Cowichan Valley Naturalists

On Sunday, November 8, the sea was smooth as glass with mist around Mount Tzouhalem. Dorothy and Eric Marshall, Gail Mitchell, Linda Hill, John Scull, Christina Cutbill, and Gord Allen counted on the south side of the Bay:
1 Great blue heron
1 Northwest crow
17 Double-crested cormorant
2 Mute swan
10 Bald eagle
3 Common goldeneye
46 Bufflehead
10 Hooded merganser
2 Glaucous wing gull
4 Thayer gull
26 Gull sp.
5 Horned grebe

A pleasant, overcast Sunday on November 8 found five birders, Daryl Johnson, Kurleen Wen, Bob Nation, Christine Gilbertson and Carol Hartwig happily surveying for the Coastal Bird Survey on Cowichan Estuary North-Khenipsen Road. The excellent visibility at high tide allowed the viewing of 20 species or 1505 seabirds including:
7 Horned Grebe
38 Double-crested Cormorant,
1 Great Blue Heron,
9 Canada Goose,
4 Trumpeter Swan,
324 Bufflehead,
90 American Wigeon,
2 Eurasian Wigeon,
102 Mallard
16 Common Merganser,
9 Hooded Merganzer,
7 Common Goldeneye,
715 unidentified Gull,
150 Mew Gull,
2 Western Gull,
9 Surf Scoter,
2 Common Raven,
4 Northwestern Crow,
13 Bald Eagle.
2 Belted Kingfisher,

We broke the ice so to speak with our first count of the season and the coldest morning of the fall. In total there were 9 people that took part, included in these was a visitor Margaret from Alberta who i hope enjoyed her day out with the counters.
We missed our good friends Deb and Christina, so if you find this weeks rendition lacking in fun things, now you know why.
This first count saw a great variety of raptors with more than usual Eagles for this early count and they were spread out over the whole area which made it nice. Good numbers of Geese were had with the majority being the common local mutts.
Lakes road had about 150 Canada Geese.
Before we had left the Somenos area we had our first Trumpeter Swan which was swimming out on the far side of the lake, 2 Pied-billed Grebes were seen and a few Double-crested Cormorants. Quist’s farm came next but not much was out there except good numbers of Common Ravens and Pigeons. Along Westholme Road we picked up some more Trumpeters with out first immature birds found, in total 8 birds were tallied, An accipiter sp. darted across behind a house, but it was just a flash and was gone.
Richards Trail was dead, even a common pussy cat that usually sits on the edge of weedy field was missing, we have been seeing this cat for several years now. The group will be pleased to know that this morning as I turned onto Richards Trail the moggie was sitting there in it’s spot.
It was onto Hwy 18 where a bunch of Canada Geese and a posing Red-tailed Hawk were had. It then went dead again, which I might add is common in these early counts as many bird have not moved south yet, but the big flocks will surely turn up in the next few weeks.
Time for our break at A&W and it was here that most of the excitement happened. First two immature Bald Eagles flew over then a bunch of Great White-fronted Geese headed towards Somenos Marsh. Then I saw one of our party come out of the Burger joint with a salad, my how times have changed. Too make matters worse the lettuce was so tough she had to get another person to hold the bowl while she tried to dissect this greenery, this all took so much time and some of the other participants were getting antsy, so I called the troops together and off we went, while the veggies were still being swallowed in the car.
We headed down Boy’s Road where a small group of Eagles got our attention, one particular adult bird hid in the long grass with just a head appearing now and again, which one of our party thought was grocery bag. Along Modeste Road a solitary Great Blue Heron had the fields to it’self, but he did not look happy.(photos thanks to Barry), Sahilton Road was next and we were treated to some nice looks at American Pipits, photo attached, (thanks to Barry). A few American Wigeon were out in the fields, but soon took off when we got out to get a few snaps.
Now over to the west side where sighting of the day was a giant field mushroom and it was all I could do to stop our driver from leaping the fence and harvesting this beauty. Dougans Flats gave us another group of 75 Canada Geese and a Northern Harrier that pounced on something way out in the field and then sat there motionless. St. Catherines Road was bare and it was up to me to pish out a few House Finchs.
Jim’s Pond was next and right where the poor goose with one wing was a Cackling Goose keeping it company, (Zan’s photo). these northerners are so friendly. Around on the crescent we had more Pied-billed Grebes and some handsome male Hooded Mergansers. Barry had spotted a hawk in the trees and after much huffing and puffing I came to the conclusion that it had to be a Adult Sharp-shinned Hawk, (photo by Barry) the small size giving away its identity, although I don’t think all participants were sure about this, heh i’m the boss. As I checked across the pond the familiar sight of a Wilson’s Snipe appeared and I set up the scope for all to see as this motionless bird kept one eye up checking on the hawk.
Cowichan Bay was next and we picked up 11 Mute Swans and 2 far off adult Trumpeters off the Dock Road, as we headed back to base the last bird on the Dock Road was a Northern Shrike that darted across the road never to be seen again.
Thanks to all who came out on this partly sunny again Wednesday, thanks to Zan for the chocolates which I thought were never going to be brought out and big thanks to Kurlene for her excellent driving skills which kept our group on the straight and narrow even when she was looking through her binoculars in third gear.
Until next week, take care.
Derrick

