Nature Cowichan

Hi Birders
This week we only had 7 people for the count, which meant only two cars, so to give him some experience of being in close quarters within the ladies car Barry was dispatched to the back seat. He seemed to come out of it pretty well unscathed although his photography payed a heavy price with no pictures this week.
As we were about to leave a man drove in and leaped out of his truck and asked if we were birders, it appears that he had just seen a Northern Hawk Owl, he gave me excellent details of who he had phoned and his prowess of identifying owls, the location was given and so we headed off knowing only too well that we would get side tracked once again this week.
We worked our way along Somenos Marsh but sadly not many birds were evident, after this we made this sudden detour to look for the owl, we checked the area but nothing was found, a couple of the ladies also checked again at the end of the count with no luck. So who knows?
This week saw an upturn in the Bald Eagles and I wonder if they knew that there could be some early salmon coming in.
We hit Somenos Lake and saw nothing big and white, a few Canada Geese were added and the star of the show was a seal that had worked it’s way up Somenos Creek and was enjoying the spoils of the lake. This is not the first time seals have been seen up in the lake, but it is always a nice surprise when we see one. The White-throated Sparrow was not seen but I have added a picture taken by our good friend Ann Nightingale who added it to her big year list on Tuesday. Ann is trying this year to see as many birds as possible on Vancouver Island an enviable task.
Our next stop was the exhibition grounds where the American Kestrel has been holed up for a couple of weeks or more, well after causing some chaos with big rigs and other motorists with less understanding natures, we finally saw this little beauty on the fence line. An early in the week picture is attached taken by Kurlene, I think you’ll like this one.
Most of all the swans had departed the north end of our count with just 30 birds found up on Hwy 18 along with 5 Greater White-fronted Geese and over 200 Canada Geese. I am not inferring that the swans have headed north in fact they were moving further south in the valley for greener pastures.
After our break we headed off down Sahilton Road but the best we could muster was a family group of 4 immature and 1 adult swan.
We headed over to the west side of town and I was dreading our next stop because it is the hardest place to count swans and as you might have guessed there was a big flock hiding behind the shrubs and trees. I did my best to count them with Dorothy behind me jotting down the numbers and when all was done we had added 131 swans to our meager total.
On we pushed up to Bench Road where there was a good number of swans and the Sandhill Crane, as I started to count I spotted the farmer come our and get in his truck, I’m sure he was watching out for us, I frantically counted the swans before the farmer set about dispersing them far and wide.
I was now concerned that many birds had headed out to locations for which we had not visited yet and there was the chance that they would get counted twice, this came to the fore when we hit Willmot Road where Sandra the Sandhill Crane was standing in the field with many trumpeters.
Along Koksilah Road east a lovely female Northern Harrier glided along beside the car giving us excellent views, but no swans were to be had.
I made an executive decision to count the swans on Willmot Road but not anything on Dinsdales farm on in the south end of Cowichan Bay. As it turned out it seems the numbers were not bad, but these are the perils of counting things with wings that farmers take a dislike to. One good thing was the appearance of an adult Tundra Swan what was nice and close in the field at Willmot. We did count a flock of about 200 Geese on Dinsdales Farm and a few Trumpeters in the bay.
That was it our day was over and for the most part we did manage to dodge the worst of the rain.

Good fun was had by all and until next week keep your bins at the ready.

