Cowichan Valley Naturalists

Hi Birders
Two carloads of festive birders headed out this week in warm but dull weather, I was hoping that our numbers of swans would increase and I was not disappointed as we had over 400 Trumpeters. What was surprising was the number of immature which went way up, with a ratio of over 30% against adults. This is the best showing we’ve had for some time. Our Goose numbers went up again with several big flocks with the majority being in the Somenos area and the north end of our count.
Before we started off the walkie-talkies were handed out and it was not long before I was on the mike letting the following car know about a adult Northern Shrike at the rest stop near the DU pond. From here we headed down to Somenos Lake and as soon as we got out of the car I asked if everyone saw the Shrike, they exclaimed what Shrike; well it appears that if you don’t turn on the walkie-talkie you will not hear my lovely birding voice relaying my wonderful observations.
Meanwhile out on the lake a few Ruddy Ducks were had and many Double-crested Cormorants rested over the far side. From here it was on to Quists Farm where we could see some swans down on the Westholme side. A large group of geese were seen along with some elusive Killdeer which hunkered down as a Bald Eagle flew overhead. Along Westholme we manged to chalk up just under 20 swans and along Richards Trail another 36 were added, the number of ducks along the know flooded fields was tremendous and as long as the hunters stay clear we should get good numbers hanging around for our Christmas count.
This week we finally caught up with the Canada Goose with the white neck collar and got it’s full number O99T, I have not heard back yet but I’m sure it was banded at the Parksville community area, this bird has now been around in the same location for several weeks, so it didn’t go far once it arrived.
After our break we headed down Boys/Sahilton roads where we had many Eagles and Red-tailed Hawks which this week reached 10 in total for the whole area. Many Trumpeters were seen and we ended up with over 200. The group in the following car who had now found the wonders of the walkie-talkie let us know that the lead car had passed a pair of Red-breast Sapsuckers, we of course were counting swans on the other side of the road and were not looking for woodpeckers. A nice male Eurasian Wigeon was spotted in a flooded field and through the scope most got good views of the annual visitor.
Once again we were unable to find many swans on the west side of town although a small group of 20 on the corn fields made for close examination, a few more Eagles were tallied before we got to Bench Road where the swans were once again way down the field after much eye watering looking through the scope I counted over 100 birds with over 60 Canada Geese. Dougans Flats had a handful more swans but that was it until the Dock Road. In Cowichan Bay we had a nice pair of female Greater Scaup and a Horned Grebe, the following group who were now lagging way behind got woody, the roosting Great Horned Owl, and further down the road a nice Peregrine Falcon which sat high up in a fir tree.
Along the Dock Road we failed to find much except a few Bald Eagles until we started to leave when a pair of Northern Harriers came over the road; rare to see two together so high in the sky doing their familiar flap and glide flight.
That was it we were done and it was time to call it a day, a nice total of birds and a great troop of watchers who can now get on with Christmas without worrying about birds, well maybe one who will need some tending before being eaten.

I wish you all a great holiday and we will resume the search in 2015.

Derrick

South side of the Bay
Partly cloudy, calm, no rain.
No boat activity. Few walkers with dogs.

Eight counters: Janice Creed; Melanie Circle; Michael Mascall; Hilary Abbott; Alison Perry and Katie Smith from Victoria; Robin Lawson and Gail Mitchell.

80 Bufflehead; 30 Common Goldeneye; 2 Barrow’s Goldeneye; 6 Doublecrested Cormorant; 3 Western Grebe; 3 Horned Grebe; 4 Hooded Mergansers; 8 Surf Scoters; 10 Glaucous winged Gulls; 1 Mew Gull; 1 Thayer’s Gull; 3 Unidentified Gulls; 2 Greater Scaup; 2 Bald Eagles; 3 Belted Kingfishers.