As I stood waiting for the crowds to turn up for our pre Swan and Goose count outing it suddenly dawned on me just a few minutes before 10am, that most people don’t like sunny warm Wednesdays watching birds, it was with this that 5 of us started out on our route. We had seen the Peregrine Falcon sitting high up over Barry’s house watching his feeder for him while he was away riding around.
Right off the bat I will say that we only saw 3 Mute Swans and less than 100 Canada Geese, but the rest of the beauties were a real treat.
First stop was down Drinkwater Road where we saw a group of Otters diving and playing out in the lake and a single Pied-billed Grebe, many Canadian Robins were feeding on the berries along the road and as we headed back to the vehicle a single Yellow-rumped Warbler worked the hedgerow.
It was then off up the highway to Quists Farm where a Red-tailed Hawk sat high up on the dead snag and a immature Northern Harrier coursed across the field, both an immature and adult Bald Eagle put in an appearance. The stars at this location was the numbers of Killdeer which were in a couple of the fields, just using my binoculars I counted just under 40 separate birds, they obviously like the sunny weather which shone over the farm.
We then worked our way around Richards Trail, but it was very slow for birds, but we did get another Red-tailed Hawk and a few sparrows.
Hwy 18 was next on the route and and another Red-tail and a adult Bald Eagle were added to our list, further along we had 3 Steller’s Jays, these hungry hippo’s have made a big influx into the valley this year and are eating me out of house and home at my feeders, good job Buckerfields have sunflower seeds on special this week.
At Drinkwater Road a large accipiter flew through the trees, my guess was a Coopers, but couldn’t be sure.
We had our usual break at A&W and one of our party just had to get some hot sweet smelling chicken which did upset me as my drooling caused a mess on my shirt.
Whether it was the smell of the chicken or what but our driver took it upon herself to bypass our route and go her own jolly way, but all was not lost as we doubled back around, only for her to go off the edge once again, this caused us to see our first of three Merlins for the day on Sahilton Road.
It then went slow again for our birds, but not our driver as she floored it and we were soon just off Lakeside Road for our next Merlin, this one caused mass panic for those who wanted to take photo’s as this little beauty sat up in the sun (picture thanks to Kurlene). The farmer was spreading some awful smelling liquid on his field and he was fast getting closer to my opened window, while the photohogs were still clicking, after much encouragement they got back in the vehicle and slid up the windows. Talking of hogs there were two little sweeties in this little pen complete with little pighouse to keep them dry  (picture thanks to Zan).
Of course this was all hogwash to a hardened Swan and Goose counter like me, so we pressed on to Koksilah Road in hopes of seeing another Peregrine on it’s favorite dead snag only to be confronted with another Merlin sitting there instead, add to this my local Merlin who was sitting high up in a fir when i got home this made four for me on the day.
We did Cowichan Bay where we added in our Mute Swans and then down to the Dock Road where among the large number of gulls washing and brushing up were 2 Bonapart’s Gulls in winter plumage.
Back along Tzouhalem Road we had an adult Bald Eagle, this species will start to come back in big numbers over the next few weeks as the salmon start to run.
That was it our day was done, big thanks to Kurlene for keeping us safe on the roads and to Bob, Barry and Zan for their good company, if it was not for them this trip would have been just all birds.
Until the real thing on Wednesday November 4th keep eating the leftover Turkey

