traffic–I’d give it an 8/10.  Along the way, the only animals I saw were two more grouse, but I’m sure from the piles along the road that there were plenty of bears in the area.

 

At the top, there were a surprising number of ski cabins, but no people.  I wish that I’d run into a caretaker, because this would have been a stunning place to camp for the night.

 

Personal safety got the better of me, though, and I headed back towards Campbell River for the night. I’m really looking forward to checking this area out in a couple of weeks!

 

 

 

 

One thing that I’ve learned during this big year is that there are definitely not enough hours in the day!  Friday is the day I usually join up with the gang at Maber Flats, but I decided to forego that in order to get the door I was fixing back on the Rocky Point trailer and head up island in time to look for a Three-toed Woodpecker at Mt. Washington.  The dilemma was that my van was in the shop–and it might be fixed by the end of the day on Friday.  So should I wait for the verdict on the van (and miss my opportunity for the woodpecker on Friday) or pack up the tent and camping gear and go in my car? Decisions, decisions, decisions. Off I went in the Fit.

It took longer to fix the trailer door than I thought, so it was after 1 pm when I left Metchosin. Then the phone rang– the van was ready.  More decisions!  If I went and got the van, I definitely would not have time on Friday to look for the woodpecker.  Saturday was a VNHS butterfly field trip that I was looking forward to,  so Friday was my best chance.  Hmmmmm….  I continued north!

By the time I arrived in Courtenay, I found out that a Green Heron had been seen just a few blocks away twice that day.  Did I have time for a side trip? Temptation, but I stayed the course.  Going up!

I arrived at Paradise Meadows with enough time to do the Lake Helen Mackenzie Loop before dark.  I promised myself that I’d head directly to the site where Christopher Stephens had multiple Three-toed Woodpeckers earlier in the week.  No birding en route.  Well, maybe just a little!

A couple of very cooperative Gray Jays spent a few minutes with me.

Sapsuckers were around, and at one point I could hear young woodpeckers in a nest.  I waited around to confirm that they were young Red-breasted Sapsuckers. The trail was good, with boardwalks over rough sections, and for the first 4 km, I only saw two other people.

I wasn’t really sure how far I’d gone when I heard loud drumming about 100m away from me.  I got my bins on the bird and it was indeed the target Three-toed Woodpecker.  Too far for a  photo, and it was moving around too much. In fact, it’s possible there was more than one bird, but the distance and movement  prevented me from confirming.  I took the longer way back, completing the full loop.  In about the last two km, it started to drizzle, so I was a bit cold and wet by the time I got back at the car.  At least that gave me incentive to pick up the pace.

I had made a reservation at the Cumberland Lake Campground, which was too bad in a way, as I have now discovered that there are a few campsites near the Mountain Centre.  That would have been convenient for the next morning!  Next time, I might just stay there.

O ne benefit of the Cumberland site, though, was that it was a little closer to Courtenay, so I was able to go for a look for that Green Heron before I met up with the VNHS group.  I spent 90 minutes scouring the area it had been seen, but the best I could turn up was a Common Merganser hen with 20 young ducks in her entourage.  There was a 21st, but it seemed younger and not quite part of the group.

Much of the rest of the day would involve bad choices and miscommunication.  I headed back to Mt. Washington for the 10:30 meetup with the group from Victoria.  Shortly after my arrival, Bill and Eva Katz were on the scene, and soon after that, Jeremy Tatum.   The plan had been to check for butterflies around the chairlift area for while, then take the chair to the top.  However, it seems that somewhere along the way, the bigger plans were changed, and the carpool groups didn’t arrive from Victoria until nearly noon.  I had wandered off in pursuit of singing Ruby-crowned Kinglets by that time, but met up with the group shortly after they arrived.  We very quickly spotted an Anna’s Blue butterfly.

