Bright and sharp at 7 AM on Sunday, May 8, Daryl Johnson, Bob Nation, Christine Gilbertson and Carol Hartwig trained their binoculars and spotting scopes on the northern portion of Cowichan Estuary for the Coastal Bird Survey. A total of 163 birds from 14 species were observed on a very calm Bay with excellent visibility on an overcast day at high tide:
10 Great Blue Heron, 13 Canada Goose,8 Mute Swan, 12 Bufflehead, 2 Common Goldeneye, 44 Common Merganser, 55 Glaucous-winged Gull, 2 Osprey, 2 Black Oystercatcher, 1 Belted Kingfisher, 9 Purple Martin, 1 Bald Eagle, 3 Northwestern Crow, 1 Common Raven
Meanwhile, on the south side of the Cowichan Estuary, Laurie Vasey, John Scull, and Barry Hetchco counted:
20 Surf Scoter, 11 Great Blue Heron, 2 Double-crested Cormorant, 1 Mute Swan, 1 Bald Eagle, 4 gull sp., 4 Northwestern Crow, 11Glaucous-winged Gull, 1 Belted Kingfisher, 6 Osprey, 30 Common Merganser, 4 duck sp.
plus many purple martin, a mink, and a river otter