Derrick

Eric, Dorothy, Gail, Linda, John, and guests Andrew and Isabelle Mitchell celebrated Thanksgiving Monday on the shore of Hecate Park. They counted:

12 Doubled-crested cormorant
2 Mute swan
230 American Wigeon
2 Bald Eagle
40 Unidentified Gull
1 Belted Kingfisher

John

A total of 10 species of waterbirds (600 birds) were observed on the North Side of Cowichan Bay at high tide at 5 PM
on October 12, 2015, an overcast rainy day by Kurlene Wenberg, Christine Gilbertson and Carol Hartwig.

Double-crested Cormorant 4
Great Blue Heron 1
Canada Goose 200
Mute Swan 3
American Widgeon 10
Mallard 13
Surf Scoter 6
Bald Eagle 1
Unidentified Gull 360
Belted Kingfisher 2

Carol

Dear members
9 birders had a great morning walk in the beautiful sunny weather along the sea front at Crofton. On our way there we stopped at Quist’s Farm where I think I was the only one to see a Western Meadowlark that was put up by a Common Raven. We made our second stop along Crofton Road where we looked out over the estuary and adjacent fields, not much to see except a large flock of Canada Geese. It was then onto the boardwalk at Crofton where things looked a little slow out on the water and I was beginning to wonder if this was not the time to visit, but we kept moving and our list of birds started to grow. A few sparrows here and there and a Spotted Towhee or two. A single Common Loon worked hard for some food underwater. A distant dead snag had a lump on it and with the add of the scope a Merlin showed to us all. After a nice walk we parked our bodies on a damp bench and waited for the birds to come to us, some distant Pelagic Cormorants sat with a couple of Double-crested on the large floating buoys out from the mill and then a single Black Oystercatcher came flying towards us only to veer off before getting too close. A small pack of Surf Scoters came scootering around and disappeared before many got to see them. A single California Gull took a while to get identified and a few Mew Gulls came in close. We moved up too a little park area at the end of the sea walk to check on some sparrows and we found a nice immature White-crowned Sparrow, Daryl heard a Pileated Woodpecker call and a few Stellers Jays came through along with a small flock of Chestnut-backed Chickadees. It was just then that the ladies brought my attention to a lump on another dead snag, don’t you just love dead snags ? The lump appeared to be very light and all sorts of good thoughts went through my mind, but I was not prepared for what I saw through the scope, sitting way up there was a Violet-green Swallow a wonderful late record and bird of the day for me. This year has seen many late Violet-greens around the valley, but this one is by far my latest ever for British Columbia. It sat up proud at the top of the snag taking in this wonderful weather for which we are being subjected too.
As we meandered back along the boardwalk a pair of Black Oystercatchers came in close and let some unsuspecting crows know that it was their bit of beach and gave them a few jabs to keep them clear and a chance for a couple of pictures for Barry.
Our last stop of the day saw us at the entrance to the road up to Crofton Lake where yours truly gave his rendition of a Barred Owl, which in turn for those that have any hearing left attracted a call from a Northern Pygmy Owl, I tried a few more times with my call until I started to get a bit croaky, but alas the little owl would not put in an appearance, mind you I did get the attention of at least 3 Red-breasted Sapsuckers so all was not lost.
That was it our day was done and we all headed home.

Big thanks to my 8 birding buddies who made this lovely fall day one to remember, until we meet again.

Derrick

Below is our list for the day any major errors are due to too much sun.

Canada Goose # 61
Mallard # 4
Surf Scoter # 6
Duck Sp. # 1
Common Loon # 1
Pelagic Cormorant # 11
Double-crested Cormorant # 6
Great Blue Heron # 4
Black Oystercatcher # 3
Mew Gull # 7
California Gull # 1
Glaucous-winged Gull # 22
Gull Sp. # 40
Rock Pigeon # 1
Northern Pygmy Owl # 1
Anna’s Hummingbird # 1
Red-breasted Sapsucker # 3
Northern Flicker # 2
Pileated Woodpecker # 1
Belted Kingfisher # 2
Merlin # 1
Stellers Jay # 7
Northwestern Crow # 7
Common Raven # 12
Violet-green Swallow # 1
Chestnut-backed Chickadee # 6
American Robin # 11
European Starling # 52
Fox Sparrow # 2
Dark-eyed Junco # 33
White- crowned Sparrow # 1
Golden-crowned Sparrow # 10
Song Sparrow # 2
Spotted Towhee # 3
Western Meadowlark # 1
House Sparrow # 11

Naturalist and birder Derrick Marven has created a new Bird List for the Cowichan Valley.  Click the link to download a printable pdf of the list.