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With everyone newly arrived,  I figured I had time for a trip to the ladies room and to grab a muffin.  When I stepped back outside, the group was nowhere to be seen…

If I’d been thinking, I probably could have reached them by text or call, but I thought that if I went up on the lift, they’d catch up to me shortly, so that’s what I did.  It was eerie. This was my very first time on a chair lift.  I was the only one on the lift at the time, and it gets very quiet in the middle of the ride.

 

Did I forget to mention the fog?  😉

I didn’t see the group on my way up on the lift, and I didn’t see much at all at the top.  A Dark-eyed Junco and Swainson’s Thrush were bathing in a puddle, but that was about the extent of the birds at that point.  Only then, after poking around for about half an hour, did I think about texting. Turns out the group had decided to walk up the mountain in an attempt to see the Vancouver Island Marmot.  Agnes provided some instructions on which trails to take if I wanted to hike down to meet them, but I had the wrong shoes and way too much dangling gear for that to work for me.  I hung around for another half hour or so, but eventually gave up and headed back to Courtenay.  I’d received a call from Kathy Clouston with more specific  details on where to look for the heron.

Arriving at the Courtenay Marina, Kathy and her dogs were waiting. And so was the heron!

 

That makes 230 species for the year, so far!

Kathy and I birded the area for a while before I headed north to Telegraph Cove.  I had seen the two species I had hoped to get on the weekend.  Now it was time to go some places I’d never seen!

While I was away last week, there were several “possible” birds that showed up in Victoria.  Despite chasing the only one I could, there was no sign of a Clay-Coloured Sparrow when I was in the field near Layritz Park.  This week was a bit of a different story.

The “best” bird that was showing up on the island was the Eastern Kingbird.  Ivan Dubinsky got great photos of one at the Scarlett Point Lighthouse on Balaklava Island northwest of Port Hardy.  A little earlier, Gord Curry had one off Cormorant Island.  I wonder if it might be the same bird.  In both cases, the birds were gone before I could have physically arrived those locations. A long drive and then a boat trip isn’t practical for a bird with a tendency to just pass through.  (It didn’t work out too well for a particular Great Gray bird that stuck around for months, either!)  I didn’t chase those birds, and it’s probably just as well.

But then…. I got a note about an Eastern Kingbird much closer to home.  My second home, really.  This week, James Miskelly spotted one at Rocky Point while he was working there.   Yes, that Rocky Point.  Despite our relationship with the Department of National Defense, we are only allowed to access the site when we are banding.  A very good record for the site. Sadly, not for me!

Here are some photos from my puttering around this week:

A day-long trip to the Cowichan Valley yielded several new birds for that region, including Common Nighthaw and Barred Owl.  The road to the Chemainus River Provincial Park was something of an ordeal.  It looked good from a distance, but close-up, the potholes threatened to swallow my Honda Fit.  It was beautiful, though!  Apparently, you used to be able to camp there, but the campground has been decommissioned, apparently due to some bad human behaviour.

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I also visited the Stoltz Pool section of the  Cowichan River, and toured around the “back” side of Duncan for a while until it was too dark to bird.  No new birds for the year list, but several for the Cowichan Region.

The week was not without an addition to the year list, though.  On Wednesday, a trip to Clover Point provided species 228 – early Heermann’s Gulls.

This weekend, I’m back up-island again, for an attempt at Three-toed Woodpecker, Green Heron, and maybe more! Wish me luck!

Well, this is different. In order to get this blog done today, I am dictating it from a field between Layritz Park and the VIATEC campus. Of course, by the time you see it, I will have edited it so it won’t look quite as silly as the voice-to-text feature on my phone interprets my words.

So why am I here? There has been a Clay-coloured sparrow reported in this field and a number of people have have apparently heard it. It’s not as straightforward as that, however, because the field is full of Chipping Sparrows, some of which are doing fantastic imitations of Clay-colored Sparrow. To count this bird for my list, I will have to see it. Under normal conditions, “heard only” is acceptable, but not for this bird. I brought a lawn chair and I found a tiny spot of shade. I have things to eat and drink, so I can stay here for a while.