Derrick

We did it again a wonderful day full of good birds. 11 birders set out this week, with the return of Eric and Dorothy and new boy Keith I was hoping that some sort of normality would ensure, but it was not to be, because as the day went on all hell broke loose with the troops.
This week again saw an increase in Swan numbers with the immatures again leading the way with 177 recorded, we have not seen this many younguns for several seasons. Goose numbers went up with one large flock numbering 550 birds.
Our count started at Somenos Marsh where it was very slow with 32 Swans and only 16 geese, it was then off down Drinkwater Road where a nice group of dickie birds were congregated on one of the bends; we sat and waited to see what was there and a lovely little White-throated Sparrow appeared in the ever increasing crowd of feathered seed eaters. Then down at the lake we were treated to over 200 Ruddy Ducks on the far side of the lake, one of the bigger flocks seen here in many a year. Also over the far side were 7 Greater White-fronted Geese in a Canada Goose flock.
Down the Hwy we went and along to Crofton Road where over 100 swans were counted, then it went really slow with hardly any raptors except for a nice look at a Peregrine Falcon along Westholme Road that shot off over the fields hoping to catch lunch.
Hwy 18 had a few swans and a group of Canada’s numbering just under 300 and then we spotted the Snow Goose (photo attached) right in the middle of the pack, this is not the first time we have spotted this bird here and it just goes to show how far these birds wander as the Snow Goose has been at Cherry Point Beach roosting for at least three weeks. A few swans and geese were counted along the Drinkwater Road fields and then it was time for our break.
Next on the agenda was the Boys/Sahilton Road area where we soon found the Sandhill Crane with a large group of swans on Modeste Road, this young bird is feisty and was seen too attack a swan that got in it’s way (photo attached)
Our next stop was along Koksilah Road west where we added 15 swans and we had a hawk identification course; some thought it was a cone and others thought it was a Coopers Hawk but after close study with the scope at full power and a few field mark details we was given the name of old Red-tail.
Bench Road that has seen some unsavory disturbance of birds lately had over 200 swans and a few geese. Dougans Flats was once again slow with just over 20 swans.
St Catherine’s Road was just filled with birds and when the dust settled we had 55 Swans and over 550 Canada Geese.
It then went slow again until we got down the Dock Road, just over 15 swans were seen and a few old friends were out on their bikes. It was here that anarchy took over, as we headed back down the road I once again saw the Short-eared Owl (photo attached) coursing the field and then a second bird, the car screeched to a halt and we were out and looking, it turned out the second bird was a female Northern Harrier (photo attached) and it was having a battle royal with the Owl, we watched as they played tag and then split apart, luckily the Harrier landed on a hydro pole (photo attached) where those with big lens got to have their way with this approachable bird. Then the owl landed and everyone started disappearing up the road, my calls to retreat went unheard and only a few of the group remained to look after the cars and cookies. Time went on and after what seemed an eternity the group returned, but then they wanted to do some swapping of seats in the vehicles, Jana had enough of us men and jumped in the female car and sent us Christina, who I had always thought was the leader of the felines, was she a spy sent to check out out numbers ?
We finally made it back to the dog park and I escaped to head home with my tail between my legs to face “she who must be obeyed”; well of course it did not matter what I said, coming home at this un-godly hour did not quell her temper, she ranted on about how could any birdwatchers have so much luck and use this as an excuse to stay out. I just crawled into my corner where I will stay until next Wednesday.

Big thanks to Jana and Barry for the photos

Have fun
Derrick

Shorebird Count – Cowichan Bay – Sunday January 11th, 2015

A high number of 18 species of waterbirds were observed in the fog on the North Side of Cowichan Bay by Daryl Johnson, Bob Nation, Christine Gilbertson and Carol Hartwig.
Horned Grebe 2
Double-crested Cormorant 2
Great Blue Heron 1
Canada Goose 6
Trumpeter Swan 26
American Widgeon 3
Mallard 74
Surf Scoter 6
Buffleheads 89
Common Goldeneye 7
Hooded Merganser 2
Bald Eagle 2
Mew Gull 12
Thayer’s Gull 2
Unidentified Gull 148
Northwestern Crow 1
Common Raven 3

Total birds 386

South Side count
An unusual number of both birds and birders on a foggy morning. Robin Lawson, Theresa McKeown, Gail Mitchell, Dave Aldcroft, Linda Hill, Kathy Coster, Pamela Williams, Hillary Stead, Kirk Holmes, and John Scull saw:
8 Horned Grebe
17 Double-crested Cormorant
1 Canada Goose
120 Trumpeter Swan (finally on this side of the bay)
2 Mallard
15 Greater Scaup
63 Bufflehead
47 Common Goldeneye
9 Hooded Merganser
1 Thayer’s Gull
29 Glaucous-wing Gull
3 Unidentified Gull
3 Northwest Crow
Total 318 birds