Gail

On the north side of Cowichan Bay, fourteen species of waterbirds were observed by Bob & Helen Nation, Kurlene Wenberg, Christine Gilbertson and Carol Hartwig:
Double-crested Cormorant 47
Horned Grebe 1
Trumpter Swan 13
American Widgeon 50
Mallard 47
Surf Scoter 4
Common Goldeneye 123
Buffleheads 198
Hooded Merganzer 1
Common Merganzer 2
Bald Eagle 9
Great Blue Heron 2
Unidentified Gull 177
Horned Grebe 1
Sandhill Crane 1
Total birds 675

Hi Birders
We wondered when the weather man would finally catch up with us on a Wednesday and today he finally caught us, so 8 counters set out in wet conditions and it appears that some birds like it wet and some not so much. The number of Canada Geese took a nose dive this week and fell way below a 1000, whilst the Trumpeter’s seemed to like this weather and increased. We worked our way north with not much happening around Somenos except a nice Golden-crowned Kinglet that greeted us at the foot of Drinkwater Road. Then at Quist’s Farm the fields were full of gulls and not much else, although about 15-20 Killdeer were hunkered down in the muddy field. Around on Westholme Road we got a few swans, some very close to the road for nice viewing. Richard’s Trail now mostly flooded turned up many waterfowl with good number of swans and geese and large quantities of duckies. The Sparrows in the bramble patches decided it was best to stay down and try to keep dry. We moved on to Herd Road where I was sent out into the rain to count some geese and I was rewarded with several Dusky Canada Geese which I kept to myself as I didn’t want the troops getting all wet.
We then headed down to the Hwy 18 park and ride where for the second week running we found a small herd of Elk, this time they put on a wonderful show for us, with nice clear looks for all to admire. Barry Hetschko has allowed me to show a picture of the Elk which has been attached to this report. Further on up the road we got to see two fields full of gulls, i think i was the only one enthused by this sight and has much as I tried I could not find anything out of the ordinary.
With not much else to count in the north end it was time to go to A&W for a snack, once again we found Bob who I fear spends much to much time in bed as he doesn’t seem to get going until after 11:30.
The counters were fed and watered and so it was off to Boy’s Road where again things were slow, just a few eagles this week and no swans, we crossed over to Sahilton Road and picked up a few Red-tailed Hawks and a Northern Harrier. Northern Pintail and Northern Shoveller splashed away in the flood and a pair of Gadwall thought this was a good idea also and showed their nice white flash in their wings.
It was on Sahilton Road that the star of the day showed for us, as we slowly drove down the road I noticed this large lump sitting on a fallen branch and gestured to Kurlene to stop. Here sitting right in front of us soaking wet was a lovely cock Pheasant, I quickly relayed a message back to Dorothy in the following car on the walkie-talkie. Barry was out like a shot and managed to get a wonderful shot of this prize which sat proud beside the road. Once again Barry has allowed me to attach his memento of day for you all to see, a wonderful shot.
We moved on over to the west side of town but if it was not for a few Bald Eagles and a small group of swans we would have got skunked.
Bench Road was next and about 30 swans sat out in the field, but we were unable to find the Sandhill Crane that had been at this location for a few days, it could have been there sitting out of view, I did check today Thursday, but failed once again.
Dougans Flats held some geese but no swans, even the deer which are seen here had moved back into the forest to stay dry. At the south end of the flats I spotted a white blob sitting on a dead snag and through the scope spied a adult Northern Shrike but sadly it flew down out of sight before all the party could see it.
On we went with not much seen all the way down into Cowichan Bay, the water levels were still coming up and fields were getting saturated. A smidgin of Trumpeters Swans were seen from the Dock Road, but most of the ducks that have been feeding on eggs and salmon out in the estuary have now left the bay with just maybe 500 birds, mostly Bufflehead and Common Goldeneye.
We did stop at the Cowichan River bridge as I had spotted some swans in a field the day before and they were once again out feeding at this location. Lot’s of Bald Eagles sat up in the trees along Tzouhalem Road which added many to our total for the day.
The days count ended and we had just over 270 Trumpeter Swans, not bad for such a wet day.
Thanks to Kurlene and Eric for doing the driving a task not easily accomplished in this weather and to my fellow counters, we made it through the storm.