This week a couple of  birding trips have taken me out of the doldrums.  Last Saturday, I went with the VNHS Saturday morning birders to Jordan River.  Some very good birds have turned up on these trips in the past, and I couldn’t take the chance of missing something the group turned up.  The more eyes, the better the chances of finding something. Despite our best efforts, and although we got a pretty impressive day list, there was nothing new for my year list.

 

On the way home, though, I stopped at the end of Petworth Road above Prospect Lake in hopes of getting a nighthawk.  It was still a bit too early, so I entertained myself by taking pictures of butterflies.

Finally, just about the time that I was about to give up, I heard it.  “Peeeent”.  Then another.  Two Common Nighthawks gave me 224 species for the year!

On Monday, I took the slow way north stopping at new places like Fuller Lake  on my way to Campbell River. I am so amazed at how many beautiful spots most of us never see as we buzz up and down the island. Fuller Lake is only a couple of minutes off the highway between Duncan and Chemainus. Not only is there a decent size lake, but there are trails as well. I wonder if anyone ever birds that area.

 

In  Lantzville, I took a side trip to Legacy Marsh, a mainstay of the Brant Festival Big Days I participate in when I was a newbie birder.  What a difference a decade makes!  There were only a few spots where you could see into the marsh and there are now many houses along the edge.  Birds were plentiful and even cooperative, but the dragonflies stole the show.

The best stop of the day however, was at Dawson Road in Parksville. in the era of the Brant Festival Big Day, this was the favorite spot to find Cliff Swallows, and that is why I stopped. I have Cliff Swallow for the year, of course, but I didn’t have them for the Nanaimo Regional District. I didn’t see any swallows  at all, but there was an unfamiliar song coming from the nearby trees. I listened. I pished. I listened some more, but I couldn’t really say for certain what was singing. As others will tell you, I have been trying to turn just about everything into Lazuli Buntings for the last few weeks. I decided to go down the road and see if there was anything else to see and then check again on my way back. I was about 50 meters shy of the highway when I heard the song again,  this time coming from an Arbutus tree.

 

I stopped the car and got out. I listened. I pished. I listened some more. I waited.  I looked. I pished. Nothing. About the time that I had pretty much concluded it must just be a goldfinch I decided to play the Lazuli Bunting call. Immediately a bird flew from the Arbutus and landed on a shrub. I could see as it flew past that it was not yellow and with a quick flick of the binoculars could positively identify it as a male Lazuli Bunting! Just as quickly– before I could raise my camera–it flew back to the Arbutus. I sent out a few quick messages and made a few phone calls and then headed towards the Englishman River estuary. Christopher Stephens called me in response to my message, which he hadn’t checked yet. Turns out he’s been looking for one of these for almost 10 years! He headed to Dawson Road and I turned around and  headed back to meet him. By the time I arrived, he had his binoculars on the bird! A great day for both of us!

I continued on my way north, stopping in Courtenay to look for Green Herons. a couple have been sighted around Victoria and Duncan, but I have not been able to find them. Last year, though, they nested along the river and were reasonably easy to spot. Not so on Monday evening. I left Courtenay to meet up with Ken Walker and Jenny Clark, who I would be traveling with the next day.  Before the sun set, though, I managed a sprint to Elk Falls to check out the new suspension bridge (and hopefully see some Black Swifts).

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Tuesday was the day for adventure. Ken and Jenny were guiding a couple from England and the day included a trip to Mitlenatch Island on a boat. The island would have been reason enough to take this trip, as I have heard so much about it from Rod Mitchell and others, but rumor had it that there were a pair of Arctic Terns in the area. That would be a great bird for my list!

We had to take two ferries and cross two islands to get to the Cortes Island dock where the Misty Isles was waiting for us. Although this boat can be chartered for a leisurely sail, the captain, Mike Moore, understood that we had places to go and birds to see!

Mitlenatch Island is an ecological reserve and access is strictly limited. Volunteer naturalists take week-long stints at being wardens on the island, something you might want to consider if you like a little bit of isolation from time to time. The public is allowed on the island for escorted trips on limited trails so we didn’t get to see all of the various habitats that the island offers. Glaucous-winged Gulls and Black Oystercatchers nest there as you might expect, but the biggest surprise was a calling Virginia Rail.