What a turnout for this count, it took a long time to sort out who was going in what car and in the end 11 birders set out in three cars. We had photographers in one car and a couple of snowbirds from Edmonton in another and of course the professional counters in the lead car. Before we left the Somenos area we had been treated to Northern Pintail, Gadwall and just under 150 Canada Geese. A Marsh Wren was well photographed at the rest stop along the highway and the Red-winged Blackbirds were already on territory singing up storm, could it be spring already. Out on the lake a group of 70 Ruddy Ducks are hanging in.
At Quist’s Farm a large group of 150 Canada Geese were seen and along towards Crofton Road we had over 70 Trumpeter Swans who’s numbers resembled last weeks count as did many locations this week. There was a single dead adult swan at Quist’s, who knows how it died, hopefully old age. Westholme Road had 18 Trumpeters and then we hit the wall until we hit Hwy 18 where over 30 swans and 126 Canada Geese were found. A little, possibly female Sharp-shinned Hawk was up in the trees off Drinkwater Road and a group of 70 Canada Geese were just down in fields near Somenos Road.
At this point in my report I know that sometimes I hear lots of good and sometimes totally useless information as we ride around our route, such was the case last week when it was brought to my attention that men with big bellies make make better lovers, I was always told that men with bald heads were best, but the husband of the lady that told me this tale is not that well endowed, with hair that is, go figure. I can assure you that you heard it here first, with leg bands and neck collars and feathers it is the much maligned male birdwatcher that holds the title of best lover. He can identify a female of the species from hundreds of yards away.

We hit A & W for our break and a lively chatter insured, before I broke it up and we headed off over to Boy’s Road where a few eagles were counted. Their numbers are starting to go down now as breeding pairs set up territory and others head north for the herring spawn. We cut across on Modeste Road and we were treated to a wonderful group of Swans and Geese right next to the cars, over 200 swans and just under 100 geese which had 3 Cackling Geese hiding in their shadows. We then hit Sahilton Road where a pair of adult Bald Eagles sat together right over the road, Kurlene opened the sun roof and a few snaps were taken of a pair of eagle bottoms, I suggested that we shut up the roof quick just in case one let fly with a spray of whitewash. Further down the road a male Eurasian Wigeon which has been down there for about 4 weeks obliged our Edmonton friends with a lifer and I hope a few pictures.
Our next few stops failed to find much and so we hit Bench Road where a nice group of just over 80 Trumpeters were down in the field and along with them was the Sandhill Crane back on location where it was first found. Another surprise way down the field was a neck collared swan and it was possibly 01UK who was spotted by our good friend Peggy the week before, alas it was too far away to confirm the number.
Dougans Flats added a few swans, but this year this area has not seen the birds of past counts, mainly due to hunting and the model flying fraternity.
St Catherine’s Road had a nice assortment of swans, but they were playing hide and seek around a group of trees, I’m sure we missed a few but still added another 50 to the total. We failed to find our visitors their California Quail who have been at this location many times. Koksilah Road east added another 60 swans before we took the road down to Cowichan Bay to finish the count. The bay is really starting to thin out with birds as time moves closer to migration with just the Buffleheads and Common Goldeneye showing in numbers.

That was it, the rain held off and we all went home happy, although a little late again, oh well when your having fun, time doesn’t matter.