Derrick

Hi Birders
Sorry for the delay in my report but we have uninvited birding guests turn up from Ontario. I have been commandeered into housework, I thought I was exempt.
Anyhow the count went off very well with record numbers of counters this week, 10 and half people (Dorothy’s numbers) in three cars set out on this the last sunny day until March.
One of the drivers did manage to dump one counter but then found Bob enjoying two for one Muffins at A&W. So we took pity on him, and dragged him along for the ride
This week I had set a few mistakes once again to try and catch out the counters who weren’t paying attention, firstly a piece of wood looking like a adult Bald Eagle which they soon corrected me on and then a Red-tailed Hawk that showed more like a Raven than a Buteo. This got the attention of the counters who then did not believe a word I told them.
I had mentioned as we drove around to our new guy Gordon that the swan numbers were a bit slow this year, well to put things straight last year on the corresponding count we had 213 swans and this year we had 211, so go figure. The immatures have certainly put on a good show this year with very high percentage against adults, Ido hope this continues through the season.
By the way Gordon your duck is a Ruddy Shellduck an introduced species in Italy and seen several times in the Cowichan Valley also.
The Snow Goose put in an appearance again this week, it has now been seen in three different locations, so the goose population is spreading it around the valley. The numbers of geese were up again this week with three big flocks being located.
Many Killdeer were had with most hiding under the wings of the geese and moving with the geese across the field, I guess it is a safe place to hide away from the prying eyes of those who would fancy a plover snack. One lonely Killdeer sat on a log in Cowichan Bay and managed to get his picture taken, he didn’t stay lonely for long as just as we were about to leave a second bird flew in and landed right beside him for company.
We did have a Northern Harrier glide out over Somenos Lake and a few Bald Eagles had returned to Boy’s Road after making me look silly last week in front of my wife.
A very strange sight this week was a Bald Eagle that made some funny flight moves over the fields on Koksilah Road west, Eric stopped the car immediately on my command and we watched as this Eagle glided across and came at us, after a couple of loops we realized that what we were looking at was a remote controlled plane shaped like a Bald Eagle, amazing thing; Iwondered if it was to be used to chase geese and ducks and swans out of the farmers field; it had us fooled for a minute or so.
We were treated to some misty looks at some Elk this week with a single bull herding his girlfriends into the woods out of sight from prying eyes.
Once again we did well for Red-tailed Hawks, but this week only one far off Coopers Hawk was had. It was while viewing this bird that I set about another bird identification quiz. About 2KM across the field I pointed out to the group a bush and asked them I they could see the bird on top of it, most couldn’t even see the bush let alone the Chickadee, the group just laughed at me and so we headed off to our next location.
We did lack ducks this week with nothing of note, although a nice look at a Surf Scoter was had off the Dock Road.
Wilmott Road came through with large numbers of Geese and this group had about 35 Cacklers in with them. As I walked down the road a Wilson’s Snipe landed in the ditch in front of me and then took off again down the road, the counters had seen it pass by them.
Looking back over the last couple of seasons we are just about on target although less adult swans that we are used to; there appears to be less food source for the birds around the valley than in previous years, but this is all conjecture.
A great day was had by all of us and the weather once again on a Wednesday did not disappoint. The numbers of birds was good and the positive attitude and general good humour of our group was wonderful.
See you all next week.
Derrick

“WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY & BLACK THURSDAY”
Hi Birders
Today was one of those days that dreams are made of. 9 participants set out to count this week with two new counters and one old counter making his season debut.
Things started very slow with the usual spots having a smattering of geese, our first Trumpeters were found at Somenos Lake, just 4 over in the far corner, there were not many ducks out on the water, but a pair of Lesser Scaup paddled away from us as we scanned the far shore. A few Common and Hooded Mergansers dove for food and a single Pied-billed Grebe played hide and seek behind the Forest Museum.
Quist’s Farm had good number of Canada Geese and right in the middle was a immature Snow Goose who seemed to upset the Common Ravens as they picked on it and dive bombed the poor bird a few times. This was reminiscent of the way the Ravens treated the Golden Eagle last season, I guess if you look different you must be fair game and the Ravens take full advantage of this.
We headed along to Westholme Road where we picked up another 24 swans out in the flooded fields and then off down Richards Trail where 6 more were added and a ton of geese.
I kept hearing this clicking noise from behind me and it took a while until I discovered it was Barry firing off his camera out of the window, it is good to have some photographers along as we need some verification at times of what we are looking at, this came into play on Drinkwater Road as I sent senior Derrick across the road to count some geese. I had spotted this immature Bald Eagle in the tree and relayed the message to the others cars, but as I got out a message came back saying it was a Red-tailed Hawk, well can you believe it in the short time that it took me to get out of the truck these two birds had swapped places. The others questioned this and accused me of making a mistake in identification, well would I?
We pulled away and I kept my head down when Barry shouted that there were some small sandpiper type birds in the field, so we turned around and checked and there were few rocks scattered around, I thought just a mistake by a newbie with a camera. He insisted we go a bit further back and it was then that we spotted a group of Killdeer hunkered down in the field, there were at least 12 in a tight group taking in the nice Cowichan weather. Barry had made his mark and we didn’t question his sightings again. The other newbie was Janice who also was good at spotting birds and brought along some nice Cinnamon Buns for lunch, she can come again.
As you know last week we found some swans and a good number of Eagles down Boy’s Road, so this was our next stop. Who could imagine what was in store for us this was truly “Wonderful Wednesday” as we were treated to an amazing number of Eagles nearly 200 were counted with I’m sure the same numbers back in the trees that we couldn’t see, birds were all over the trees and down on the ground, just great to see so many, one can only assume that with the rivers running wild all the old salmon carcasses had been washed down river and the birds had turned up for the feast.