A total of 8 species of waterbirds (111 birds) were observed on the North Side of Cowichan Bay at high tide at 6 PM
on September 13, 2015, a partly cloudy day by Daryl Johnson, Christine Gilbertson and Carol Hartwig.

Double-crested Cormorant 1
Great Blue Heron 8
Mute Swan 12
Mallard 3
Common Merganser 3
Osprey 3
Unidentified Gull 80
Belted Kingfisher 1

Total birds 111

On South Side:
by Bob Nation, Christina Cutbill, Carol Milo & Eric Marshall

Great Blue Heron – 2
Canada Geese – 80
Common Merganser 30
Unidentified duck – 1
Mew Gull – 11
Glaucous Winged gull – 14
Unidentified gull – 1
Northern Crow – 20
Osprey – 2

161 birds – 9 species

This morning the bay was very slow with not much to cheer about. A  few Purple Martins flew over Hecate Park and low over the water in reduced numbers were Barn Swallows which eeked out a living. Just a couple of Ring-billed Gulls were out on the mud and were closely watched by about a dozen Great Blue Herons. 4 Turkey Vultures were sat in some trees along Cowichan Bay Road and a large group of Band-tailed Pigeons flew over the road near senior Derrick’s place of abode. The Eurasian Collared Doves have took up residence right in downtown and I’m sure will be seen in a ever increasing numbers in years to come.
At the Cow Bay pub a sleeping reveler was propped up against a hydro pole with a Lucky can beside him, Irene was tempted to snatch the can as we passed, but I warned her to let sleeping drunks lie.

The highlight of this mornings birding was an adult Osprey who was down on one of the channels that was flowing out between the mud taking a bath, it was going under the water and then a big shake would take place to get rid of the excess water, this took place many times. As you know we are under water restrictions and are asked to bath with a friend or take a short shower, well this Osprey had no friend close by and took all of 15 minutes bathing while my other half collected some blackberries for afters. Where is Lori when you need to report an infraction of the by-laws.

I have been observing this little family of Chickadee’s as they visit my yard and I have noticed a strange occurrence. All day they will feed on sunflower seeds, crushed peanuts or the suet block, but first thing in the morning they will avoid all these tempting delicacies and concentrate on working their way around the trees and shrubs looking for bugs of some sort. I know that first thing in the morning small bugs and caterpillars would be cold and sluggish, but why do they avoid all those lovely treats that I put out for them, just maybe they need some good wholesome wild food first thing in the morning to build up their appetite?

The rain was nice while it lasted, but most of the Greater Puddles were gone this morning, with just a few immature left behind, hopefully we will see a second clutch before the end of the year.

Take care and have fun
Derrick

Not having been birding much of late I ventured down to the Dock Road in hopes that this lovely weather had brought down some shorebirds. Not many were seen but a few Least and a couple of Westerns and three Semi Plovers. There were some stars to be had though and topping the bill so to speak was a male Lesser Scuap possibly the first ever summer record for the bay, it was swimming with a scarce for the time of year female Common Goldeneye, these two were also accompanied by a female Hooded Merganser and a breeding plumage Horned Grebe, what a quartet they made as they swam across right in front of me.
I then got the old heart racing when through the bins I saw a very dark medium sized gull, I thought this was the year that I would get my first ever Heermanns Gull for the bay, sadly when the scope was raised it was a very dark 1st year California Gull, this is not the first time one of these blighters has conned me from a long distance. 1 Mew Gull looked out of place with nearly 50 Ring-billed Gulls and some nice adult California’s fresh in from afar.
Barn Swallows were in good attendance, but sadly most were adults and a single adult Cliff Swallow was amongst them.
Osprey are doing well with three visible nests with young, the adults fly over the house most days with trout from Quamichan Lake, so the young are eating well. 4 adult Bald Eagles kept watch while one was down chewing on a waterfowl species in the grass.
Dickie birds were almost non existent.