Derrick

The top cat was back this week and this old moggie was not going to allow the antics of last week, so I rounded up the troops in the car park and told them in no uncertain terms the fun was over and that the 6 counters were to follow my instructions to the fullest, they in turn just laughed at me.
Our count had a wonderful day with many great sightings and good numbers of birds. Just under 500 Trumpeter Swans and an almost identical number of Canada Geese as last week at 804.
Somenos Marsh did not show us too much this week, but the lake was different with over 100 Trumpeters and a nice group of Ruddy Ducks over on the far shore.
We left here and headed along the highway and we hadn’t gone a km when I spotted some swans on the west side of the road, we all jumped out right in front of the Toyota dealership binoculars at the ready and peered over the road and I was astounded to see 24 Great White-fronted Geese along with over 50 Trumpeters. I looked around to see 2 car salesman heading back to the warmth of the office, I guess they thought we were looking at the second hand car lot, then realized we were only birdwatchers.
Then on to Quist’s Farm where a few swans were had along with some Bald Eagles and small flock of Killdeer which were disturbed by a over flying eagle.
It was then that I gave in to the ladies wishes, yes I do have a soft spot for them. Due to last weeks diversion along Crofton Road Ithought that it would be best to check this location out again and we were rewarded with just under 60 Swans, if some of you look at the files this number is added into the Quist total for my easy adding.
It then went slow for the next few stops with just a few flocks of Canada Geese added. 5 swans were added along Drinkwater Road in fields that were contentious over the Christmas period because of hunting.
After our break we headed over to Sahilton Road, but sadly this area has not been good for a while now and only offered up a few birds.
It was here that the ladies started to turn on the charm and flaunted truffles and chocolate covered berries at me and sadly I succumbed and was under their witching control.
We headed for the west side and ended up on Riverside Road due to a tip from our trusted driver who had spied some big white birds in a field, when we arrived we found 19 adults and 7 immature swans. More truffles were forthcoming and I was truly hooked.
Bench Road was next and as has been the norm the swans were way down the field making hard to count, let alone identify, but in the end we had just under 50 swans and 60 geese.
Dougans Flats gave us another 25 swans, but nothing else.
St Catherine’s Road came through with a nice assortment and 26 adults and 23 immature made for a great percentage.
We hit Koksilah Road east and found a few birds and then moved around to the other side on Wilmott Road where we were lucky to spot another group of swans, so we lept out of the vehicles and this time it was obvious who it was who caused so much trouble last week as she left the rear end of her vehicle stuck out in the road, blocking two pedestrians from their afternoon walk. By this time I was across the road and had spotted our second bonus of the day, the Sandhill Crane was there with his Trumpeter buddies, I quickly alerted the group and many distant and misty pictures were taken. I was going to mention here about Deb, but she is such nice person, Deb your problem is safe with me, so sad.
Down into the Bay we went and spotted a Sharp-shinned Hawk just before we turned onto the Dock Road and out in the bay we had just 3 Swans and not much else to spout about. Kurlene tapped me on the shoulder and told me she thought she had a Northern Harrier across the other side of the road, but she mentioned some light patches in the wings, well this pricked my ears up as Short-eared Owls have light patches in the wings. These two species can be hard at times to tell from a distance. We slowly drove back down the road and then magically I spotted the tell tale moth like flight of a a Short-eared, so cars were abandoned and all were out to watch this wonderful owl go back and forth in front of us before it darted into the grass and sat just out of sight for a while before taking off back over the fields to look for it’s supper. A few snaps were taken, but it would have been nice if it had come closer. Finally at the end of the road a immature Coopers Hawk decided to be really friendly to us and sat and admired us from a oak tree.
What a fitting end to a wonderful day, everyone left with a smile on their face and i have to admit we run about an hour late this week due to unforeseen circumstances, which we will take any week.
There are a few pictures attached this week, big thanks to Barry.

Happy Birding
Derrick

The first count of the new year is under our belt, but not without a few problems, firstly I went down with a bad bout of the flu and was unable to take part, but I did manage to get down to drop off the tally sheets and the walkie-talkies and I new then that trouble was afoot. There was poor Bob surrounded by 4 women, I put my trust in Kurlene to run the route and make sure that all went smoothly. Not sure if it was the medicines that I was taking for the flu or the thought of Bob being left in the lions den, but I had nightmares that night which involved thousands of swans in Somenos attacking the group and dragging them off.
I awoke in the morning and was relieved to find a e-mail from Kurlene with details of the count. It appears that they had found high numbers of swans this week with over 550 birds in total. The two best areas were once again Sahilton and Bench Roads.
The trouble is that when the cats away the mice will play as was the case this week as the group went off the route to a location just up off the Crofton Road where they added over 50 swans, they also appear to have had so much fun that the count took nearly 2 hours longer to complete. Add to this the total disruption of traffic flow somewhere when they all vacated the vehicle in the middle of the road with doors wide open to view a Coopers Hawk, this in turn caused some road rage as drivers voiced their opinion of the birders.
The group also failed to register the locations of the raptors so you will note a few gaps as too the whereabouts of just under 100 hawks and eagles.
There is also a gap for the 1st of January as I have yet to complete the Christmas Bird Count numbers, hopefully all will be back to some normality next week
This is a short report this week as I am still suffering from the affects of the flu and the lack of information about what really took place this past Wednesday. But I hope to be well enough for next weeks count where i will attempt to whip the troops back into shape, I think we will start with a few pushups in the dog park before we leave for the count.