This is where my tale turns, senior Derrick had seemed to have forgotten the route and on several occasions took us along new pastures, this in turn made us very late and when I got home ‘she who must be obeyed” questioned me as to where I had been to this late hour, I explained that there so many eagles that it took a long time to count them all and that the other participants wouldn’t leave when requested. I could tell from past experience that the only way to convince my other half would be to take her down Boys Road the next day to see this great sight. Eric had posted a note to the web telling everyone to go down and see this spectacle, so I did expect to see a few birders there, but there was no

one and worse than that there were no eagles either, not a one, I could feel the knife entering my side as I pulled away and those eyes of disbelieve were penetrating the side of my head.
It was truly “Black Thursday”

I’m getting a little carried away here down in the basement, so best get back to the count.
Bench Road came through with our best numbers of swans for the day with just under 100 to delight the counters and 400 geese to keep us company, from here on in it was mainly geese and a few raptors that kept the tally sheets going and we hit the Dock Road where we managed to hit a few more swans.
Once again senior Derrick took us off the beaten track and headed down Khenipson Road where much to his delight we found more eagles and a smattering of swans.

Our day was over and I’m sure everyone involved had a wonderful time, I know I did.
There will I doubt never be another day when the Eagles will beat the Swans 268 – 161, but then the raptors are on a roll.

Have fun and see you next week.

Derrick

Hi birders
Our second count of the season was a very slow affair, just four of us took part this week, myself, the Swarovski sisters and Deb. Although there was much to talk about on many items in the vehicle, which i have to say was admirably driven by Christina, nothing appears to have caught my ear so no juicy bits of information.

As usual around Somenos we had many Geese and up near the Forest Museum pond we saw our first two migrant Trumpeter Swans. Somenos Lake had about 10 Ruddy Ducks and a good bunch of geese. It was hard with the wind to look through the scope as the tears run down my cheeks. It was time to get back in the warmth of the vehicle and head north. A couple of Bald Eagles were added, but it was not a good day for our raptor birds, guess they were all back hiding in the trees.

We hit Quist’s Farm and were treated to more new arrivals of swans, with a score of them in the field 16 adults and 4 immature. 3 more swans were had along Westholme Road before we headed off down Richards Trail. 30 more swans were counted although with the birds keeping close to the hedgerow we had to count them from the far east end of the valley, not the best of views

It was not easy to see most birds out in the fields because of all the John Koury for mayor signs which have sprang up all over North Cowichan. It amazes me how someone who preaches fiscal restraint can spend thousands of dollars advertising to reign over the smurfs of Cowichan.

Back onto the trail we had a nice group of geese along Hwy 18 and then we hit the wall as it really dried up, we were sidetracked along Sahilton Road by Hydro crews as the windstorm had decimated the lines along the road, but once we got around the lads we had a wonderful closeup look at a adult Coopers Hawk.

From here around to Dougans Flats we were bird-less and it was only by chance that i spotted 3 more trumpeters hiding down in the grass and 250 geese trying to be invisible behind some Cedar trees.

I have to admit we were suffering and all our spots lacked any feathers let alone a bird, so around to the Dock Road we found our selves where 3 more Trumpeters were seen and only 2 of these I think were migrants the other being the resident bird. We could not find any Mute Swans, i think they must have been up Khenipson creek keeping out of the wind. Dave Aldcroft reports a good group of over 20 down in Mill Bay and the next day I had the family group with 6 immatures along the Dock Road in Cowichan Bay, so you see it is a real hit and miss and choose the wrong day and you can get skunked.