Another very rare sight this morning were Greater and Lesser Puddles, it has been many months since i have seen so many and a very welcome relieve it is to, things were getting scary here.

Derrick

Pale Swallowtail

Earth Day brought glorious sunshine to Cowichan Bay and the Cowichan Bay Dock Road, 22 species of humanoids turned out for this wonderful Wednesday. When all was said and done there were 38 species of birds seen and heard by the group. A bit slower than what I was expecting, that’s nature for you.
First of the year Brown-headed Cowbird was one of the first species seen and a group of Turkey Vultures drifted by, we slowly made our way along the dirt old railway bed where male Rufous Hummingbirds watched our every move, one even did a diving dance just to let us know that this was his turf and we were intruding. Orange-crowned Warbler gave out a song and a pair of Rufous-sided Towhees tried to out sing each other. A first of the year for most was a Pale Swallowtail butterfly that drifting between the crowd.
One of our members cruised the road in her vehicle after doing her earth day duties of picking up discarded food wrappers and goodness knows what else and spotted a Great Yellowlegs and Killdeer, but a marauding Bald Eagle came flying across just before we got there and scared all and sundry off out of sight.
A brief glimpse of a female Northern Pintail and a few Green-winged Teal were all that was left for us to admire. A group of local Mute Swans did a flyby and a resident Trumpeter Swan sat out on the mud. The last of the winters Buffleheads worked the river slowly drifting out into the estuary, they will soon be gone along with the only female Common Goldeneye seen. Both Gadwall and American Wigeon dabbled out in the wet mud.
One of the local Great Blue Herons came gliding along with a big branch in it’s bill, we can only guess that some nest rebuilding was going to take place at the local rookery.
A pair of Osprey put on a nice show, one flew out across the river while one paddled out on the mud and then sat up on a dwarf fir for us to admire. While we were watching the Osprey a couple of River Otters worked one of the tidal tributaries, but they did not stay up long for all to see. A single male Purple Martin drifted over and a few others were seen at the nest boxes out in the bay. Tree Swallows, not in big numbers flew back and forth.
We worked our way out to the new bridge and photos and chatter were had during our short rest.
The group finally worked it’s way back with a single Savannah Sparrow seen down in the grasses and a Marsh Wren that dived for cover before we could get a good look. A female Red-winged Blackbird worked it’s way along the edge of the mud and disappeared into a hole in the vegetation only to come out about two feet further around the corner.

Our day was done and what a splendid one it was, we were most fortunate to be on earth this day.

A full list of birds is below.

Derrick

Canada Goose
Mute Swan
Trumpeter Swan
Gadwall
American Wigeon
Mallard
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Bufflehead
Common Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Common Merganser
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Red-tailed Hawk
Killdeer
Great Yellowlegs
Mew Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Rock Pigeon
Rufous Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Northwestern Crow
Common Raven
Purple Martin
Tree Swallow
Marsh Wren
American Robin
European Starling
Orange-crowned Warbler
Spotted Towhee
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Red-winged Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird

The contents of this report contains mature subject matter viewer discretion is advised.