Take care and a Happy New Year to all

Derrick

I have finally been well enough to tackle the vast numbers of birds that were counted on our count.
The number of people in the field was a healthy 54 and feeder watchers an unhealthy 10, but these are still good for our area overall.
We managed 110 Species and 27,819 total birds which is average for our count
Anna’s Hummingbirds went down for the first year for a while, but were still good at 159. Eurasian-colored Doves increased to a new high of 129 and 100 Band-tailed Pigeons counted in one flock was exceptional and could well be a new record.
Numbers for passerines was very average although Spotted Towhees put on a good show.
A single Snow Goose was found at Cherry Point and a Canvasback was in the sewage lagoons. Ruddy Duck numbers were very low at 78 with only 8 birds counted on Quamichan Lake where there is usually hundreds.
Loon numbers were a little better this year with 8 Red-throated Loons a encouraging sign. 27 Western Grebes were seen from Cherry Point, maybe one day they will return in their hundreds.
Hawks and Eagles put on a good show with 2 American Kestrels found this year.
Gulls were very average except for 2 Ring-billed and 4 Herring Gulls which were nice for the spotters
Owls were down, but 2 Northern Pygmy Owls were found, which is a hard bird to see most times in the valley, not sure if these were visual or heard birds.
Woodpeckers were up with nearly 270 in total with 27 Red-breasted Sapsuckers and 15 Pileated Woodpeckers
7 Yellow-rumped Warblers put on a good show with most along Somenos Creek where it is a bit warmer and bugs abound.

Bird of the day was a Hutton’s Vireo found by Jeremy G. out in the west-end of town.

The weather was very kind to us this year with dry conditions and afternoon sun making it very pleasant to be out in the field.

A very big thank you to all the counters for coming out and a major thank you to Jennifer Goodbrand and all the other people that helped out with the food and drinks at the roundup. I should also mention “She who must be obeyed” who now has the t-shirt thanks to Sheila, my lovely wife has waited on me hand and foot during this bad bout of bird watchers flu.

The Duncan Count roundup is regarded as one of the best in Canada for the food and service that is given to the counters, well done all.