I am sorry for the delay in my report but I have only just been allowed back upstairs to retrieve my laptop, I must remember not to accept gifts from lady birders.

That’s it folks a slow day with better ones to come

Derrick

South Side:
Birders: Gail Mitchell, Robin Lawson, Christina Cutbill, Linda Hill, John Scull, Myra and Pat Micek.

It was raining at the beginning but it soon cleared and we were treated to a beautiful display of clouds, mist, and sun. We saw
1 Horned Grebe
4 Red-necked Grebes
11 Double-crested Cormorants
82 Buffleheads
2 Common Goldeneyes
2 Hooded Mergansers
1 Bald Eagle
14 Glaucous-winged Gulls
2 Belted Kindfishers
4 Northwestern Crows

We also saw Spotted Towhees, Dark-eyed Juncos, Harbour Seals, and a Stellars Sea Lion.

The results of all our counts may be viewed at http://www.cowichanestuary.ca/wildlife/birds/bc-coastal-waterbird-survey/

There was shooting going on at Dinsdale Farm and decoys in the water up the estuary, but this seemed to disturb us more than it bothered the birds. Is it interesting that today the gulls and widgeons preferred the north side of the bay while the Buffleheads preferred the south?

John

North Side:
Thirteen species of waterbirds were observed by Bob Nation, Kurlene Wenberg, Daryl Johnson, Christine Gilbertson and Carol Hartwig on Nov 9, 2014, a calm, overcast day with
a bit of rain. These were the group counts:

Double-crested Cormorant 16
Horned Grebe 2
Mute Swan 9
American Widgeon 410
Mallard 67
Surf Scoter 13
Common Goldeneye 11

Bufflehead 316
Hooded Merganzer 8
Common Merganzer 11
Bald Eagle 10
Mew Gull 40
Unidentified Gull 300
Common Raven 2

Total birds 1215

Species 14

Carol

Hi Birders
We got this seasons count off to a roaring start with 6 participants in two vehicles and we have to thank Kurlene and Eric for doing a wonderful job of driving. Deb took over the duties of keeping our records and other than a few corrections made a great job of the numbers.
I’m afraid we started a little early this month and we failed to find a migrating swan although we did count 3 resident Trumpeters and 11 Mute Swans.
Most of the early counting consisted of resident Canada Geese around Somenos Marsh with a single Red-tailed Hawk sitting up in a large willow.
At Somenos Lake we interrupted a little love fest with a couple who were entrenched in the back seat of a car wondering what all these people with optics were going to be looking at. All we spied were a pair of Common Loons and a few Double-crested Cormorants, we then headed off up the highway to Quist’s Farm where there were an assortment of ducks and geese and we added a couple of Cackling Geese and a couple of Bald Eagles. A single Dusky Canada Goose was in the group of regulars.
We drifted along Westholme and down onto Richards Trail where we were lucky to spy two Coopers Hawks, one an adult and the other a small male immature. I pished out a group of sparrows but nothing uncommon stuck it’s head up, not with a Coopers looking down on them.
On Tom Windsor Drive a Great Blue Heron sat way up on top of one of the steel hydro towers whilst a Red-tailed Hawk favored a lower perch on a wooden pole. It was then slow until we hit Hwy 18 and at the park and ride we had a group of geese with one having a white neck collar, but I was unable to read the letter which preceeded the numbers 660. I believe this could be one of the Parksville birds which were all given white collars.
Nothing more was seen in the north end and so we ended up at A & W for our break, while some went in for the ablutions I tried a bit of trick or treating and was given a nice big bag of treats to look over, so after a short choco fix we were back on the road and heading for Sahilton Road, we drove all the way up and found a group of Canada Geese in a field and while was counting the others got a good look at a Northern Harrier. As we came back down the road I spied a white object across the fields and with the scope set up we could see an immature Snow Goose and a group of Cackling Geese with a large group of Canada’s.
The west side of town was a bust with just a couple of Deer to excite us.
Jim’s Pond had a nice assortment of Hooded Mergansers and the males were showing off to the girls, throwing their heads back and looking real dapper.
From here on in to Cowichan Bay it was very slow and it wasn’t until near Hecate Park that we saw 3 Mute Swans swimming over by the Dock Road, so we quickly headed around and set up shop halfway down the road. I picked up a pair of Trumpeter’s way over the far side, these were two which i think have taken to the people on Khenipson Road and will possibly end up being resident for years to come. What was nice to see was a pair of Mute Swans with 6 Immature birds in tow, it is amazing that they have managed to keep all six young with all the predators in the bay. Whilst checking the gulls out on the log booms a group of Scoters swam by and i immediately spotted a male Black Scoter which is a very scarce bird in the bay and while i looked it was followed by a female, these had to be our best sightings of the day.
It then started to rain very heavy so we said our goodbyes to Dorothy and Eric and headed home back to the dog park. We disembarked from the vehicle and i loaded my gear into my car and headed off home.
All was fine until the next day when my wife found this bag full of trick or treat goodies in my car and she exclaimed where did this come from, me being a little dumb said, oh Deb, who was on the count gave them too me, my wife then said I want to meet this woman and of course dumb me said why, it was then that “she who must be obeyed” showed me the bag and printed on the side it says in big bold letters ” MY LOVE” what can I say I am now on the sofa down stairs with my treats.