12 eager April fools turned up for our annual Swan and Goose counters annual days holiday up to the Nanaimo Estuary, three cars were loaded up and Zan who had been out on the tiles all night was picked up in Ladysmith.
Our first stop was the south end of Cassidy airport where we looked in vain for any Bluebirds, the best we could muster was a few White-crowned Sparrows and a long distance Savannah Sparrow. From here we went up past the terminal to an area which Vesper Sparrow once roamed, but again we failed miserably. A big consolation prize was a very flighty Western Meadowlark that played hide and seek along a devastated ditch that was once home to some wonderful row of trees, it appears airports will no longer allow trees to brighten up the surrounding green-space. A Killdeer played out on the manicured grass. A few swallows were on the hydro lines and a couple of Turkey Vultures drifted over the west side of the highway. Daryl had a Yellow-rumped Warbler sing and some Evening Grosbeaks flew over, well I think it was here, the old mind is playing tricks again. Next stop was long Haslam Road which is on the north end of the airport and it was here that our past Swan counting proficiency came into play as in the field was a adult and two immature Trumpeter Swans, what a treat for our holiday.
Several times the girls tried a April fools joke on me, but I was ready for their shenanigans, they have to be much faster than that to catch this limey.
Nanaimo Estuary was next and here I must say the weather was rather pleasant so I threw off the coat and headed out to the viewing platform. A few Common Merganser flew over and out at the mouth of the river a Belted Kingfisher sat up on a dead snag. White and Golden-crowned Sparrows sat in the trees and brambles and a Greater Yellowlegs called from the river, we sent Daryl off in search of this early migrant shorebird, but she couldn’t find it. Another Belted Kingfisher sat still for about 2 seconds before it took off up river and way out in the marsh we had our second Western Meadowlark, it was way off and the heat haze made it hard to see any colors on the bird. Swallows flew back and forth but only two species Tree and Violet-green were seen. A very dark first year Bald Eagle flew up river and another adult stirred up the Gulls out on the gravel bars.
The only birds that I could see out across the fields was a single Great Blue Heron and a multitude of Common Ravens.
As we departed the viewing platform one of the ladies held back and I thought I should check on her, to make sure all was well, well she wanted to have a pee and so did I, so I said I would go one side of the platform and she could go the other. This worked out well as I was on the side where the photographers that were in attendance could not get their big zooms on what I was up to.
As is the norm the group heads to the Crow and Gate pub for lunch, so a lazy ride back along the road had us there just in time to beat the mid-day rush, there were no Black Swans to look at, but one sleeping duck showed good colors for Black Duck, but one has to be very careful as many hybrids have been seen here, so this one was left to enjoy the company of its Muscovy buddy.
We all had a wonderful meal and some of us partook in a fizzy or two, who would have thought that one of the ladies could out drink me on a pint.
After luncheon we slowly headed back along Yellow-point Road letting our meals slowly settle and a couple of more stops were made looking for ducks; Northern Shoveller, Northern Pintail and Green-winged Teal were added to the days total. The dark clouds were starting to move in and the first few drops of rain started to fall as we hit the south end of the airport for one last look. It was here that my bladder was getting the better of me, must have been that second pint that Eric treated me to and so I asked Barry to drop me off so that I could nip up behind trailer, but the girls full of giggles and laughter had other ideas and they wanted to hold my hand, I informed them that I

was just going to speak to the local bunny population about what they were going to do at Easter.
That was it the rain started in earnest and our wonderful day was over, we finished the day with about 52 species which i have listed below, thanks to Daryl’s wonderful list keeping.

Canada Geese
Trumpeter Swans (3)
Mute Swans
Mallards
Northern Shovelers
Northern Pintail
Green-winged Teal
Ring-necked Duck
Bufflehead
Hooded Merganser
Double-crested Cormorant
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Bald Eagles
Northern Harrier
Red-tailed Hawk
Killdeer
Greater Yellowlegs
Mew Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Rock Pigeons
Eurasian Collared Dove
Rufous Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Red-breasted Sapsucker
Northern Flicker
Steller’s Jay
Northwestern Crow
Northern Raven
Tree Swallows
Violet-green Swallows
Chestnut-backed Chickadees
Bushtits
Red-breasted Nuthatch
Pacific Wren
Marsh Wren
Bewick’s Wren
American Robin
European Starling
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Spotted Towhee
Savannah Sparrow
Song Sparrows
White-crowned Sparrows
Golden-crowned Sparrows
Dark-eyed Juncos
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Brewer’s Blackbird
Purple Finch
House Finch
Evening Grosbeaks
House Sparrow