Almost as surprising as the rail, the island is home to a good population of prickly pear cactus.  No bare feet here!

 

We spotted this somewhat dishevelled eagle below the cormorants.  On closer inspection, we can see what the problem might be. This bird’s bill is badly deformed and probably prevents normal grooming.

Our return trip back to Cortez island included a swing by the spot where Arctic Terns have nested in the past. As luck would have it, we were able to spot Arctic Terns on this rock.

We looked hard for  the Hudsonian Godwit that was keeping company with them on Sunday, but it  was gone.

On my return to the Big Island, I headed south to Cumberland. I had reserved a place on Airbnb and figured I should get there before dark. This turned out to be a spot I would recommend to others. It was a two bedroom suite complete with kitchen and laundry facilities, and was less expensive than the most reasonable hotel I could find in Courtenay. Across the street were bike trails, which I followed through various habitats and a gravel pit before walking back home along roadways just after dark. In about 45 minutes I had found 32 species including more Virginia rails and one of my target species for the trip, Black Swift.

The trip home on Wednesday started a trip through an area north of Cumberland which is destined for development.  It was a little depressing to see so much damaged habitat, but there were still a good number of birds.

I ended up at Comox Lake, where I discovered a great series of trails–that I didn’t have time to explore.

After checking out the lake for a while, I headed back to the city for another walk along the river in Courtenay searching for the Green Herons. This time I searched  with  much greater intensity but with the same results as on Monday evening –no sign of a heron. I contacted a local expert and found that they haven’t been reported yet.  Maybe next time.

I dawdled on my way home, heading to Horne Lake,  another Vancouver Island location that I have never visited.This is another gem of a spot that probably doesn’t get birded nearly enough. There is a beautiful campground with many lakefront spots,  as well as mature forests, second generation forests and steep rocky, bluffs. There’s even a group campsite that they offer at a lower rate for nonprofits, if one of our groups ever wanted to arrange a camping trip.  Nearby the Horne Lake caves are an attraction for those who like to crawl around in cold, dark, wet places.

I had stopped in Parksville for a tea when my phone rang. It was Liam Singh and he had just relocated the Clay-coloured Sparrow that had been located by Jeff Gaskin earlier in the day. I put off my planned explorations on my way south and  headed straight for Victoria,  arriving about 7:30 p.m. The sparrow was reported the field between Layritz Park and the Vancouver Island Technology Centre where one was seen for an extended period last year.

During the next 90 minutes, I heard the double-buzz I was listening for,  but it always turned out to be a Chipping Sparrow. I figured it might have been a mistaken ID, but Thursday morning, Dave Fraser heard a “classic” Clay-coloured Sparrow call. So that brings us around to why I was sitting in the middle of a field waiting for most of Thursday afternoon. Daniel Donnecke was here for an hour and a half before me. Elaine Preston came by and we searched for the bird together for about an hour. Again we found double-buzzing Chipping Sparrows, but no Clay-colored. I sure hope someone gets a good look at this bird soon. It doesn’t look like it’s going to be me.

As mentioned before, we’re heading into several weeks of birding doldrums.  There are a few migrants, like Green Heron, Black Swift and Common Nighthawk for me to round up, and an adventure or two planned, but by and large we’re into a “went out birding, didn’t find anything new” stage.  It’s also that tricky time of year when things start to ramp up for Rocky Point Bird Observatory’s monitoring season.  Our Monitoring Avian Productivity and Survivorship program started its twelfth year this week, and for that to happen, gear needs to get organized, net lanes need to be trimmed and stations set up.  There will be a lot more of this in coming weeks, too. (If you wish to follow RPBO activities, like our page on Facebook and follow our blog edited by Jannaca Chick.)

I’ve been grateful for the feedback I’ve received on my previous posts.  While I want to keep my “audience”, I don’t want to bore everyone with a lengthy description of repeat visits to the same places with the expected (non)-results.