Until next week if I survive.

Derrick

PS
Hi
A single adult Trumpeter Swan was on Dinsdales Farm, Cowichan Bay early this afternoon (Friday), possibly our first migrant.

From the north side:
Kurlene Wen, Bob Nation, and Daryl Johnson did the Coastal Waterbird Survery
on Oct. 12th, 2014. Overcast skies, and calm seas made the birding fairly
easy on Sunday morning.
Birds seen:
Double-crested Cormorant 7
Horned Grebe 2
Great Blue Heron 2
Trumpeter Swan 2
Mute Swan 35
Mallard 52
American Wigeon 414
Surf Scoter 27
Mew Gull 74
Glaucous-winged Gull 6
Gull species 112
Belted Kingfisher 1
Common Raven 1

From the south side:
The entire bay was smooth as glass and reflecting the mountains. Beautiful. Robin Lawson, Kathy Coster, Jenny Holden, Gail Mitchell, and John Scull gathered at 9 am to enjoy the morning and an animated discussion about distant grebes.

We saw western grebes, double crested cormorants, great blue herons, canada geese, mute swans, common mergansers, glaucous-winged gulls, belted kingfishers, northwestern crows, and a common raven.

There were extra treats. A flock of about 50 double crested cormorants flew over the bay but didn’t land, we saw some golden crowned sparrows in the bushes by the boat launch, and there were harbour seals and river otters in the water along with the birds.

The next Coastal Waterbird Count is scheduled for 8:30 am on Sunday, November 9.

The bird counts are sent to Bird Studies Canada and the results of all past counts can be viewed at http://www.cowichanestuary.ca/wildlife/birds/

John

Hi
With word flowing around the Vancouver Island birding community of a massive influx of Heermann’s Gulls to the east side of the island into the Salish Sea, myself and senior Derrick “he don’t like being called old anymore” decided to do a big gull search around the Cowichan Valley on Saturday. There has only been one questionable sighting of this lovely species of gull recorded in the valley and it is one that is on my bucket list.
Like most of us Brit birders we need a good hearty breakfast to get us going in the morning and so i met up with senior at his residence where he did us proud with a full English.
I sat and watched out his living room window while the sausages spat and sizzled in the frying pan and was excited to see a nice male Northern Harrier drifting by over the Cowichan Estuary, this was quickly followed by an Osprey that glided up and landed in a tree next door. Many ducks were out and about and included Mallard, Northern Pintail, Green-winged Teal and many American Wigeon.
Old senior is bit slow getting his feeders going this year, but Chickadee’s, House Finch, Anna’s Hummingbird were all coming and going. A juvenile Yellow-rumped Warbler was catching insects in an old maple, one of only a couple i have seen so far this fall.
We soon scoffed up our brekky and were off down to Cherry Point to start our quest. With only one parking spot left at the foot of Garnet Road we soon were out with the scope checking the gulls on the gravel bar, some of the first gulls noticed were about 50 Bonapart’s with a spattering of California Gulls mixed in. Just a couple of Glaucous-winged Gulls stood high and above their smaller cousins. A few Surf Scoter were way out on the water but were well outnumbered by fisherman.
We left without ever seeing our prey and headed back to Cowichan Bay and the dike that goes out behind the saw mill. After a steady walk to get rid of some of that belly busting breakfast we were set up and looking out over towards Khenipson Road and the gravel bars which at the beginning of the month were loaded with gulls, but now the numbers were much decreased, where they had all gone, who knows? I scanned back and forth and added Ring-billed, Mew and Thayer’s Gulls to our list, but once again we were skunked in finding a Heermann’s. We did get nice looks at the local Trumpeter Swan who has been here for a few years now and it did a lot of flapping and wind stretching, so not sure what keeps it here through the summer unless it’s his buddies the Mute Swans that it finds most attractive.
We headed back out to the car downcast as to why us poor birders here in the valley should not be able to see this wonderful west coast gull that has decided to invade our little bit of east coast Vancouver Island.
All was not lost and i instructed the driver to head to Sahilton Road in the hopes of finding some American Pipits as they have also been noted moving south over the last week. It was only a couple of days ago that a misplaced islander who finds himself in Salmon Arm Bay had found a very rare for Canada a White Wagtail in a flock of Pipits. With some freshly cut corn fields along Sahilton Road, this makes for some ideal habit for migrating Pipits, but once again we were thwarted in our attempt to find some birds. With our tails between our legs we were just about to call it a day when the last field gave us some hope and we spotted 8 Greater White-fronted Geese, again this species is making a big move right at the moment and are migrating down in large numbers from way up north.
We were happy campers and called it a day and headed back home.
One Day a Heermann’s Gull will give us the pleasure of spotting him, one day.