Happy Easter and keep on looking.
Derrick

Just like life all things have to come to an end and so endeth the 6th season of the swan and goose count. Like Downton Abbey, will we be back next season? Only time will tell. The lord of the manor is not getting any younger and as for the dowager duchess, she seems to just keep on going even though she is entering her senior years. We need the young blood to take over the estate and look after the herds of birds.
This years crew has done an amazing job with wonderful photos, good humour and a knack for spotting things that I seem to have missed. The driving duties have been wonderful with great competence under sometimes adverse conditions by those that took the wheel. Special mention to Christina, Kurlene and Eric, you done us proud. Then there is the lady behind the numbers Dorothy who week after week made sense of all the numbers shouted at her, without her we would not be able to remember all the totals.
Let’s not forget the birds and animals that have treated us week after week, some wonderful views and sights has made this season one to remember. The swans appear to have rebounded from the slight lows of the past two seasons and what a wonderful sight to see so many immatures this year. What a treat it was to see the Sandhill Crane that appears to have followed us around the valley, the Short-eared Owl that waited to going home time before putting in an appearance. Who could forget nearly 200 Bald Eagles in and around the field on Boy’s Road. The many other little feathered things that brought us joy this season we thank you. Those lovely Elk that showed us what a great place we have here in the valley, where birds and animals come to rest through the winter before heading back off to the breeding grounds. We must keep fighting to protect what we have here.

The weather person finally caught up with us today and got revenge for all those lovely Wednesdays we had this season; I was hoping that he/she could be wrong just one last time but it weren’t to be. See how politically correct I’m getting, this comes with spending too much time with the ladies on the count. Is their such a thing as a male weather person anymore. Yes, that little fellow on Chek 6, I just remembered.
Today’s count went as expected with a major reduction in numbers as most Swans and Geese have left the area, just under 70 Trumpeter Swans, funnily enough there are not many times we have more immature than adults and 160 Canada Geese were tallied. It seemed like we were never going to see many birds until we hit Quist’s Farm where a nice group of 27 swans were had. On Boy’s Road a single swan was way down the fields and possibly could be injured as it has been there a few days now, will have to keep a watch on this fellow. Also at this location was a breeding plumage Dunlin who looked so small next to a Killdeer which did create a problem for some who could not find the Killdeer.
The Red-tailed Hawks have most certainly got the spring fever as a pair which at first we thought were fighting ended up copulating, such is love in the world today. Down Sahilton Road I saw a pair of Greater Yellowlegs dive down into the field, but they must have gone down some burrows as they completely disappeared, also a American Pipit flew up from the side of the road, but it was gone in a flash and I was left to protect my bird identification skills to those that missed the birds.
A few more swans at both Dougan’s Flats and St. Catherine’s Road added to our total and along the Dock Road 1 Trumpeter and 9 Mute Swans, that was it for our count birds.
This weeks count did not go without a bit of excitement as when we reached Jim’s Pond a bird was seen fluttering on the far bank and then totally disappeared. I could just make out where the bird was but most of the crew were having a hard time, so I brought out the scope in hopes of showing what was now identified as a Wilson’s Snipe. My scope which is not the best at any time had been waterlogged since our trip up to Parksville, so was not performing to it’s best potential but after many agonizing minutes all but one of us had seen the bird as it hunkered down about a hundred yards away, then suddenly it started to move and preen and the last of our group finally got the bird. Everybody was happy.

That is it for this seasons count, thanks to all those who came out at different times and to all you who thought about it, you don’t know what you’re missing.

Derrick

This week saw 8 counters head out in 2 vehicles and we put all the girls in together and Barry who needed some tender care after a couple of weeks with the girls came in with myself and the Marshalls.
It had to happen sooner or later and a dramatic change occurred as more than 2/3rds of the swans must have departed over the last couple of days and our numbers dropped to just 288 with of these there were 108 immature birds who are now becoming harder to tell as their winter coats slowly turn white. Goose numbers continued at the normal average with just under 600 birds scattered around the valley, we did see many pairs setting up shop for the upcoming breeding season. Just 2 Mute Swans were had this week out on Somenos Lake, they too have started to mate up for the spring festivities.
Somenos Lake still had a few Ruddy Ducks, but the highlight was seeing a fresh Yellow-rumped Warbler of the Audubon’s race low down in the trees beside the boardwalk on Drinkwater Road (picture attached).
There are two races of this species that come through our area the other being mrtyle which tend to come about two to three weeks later, one has to watch out for hybrids as they can be a little confusing.
Our raptor count took a bit of a drop with adult eagles dropping down to just 11 birds and the immature down to 5. This is to be expected as there are lots of birds moving north and west for fishing and breeding.
The Harbor Seal was spotted again in Somenos Lake (photo attached) which came very close to the viewing area, not sure if it was counting us or not, but it seems to have made a home of the lake, sure hope it takes off back down the creek soon or the poor fisherman will have a hard time this coming spring of catching a trout or two.
The Sandhill Crane was again spotted, this time on Dougan’s Flats, this is the fifth location that we have encountered it this season. It appears he is running out of buddies and will have to make a decision soon on what he is going to do. I have called it a he as I think it is time to call him Simon, but it could well be a Susan.
Dougan’s Flats held the largest groups of birds this week with Somenos Lake second and St.Catherine’s Drive third.
We failed to have any of the swans close enough to check for bands or food balls in their throats, but most birds looked a little plump, so they will leave the valley well fed and we hope that they tell all their buddies what wonderful hospitality there is to be had in the Cowichan Valley and that there was only a couple of times that the nastier inhabitants chased them off.
The girls who once again lagged way behind had a nice find when they found a pair of Great Yellowlegs on Sahilton Road, these early migrants are to be expected in the middle of March before the real push starts. The girls did let us get way out in front before relaying their message over a very crackly walkie-talkie, we forgive them for this as they took a nice picture (atached) for confirmation. I do require this from them as they tend to make up things just to upset me.
Our day was done and with just one more count remaining we can only hope that we have something to put on the sheet next week.