To keep myself motivated, I have a couple of projects above and beyond just listing the species I’ve encountered.  I am trying to visit new places on the island and I’m trying to get some nice pictures for use in future slide presentations.  Today, I’m presenting some of my favourite destinations and photos from the last week.

I joined in with the VNHS Saturday Morning Birding Group for part of their trip up Observatory Hill. Lots of great birds, including a much more cooperative Western Wood-pewee, Olive-sided Flycatcher, and the object of their attention here, a beautiful Western Tanager.

 

We weren’t even into June when I took this, but the signs of the end of the breeding season for some species is already evident.  This male Yellow-rumped Warbler is showing signs of wear and will soon molt his pretty spring wardrobe.

Word posted on the BCVIBIRDS Yahoo group of a Yellow-headed Blackbird at Buttertubs Marsh sent me flying north.  I found out en route that the sighting had actually occurred five days earlier. Needless to say, I didn’t find the blackbird, but I did observe Purple Martins nesting in the bird boxes at Buttertubs, apparently a first for the spot.  And I got to have a first for me, a visit to Jack Point and the Duke Point Ferry Terminal. From there, you look back towards the Nanaimo River Estuary.  A very different perspective and a place that I will visit again.  Follow the signs to Biggs Park and Jack Point to get to the parking lot.

From the ferry terminal parking lot, you can look across to Gabriola Island where Pelagic Cormorants are nesting.  With a scope, you can even make out the nests.  As I left the area, I just meandered down random streets and came across a building with about 20 ravens on the roof.  I stopped to get a photo and discovered about 100 more up in the rafters of this open building.  As soon as I got out of my car, the alarm was sounded and they took off, but they returned just as quickly when I left the area.  I was surprised to see such a large roosting flock so early in the year, but by their voices, I know that some of these were recently fledged.

I visited the Mill Bay/Cobble Hill a few times this week, looking for new spots and new birds. I found some wetlands and ponds, but sadly no new species.  It is fun, though, to just take random roads to see what’s there, or bring up Google satellite view on my phone and look for an interesting location from a birds eye view.

Bamberton Provincial Park is probably an underbirded location just a short drive from Victoria.  When I visited it this week, a class of elementary school students were celebrating the end of the school year with a beach seine.

Baby birds were in evidence everywhere.  From crows to hummingbirds, robins, juncos, finches and many others were just out of the nest or being tended to by their parents.

These responses can cause the body to release nitric oxide, an element that boosts blood circulation by not allowing the continuation of PDE5 enzyme’s ordine cialis on line activities. Whole life takes one discount for cialis http://robertrobb.com/congress-is-supposed-to-legislate-not-investigate/ hundred and eighty degree turn and it happens because of low libido or sexual drive, you are more likely to develop erection problems sooner than a man with happy mental health. Natural treatments for get viagra overnight liver repair There are two well know plants that will assist with self-repair * Silybum marianum [Milk Thistle]* Taraxacum officinale [Dandelion] Silybum marianum [Milk Thistle] This plant has been used to assist with a number of disorders affecting the temporomandibular joints, masticatory muscles and other tissues that are over two inches below the surface of your skin, which help flush the sore area and bring in. A most ideal approach to store in an viagra canada mastercard impermeable box. A trip to the Cowichan Bay dock area finally turned up a new bird for the year, a Red-Eyed Vireo in the usual location along the trail opposite the entrance to the dock road.  While I was there, I stuck around and walked the dike that reaches into the bay.  It provided some interesting photo ops.

At the entrance to the dike is a rustic home shared by humans and a few photogenic animals.

Over the course of the week, I visited Swan Lake, Mt Tolmie, Clover Point, Maber Flats, Mt. Newton, Buttertubs Marsh, Observatory Hill, Sandown Raceway, Charlton Pond, Saanichton Spit, Elk/Beaver Lake Park and many other places.  We are so lucky to live in such a beautiful place.  It’s such a pleasure to be able to just get out and enjoy the environment. Sometimes the birds are just an excuse.