The two Derricks

Ps
On Sunday there were about 200 Cackling Geese and almost 100 Greater White-fronted Geese on Sahilton Road in the early morning.
PPS – A large flock of Greater white-fronted geese were seen flying south from East Sooke Park on Saturday.
Eric Marshall

It was a very quiet morning.  Only  one counter.  The weather was clear; seas were calm; and there was moderate human activity - 3 powerboats, 2 kayakers, 8 walkers, 5 dogs.

Start time was 09:30.  Finish 10:30.

The tide was high and still rising.  I only observed seven species of birds:
Double-crested cormorants: 7
Great Blue Heron: 2
Glaucous winged gulls: 8
Unidentified gulls: 17
Belted Kingfisher: 1
Northwestern Crow: 8
Osprey: 1

Gail Mitchell

Bob and Helen Nation, Kurlene Wenberg, and Daryl Johnson spent a beautiful
one and a half hours with the birds on a sunny, calm morning in the bay.
We saw thirteen species of birds:

D.C. Cormorant 2
Great Blue Heron 3
Canada Goose 37
Mute Swan 34
Trumpeter Swan 1
American Wigeon 8
Mallard 36
Common Merganser 79
Osprey 1
Accipiter species 1
Glaucous-winged Gull 7
Belted Kingfisher 3
Common Raven 1

Hi Naturalists
It has been a while since I put fingers to keys and thought that as surveys are about to start that I would enlighten you on what this birding duffer has seen this late summer.
The shorebirds have been the best for many years, but numbers are still low for what was once one of the best spots in BC. Bigger numbers of both Least and Western Sandpipers, a few Bairds Sandpipers and above average numbers of Semipalmated Plovers. Just a handful of Greater and Lesser Yellowlegs have been seen and the same for Dowitcher Sp. A couple of times both Killdeer and Spotted Sandpipers have been observed.
The Ospreys have done really well with at least five young raised from the two visible nests, not sure about the nest in the mill yard this year, hopefully they produced also. This in turn means that there must have been good fishing for the birds in the bay this year, is that eel grass growing?
Great Blue Herons appear to have done well with lot’s of birds out on the mud.
Have only seen one pair of Bald Eagles this year, but no young have been observed, for the Herons and Osprey this could be a good thing.
Numbers of Ring-billed Gulls have decreased this year with less than half the normal arrivals in August.
Just the other day while standing in Hecate Park near the viewing tower a immature Coopers Hawk attacked a Northwestern Crow and much screaming was done by the Crow, but unbeknown to the Coopers all the Crows relations (25) were perched up in the maples and descended on the hapless hawk, who was chased off across the bay, never to try it’s luck again with a crow.
A few times I have witnessed a pair of Pileated Woodpeckers hammering away at the logs along the beachfront and the Eurasian Collared-Dove invasion has continued unabated right down into the village and have joined up with the local Rock Dove flock.
Warbler numbers have not done very well with many normal spots being very lacking.
The Tree Swallows raised a few young, but with all swallow species their numbers appear to be decreasing fast. Barn Swallows have not done very well at all in the bay with numbers at a all time low. Only once have a seen Northern Rough-winged Swallows who once nested in the banks of the rivers flowing into the estuary.
Now all these sightings and numbers are just my observations and I’m sure some of you would have witnessed some other good birds in and around our little gem called Cowichan Bay.
It won’t be long and that dastardly group the Swan and Goose counters will be out and about and i guess many stories will be told of their exploits, so stay tuned, fall is just around the corner.