Keep on looking.

Derrick

It nearly got us, but the rain moved around the 5+5 birders that took part in the count this week, I say 5+5 because only 5 left the dog park, 4 were found at A&W and one hitched a ride at the farmers market south of town, what a crew I have too work with. Yes it was nice to have you out with us Genevieve, but alas, late comers get stuck in the middle of the back seat.
This week we had almost an identical number of swans as last week and the gooseys went up 100 or so.
We encountered 4 Turkey Vultures this week, new migrants, some more Anna’s Hummingbirds, a Horned Grebe on Somenos Lake was a good find. Tree Swallows tending a nest hole at the foot of Drinkwater Road, a Pileated Woodpecker (see attachment) on a dead snag on Koksilah Road and a lovely Red-breast Sapsucker on Tom Windsor Drive. We had the Sandhill Crane on Sahilton Road and one of the counters had the American Kestrel at the Exhibition Grounds, you see we are not all about counting. 4 Mute Swans were back on Somenos Lake and I guess it wont be long before they start their annual breeding somewhere around the lake.
We had great looks at two Tundra Swans this week and a strange encounter with a couple of Trumpeters with pouches under their bills (see attachment), I can honestly say I have never seen this before and we had two the same. Any thoughts on this strange lump would be welcomed.
Another oddity is the number of immature Bald Eagles for the fourth straight week we had 6 and for the seventh straight week an average of 6, I think they look out for us and then leap up in the trees to be counted.
In the vehicle that I was in we had three photographers in the back and the number of times I had a zoom stuffed in the back of my neck, I also thought they were going to come to blows as one after another they jostled their lens out of the window, Wendy seemed intent of stopping Barry getting his big zoom out the window, poor fellow stuck in between the ladies, I was even accused of having my big head in the way, well excuse me, but I was the one counting and this week doing the tally as the part-timers got out of the job.
At the end of the day we had all had good looks at some wonderful birds and our numbers were very respectable.
The majority of the swans were in the south end of the count circle, but it was nice to see a group back on Quist’s farm, not that the farmer would be pleased.
We are now on the home stretch with just two more counts to go, it will be sad to see the swans go as they all move north, yet there will be many new species of birds to take their place as spring migration is just around the corner, or has it started already, I have a male Rufous Hummingbird regularly visiting my feeder and Yellow-rumped Warblers are resplendent in the bright spring plumage in the local birding spots.

We were reminded by a member of the local first nations band about the disturbance of swans in the Boys-Sahilton Road areas as a few swans had flown up and hit the hydro wires, I would encourage anybody taking pictures or watching the birds to stay in your vehicle as this serves as a great bird blind and will not frighten the birds and their safety has to come first..

With all this wonderful weather we are getting you would think that this would be a precursor for our swans to leave early, well it is obvious with the numbers that we are getting that it’s not the weather that excites these big white birds to head north. Could it be that they have to reach a certain weight before they can leave or maybe that the immature birds are strong and healthy to live on their own when they get north. I guess we will never know what triggers them to leave and which one of the 800 or so swans here in the valley makes that decision, is it a team effort?

Big thanks to Barry and Kurlene for their excellent photos

Happy counting.
Derrick