 

 

Every year,  I say I will be better organized for the Baillie Birdathon.  And every  year, I seem to be less organized. And so it was last Thursday with only a few days left in May and my birdathon quest unfullfilled.

The Baillie Birdathon is an event organized by Bird Studies Canada where individuals and teams go out on any day (24 hour) in May to see as many species as they can.  Pledges are sought, and the proceeds go to BSC or are split between BSC and another nature-related charity.  Rocky Point Bird Observatory has been the beneficiary of some of these funds for many years. I’ve done my birdathons in Texas, Arkansas, Ontario and here on Vancouver Island.   Last year, I did a 24 hour blitz starting at 6 am one day and finishing at 6 am the next, scoring more than 100 species. Then I did a second, a “Big Sit” at Panama Flats where I birded from a 17 ft wide circle for about 6 hours.  This year, I opted for something in between–a big day on the grounds of Royal Roads University, Esquimalt Lagoon/Coburg Peninsula and the connecting routes.

I started out with a circumnavigation of the lagoon beginning at 5 am.  The Purple Martins were in fine form at the RRU dock.  We installed those boxes in 2000 and it took four years before the first nest was established.  It’s very gratifying to see such an active colony now.

Early birders Jody Wells and Rick Schortinghuis joined me for some of the trip, and later Kim Taylor jumped in for a portion of the route.  I’ve done this circle several times before for a Victoria Natural History Society field trip, but I went the opposite direction this time to take advantage of the habitat and the time of day. The route goes through a good variety of habitat, including old grown forest, open fields, residential developments, and of course brackish lagoon and ocean shores.  Most of it is easy going, but there are a few rocky sections on the RRU side between the lagoon bridge and the boathouse. The rough sections can be avoided by cutting through Belmont Park via the Cavendish property if you feel less sure-footed.  You definitely need to budget plenty of time, though.  There’s always lots to see.  Here are a few photos from the trek:

I approached this particular big day with less urgency than I might have.  I took time to watch the birds, not just tick them.  The herons were particularly interesting.  I counted 22 in the lagoon, including a number of recently fledged young.

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With a group, it typically takes 5 1/2 to 6 hours. I thought it would take less time with a smaller group and on my own. Turns out that wasn’t the case.  I think I perfected the art of dilly-dallying.  By the time that I was back at the dock, I had 63 species ticked.  Not bad for the end of May.

There were still a number of species missing, so for the next several hours, I looked in likely spots and picked up Common Yellowthroat, Yellow Warbler and Cliff Swallow.  The law of diminishing returns was evident.  By the time I was back at my van, it was almost 3 o’clock, and I’d been walking for about 10 hours and hadn’t even picked up 10 species in the last four hours.

My day was not fully “green” in that I took the van over to the Coburg Peninsula (grabbing a late lunch at Tim’s on the way) and took a much needed nap. When I woke up, I walked the lagoon side again, finally picking up a Common Loon and Belted Kingfisher.

I had hoped that the robins would reveal both Barred and Great Horned Owl at Royal Roads, but that hadn’t happened.  As the light faded, I headed back over to the campus and most likely spots to find the owls.  Unfortunately, neither the owls or their arch enemies, the robins, were going to give me any more checks for my list.  I finished the day with 74 species at 9 pm.

I intend to keep my perpetual promise to be better organized next year, so I’m going to start now.  If you are interested in joining the  Rocky Point Bird Obsevatory Baillie Birdathon team in 2016, send me a note now (or later).  That will put the pressure on me and potentially we could plan some cool events around the birdathon.  We’d love to have more participants, and of course, sponsors are also welcome.  This year’s team included Emma and Rebecca Reader-Lee. It’s not too late to sponsor any of us.  Just follow this link.