Happy New Year

Derrick Marven

The top cat was back this week and this old moggie was not going to allow the antics of last week, so i rounded up the troops in the car park and told them in no uncertain terms the fun was over and that the 6 counters were to follow my instructions to the fullest, they in turn just laughed at me.
Our count had a wonderful day with many great sightings and good numbers of birds. Just under 500 Trumpeter Swans and an almost identical number of Canada Geese as last week at 804.
Somenos Marsh did not show us too much this week, but the lake was different with over 100 Trumpeters and a nice group of Ruddy Ducks over on the far shore.
We left here and headed along the highway and we hadn’t gone a km when i spotted some swans on the west side of the road, we all jumped out right in front of the Toyota dealership binoculars at the ready and peered over the road and i was astounded to see 24 Great White-fronted Geese along with over 50 Trumpeters. I looked around to see 2 car salesman heading back to the warmth of the office, i guess they thought we were looking at the second hand car lot, then realized we were only birdwatchers.
Then on to Quist’s Farm where a few swans were had along with some Bald Eagles and small flock of Killdeer which were disturbed by a over flying eagle.
It was then that i gave in to the ladies wishes, yes i do have a soft spot for them. Due to last weeks diversion along Crofton Road i thought that it would be best to check this location out again and we were rewarded with just under 60 Swans, if some of you look at the files attached this number is added into the Quist total for my easy adding.
It then went slow for the next few stops with just a few flocks of Canada Geese added. 5 swans were added along Drinkwater Road in fields that were contentious over the Christmas period because of hunting.
After our break we headed over to Sahilton Road, but sadly this area has not been good for a while now and only offered up a few birds.
It was here that the ladies started to turn on the charm and flaunted truffles and chocolate covered berries at me and sadly i succumbed and was under their witching control.
We headed for the west side and ended up on Riverside Road due to a tip from our trusted driver who had spied some big white birds in a field, when we arrived we found 19 adults and 7 immature swans. More truffles were forthcoming and i was truly hooked.
Bench Road was next and as has been the norm the swans were way down the field making hard to count, let alone identify, but in the end we had just under 50 swans and 60 geese.
Dougans Flats gave us another 25 swans, but nothing else.
St Catherines Road came through with a nice assortment and 26 adults and 23 immature made for a great percentage.
We hit Koksilah Road east and found a few birds and then moved around to the other side on Wilmott Road where we were lucky to spot another group of swans, so we lept out of the vehicles and this time it was obvious who it was who caused so much trouble last week as she left the rear end of her vehicle stuck out in the road, blocking two pedestrians from their afternoon walk. By this time i was across the road and had spotted our second bonus of the day, the Sandhill Crane was there with his Trumpeter buddies, i quickly alerted the group and many distant and misty pictures were taken. I was going to mention here about Deb, but she is such nice person, Deb your problem is safe with me, so sad.
Down into the Bay we went and spotted a Sharp-shinned Hawk just before we turned onto the Dock Road and out in the bay we had just 3 Swans and not much else to spout about. Kurlene tapped me on the shoulder and told me she thought she had a Northern Harrier across the other side of the road, but she mentioned some light patches in the wings, well this pricked my ears up as Short-eared Owls have light patches in the wings. These two species can be hard at times to tell from a distance. We slowly drove back down the road and then magically i spotted the tell tale moth like flight of a a Short-eared, so cars were abandoned and all were out to watch this wonderful owl go back and forth in front of us before it darted into the grass and sat just out of sight for a while before taking off back over the fields to look for it’s supper. A few snaps were taken, but it would have been nice if it had come closer. Finally at the end of the road a immature Coopers Hawk decided to be really friendly to us and sat and admired us from a oak tree.
What a fitting end to a wonderful day, everyone left with a smile on their face and i have to admit we run about an hour late this week due to unforeseen circumstances, which we will take any week.
There are a few pictures attached this week, big thanks to Barry.
Sorry if this weeks post is a little large, hope you all enjoy it.

Happy Birding
Derrick

2014-15 Swan and Goose Count.xls

2014-15 Raptor count.xls

The first count of the new year is under our belt, but not without a few problems, firstly i went down with a bad bout of the flu and was unable to take part, but i did manage to get down to drop off the tally sheets and the walkie-talkies and i new then that trouble was afoot. There was poor Bob surrounded by 4 women, i put my trust in Kurlene to run the route and make sure that all went smoothly. Not sure if it was the medicines that i was taking for the flu or the thought of Bob being left in the lions den, but i had nightmares that night which involved thousands of swans in Somenos attacking the group and dragging them off.
I awoke in the morning and was relieved to find a e-mail from Kurlene with details of the count. It appears that they had found high numbers of swans this week with over 550 birds in total. The two best areas were once again Sahilton and Bench Roads.
The trouble is that when the cats away the mice will play as was the case this week as the group went off the route to a location just up off the Crofton Road where they added over 50 swans, they also appear to have had so much fun that the count took nearly 2 hours longer to complete. Add to this the total disruption of traffic flow somewhere when they all vacated the vehicle in the middle of the road with doors wide open to view a Coopers Hawk, this in turn caused some road rage as drivers voiced their opinion of the birders.
The group also failed to register the locations of the raptors so when you view the attachments you will note a few gaps as too the whereabouts of just under 100 hawks and eagles.
There is also a gap for the 1st of January as i have yet to complete the Christmas Bird Count numbers, hopefully all will be back to some normality next week
This is a short report this week as i am still suffering from the affects of the flu and the lack of information about what really took place this past Wednesday. But i hope to be well enough for next weeks count where i will attempt to whip the troops back into shape, i think we will start with a few pushups in the dog park before we leave for the count.

Take care and a Happy New Year to all

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