Derrick Marven

Kurleen Wenburg, Daryl Johnson and Carol Hartwig conducted a Coastal Waterbird Survey on Cowichan Estuary North-Khenipsen Road Sunday, April 13, 2014 from 5:37 to 6:30 PM during high tide. Visibility was good but there was glare on the rippled surface. A total of 13 species were observed including 100 Bufflehead, 69 unidentified Gull, 45 Mew Gull, 35 Unidentified Duck, 21 Turkey Vulture, 15 Mallard, 10 Mute Swan, 10 Unidentified Cormorant, 6 Common Merganzer, 4 Bald Eagle, 2 Raven, 1 Red-tailed Hawk, and 1 Trumpeter Swan for a total of 319 birds filed with the BC Coastal Waterbird Survey online.
An osprey was included in the Survey on the south side of the Bay.

Spring is here and the migrants are starting to pour in, many new species have been recorded including Black-throated Gray, Orange-crowned and Townsends Warbler, Pacific-slope and Hammond’s Flycatcher. Brightly colored male American Goldfinch are starting to appear at feeders and the shorebirds are being seen in Cowichan Bay with good numbers of Greater Yellowlegs and the first groups of sandpipers coming through.
A pair of Osprey have set up shop on the old nest site in Cowichan Bay and two or three Purple Martins have been seen on nest boxes also in the bay.
Rufous Hummingbirds have already started nesting while the Anna’s Hummingbirds have got fledged young attending feeders.
Over the past two weeks large groups of Geese have gone through, White-fronted, Cackling and Canada Geese all going in a north-westerly direction and will continue for the next couple of weeks as they head way up north to start the new breeding season.
My garden has seen many species leave with just a few straggler sparrow species hanging in for the seed, a pair of Downy Woodpeckers must be nesting close by as they are at the suet block most days. Robins and Starlings along with House Sparrows have been grabbing any good nesting bits and bobs and carting them off, one busy House Sparrow was seen with a large dead grass stem about a foot and half long flying by the kitchen window without any problem.
Many duck species are starting to leave and the number of Green-winged Teal have built up in the bay with a nice male Eurasian Teal being seen on several occasions. Good numbers of Northern Shoveller were seen on our little field trip to Somenos Marsh and some Greater Yellowlegs showed themselves nicely with one in near breeding plumage. It was a cold morning on the walk and we did not see too many species, but if you don’t go and look you will never see anything.
Hopefully if the weather warms up a bit over the next couple of weeks we should see many new species arrive and it won’t be long until those with feeders see the arrival of those wonderful looking Black-headed Grosbeaks.
The Great Horned Owls have young now and at a westerly location in the valley young birds have been keeping a couple up at night as they call and cry begging for mum and dad to bring them some food.
The last two Trumpeter Swans that i saw were in Cowichan Bay, I did sneak around our route one day with the wife just to see if there were any more hanging around but none were found.
A pair of Red-tailed Hawks are displaying most days above Tzouhalem Road and will soon be nesting and a fly through Sharp-shinned Hawk made some slow moving House Finch bring up their breakfast at my feeder the other day.
The Tree Swallows have taken over most boxes around both Somenos and Cowichan Bay and Violet-green Swallows have found their old haunts around the sub-division, but I have not seen any signs of our other three species, Barn, Cliff or Rough-winged yet.
Our neighbor was walking down the road yesterday with his little boy and dog when a Turkey Vulture came down really low and cruised up the street, it was good to see the amazement in the little boys face as this monster bird came so close, of course i told them to keep moving just in case the vulture was a little hungry and hadn’t eaten for a while.
Well i think that’s about it, lot’s to see and hear at the moment, so get out and enjoy what nature has to offer.
Derrick