 

 

Tuesday morning, I attacked by land and sea, with a little help from my friends.  An early morning walk along the power lines near Francis King Park with Rick Schortinghuis, Andrew Harcombe and Kim Beardmore turned up a good assortment of birds, all of which were already on my list, as expected.  I keep hoping we’ll run into a Lazuli Bunting somewhere.  While they normally occur in small numbers each year, they seem to be getting more scarce.  So far, only one had been reported on the island this year, on May 6th at Uplands Park.  Or so I thought.  In checking eBird this morning, I see now that one was seen in Maple Bay on May 18.  Sure wish I’d known about it sooner.  I’m not sure why it didn’t show up on the eBird alert system, although in doing a bit of research, it may have originally been a misidentification (Western Bluebird).  In any case, I may need to make a trip to the Cowichan Valley real soon!  Willow Flycatchers were fitz-bewing in good numbers, and we even got decent looks at a MacGillivray’s Warbler.

But soon I was off on my real adventure for the day–a boat ride with Marilyn Lambert!  Our destination was the Oak Bay Islands, and our goal was an unusual shorebird or two. Access to these islands is restricted, but it was not our intention to go ashore in any case.

It was a perfect day for a boat ride. As we left Cattle Point, the water was like glass.  Rhinoceros Auklets and Harlequin Ducks popped up here and there, and although there were not a lot of birds, the looks were much better than you can get from shore.  There were lots of Harbour Seals in the water and resting on the islands.

 

No shorebirds were obvious, but as we approached one of the islets, a tattler-sized and shaped bird took off and flew and flew and flew.  While I feel 90% sure that’s what it was, I’m not adding it.  I’m still optimistic I will get one at the breakwater at some point this year. Good thing it wasn’t a Red Knot-sized and shaped bird! I’m truly worried about that one, particularly as Adrian Dorst has seen them just about every day this week in Tofino, and I haven’t gone back.

Pigeon Guillemots have to be one of my favourite seabirds, especially in breeding season.  They don a fresh tuxedo of black and white, strikingly different from their gray/white winter plumage. No cumberbunds, but they make up for it with bright red feet and mouth linings.

 

Although there were cormorants resting on the islets, the huge Double-crested Cormorant colony is gone.  What once was the second largest colony in the province with more than 500 pairs now just hosts empty nests and transient visitors.  The recovery of the Bald Eagle population has resulted in heavy predation of cormorants and gulls on these islands.  A few of the stacked cormorant nests are still visible from Oak Bay, and sometimes people mistake them for eagle nests, as the predators will boldly perch on top of them to look for their next kills.

 

There was a bit of a fish ball off the Victoria Golf Course and the feeders included a Common Murre.  Not so common this time of year.

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As I looked back to take a picture of Marilyn’s boat, a colour-coordinated Black Oystercatcher flew by.

The return trip didn’t yield any new birds for us, but it was a wonderful day on the water.  Almost makes me wish that I had a boat!

 

Wednesday started with a walk, supposedly up Mt. Newton, but thankfully a few blocks from home, I got a call from Jody Wells who had an interesting gull.  An opportunity to trade a hill for a beach.  I’m in!  It turned out to be a California Gull, but I’m happy to check out anything people feel is out of the ordinary.

In the afternoon, I headed to the Canadian Blood Services to make a donation.  This is something I’ve done since university, but the recent passing of Barry Gatten was a good reminder of how important it is for those who are able to do so.  Before his death, Barry underwent heart surgery and required a fair amount of blood, there for him because of the blood donor program.  Remember, it’s in you to give.

Next stop was Clover Point. Despite the lack of vegetation, Clover Point hosts a lot of rarities, from Lapland Longspurs to Snowy Owls, through out the year. There was nothing rare there on Wednesday, but I met a couple of birders from North Carolina who were visiting the area.  They’d seen my scope, so knew we were kindred spirits.

My last stop for the day was at Cattle Point, where three Harlequin males were feeding very close to shore.

 

The next few months will involve visiting a lot of hotspots frequently and hoping to be in the right place at the right time when a rarity shows up.  I’ll also be spending more time up-island to check out new places and maybe find a special birding location.   And maybe even a few birds!