Nature Cowichan

This week I was once again surrounded by women, I don’t know how I do it, but there you are, some of us have it and some don’t. Four of us took off from the dog park and it was not long before the numbers started to grow.
Goose numbers this week dropped drastically and swans went up although immatures remained low. We only had one Cackling Goose in amongst some cousins on Dinsdales Farm. We never could find a Mute Swan this week but I have it on good authority that a flock has been seen in Mill Bay so maybe they headed south for some better weather.
Corfield and Sahilton Roads had the bigger numbers of swans along with Koksilah Road west and the main areas for geese were Somenos Marsh and Dinsdales Farm Cowichan Bay.

The one good thing about our little group is that if we ever found a rare bird we would have the book on hand to look it up. The vehicle comes equipped with so many bird books it is known as Amazon 2. One book which caught my eye this week was a great book on Birds of Prey by Crossley, a wonderfully illustrated book showing birds perched and flying and in all sorts of plumage. Here is a link to the book in question :

Although this week our raptor numbers suffered a bit with the star being a Peregrine Falcon on Koksilah Road east.
We managed to get around on dark chocolate and arrowroot bickies this week brought to us by our long lost friend Daryl who had been awol for far too long.
As one can imagine their was lot’s of chatter this week ranging on many subjects, one was religion which in its written works lies many articles on birds, but I have never found the bible of much use for identification purposes.

Over off Koksilah Road east we found some swans way over the back field and so we had to go around onto George Street to get a better look, some of us squeezed our bodies through this tiny hole in the fence and straight away I noticed this swan with a great deal of yellow on it’s bill, the only trouble was the shape of the bill and swan all pointed to it being a Trumpeter, anyways Kurlene got us a nice picture which we can keep on record should we ever come across this bird again.
Also of note was that Kurlene while out on Thursday caught sight and photographed the neck banded swan UK01, we had heard from Peggy that it was seen a couple of weeks ago, but we have not had any luck finding it on the count. I think this is the fourth year for this bird in the valley. It’s band is starting to fade in color fast and might not be identifiable after this year.
Anyways a short report this week as the police have arrived, it appears that some of my comments about the new police station have not gone down well, so if I don’t turn up for the count next week, you know where Ill be, just put the tally sheet under cell door 1.

Have fun and keep looking up.
Derrick

Hi
This afternoonI witnessed one of the most amazing and sad birding sights I have ever seen.
I had just been out to feed the birds as I usually do about 2:45pm each day, Icame back in and sat down ready to jot down my sightings when I noticed I had not filled up the hummingbird feeder, so out Iwent onto the deck and filled it to the brim as we have many Anna’s Hummingbirds coming in. It is not uncommon for the dominant males to fight and chase anything that comes near and today was no exception, just one large female was left in peace as she sat in the plum tree and watched as the big male sucked up the new juice at the feeder. From where I was sitting Icould not see all the feeder so I asked my wife if she could see the bird and as she looked all the other species of birds which were down on the ground feeder and up in the trees scattered, I just caught a flash of white and was not sure what I had seen, but whatever it was landed in a big fir next door. I quickly lifted up my binoculars to see what it was and I was shocked at what I saw, a adult Northern Shrike had just caught my best adult male Anna’s Hummingbird, it had took it clean off the feeder in a split second. As I looked the poor hummer was still alive flapping its wings while held firmly in the mouth of the shrike, I was staggered by what we had just witnessed, the sadness that I felt for this wonderful little bird was to put it mildly, too much, just when it was time to spread his genes around all the lonely females its life was taken.
To make matters worse the shrike then descended into our plum and devoured the lifeless little hummer; all this taking place in full view of the female who sat looking around watching what was taking place. I went out to see if there were any remnants of the hummer on the ground as the shrike had obviously finished as it was wiping it’s bill on a branch, but not a scrap was found so Ican only assume the shrike had ate everything; it sat there looking at me even after I tried to frighten it off. Another male hummer came into the feeder seising the chance to get a drink, little did he know that he was now the king and it would be up to him to take over the harem of our local sub-division.
This is not the first time something like this has happened at my feeders, once in Ontario I watched as a adult Coopers Hawk attacked and caught a male Northern Cardinal; back then I felt the same sadness as I felt for the poor hummer.

I am not sure if this type of attack has ever been documented before, but I doubt if I will ever witness this again, having said this the Northern Shrike is now stationed in the top of a fir tree being attacked by another hummer, how amazing is that.

Derrick

It was one of those days which you could never have predicted, I personally thought it was going to be wet and totally lacking in birds, in fact it was totally the opposite. Big numbers of raptors and waterfowl included, Bald Eagle, Coopers, Sharp-shinned and Red-tailed Hawks, Merlin and Peregrine Falcons, mega number of Canada Geese, a nice count of Trumpeter Swans with a big improvement in immatures up to 15% of the total. A good showing of Mute Swans whose youngsters are starting to show signs of adulthood, with bills changing color and lots of white feathers coming in. To cap it all a nice immature Tundra Swan was seen close up, over on Willmot Road. Add to all this, the temperature rose, the sun came out and all were smiling.
This week saw six participants leave the dog park and then Scotty beamed down at A&W for a lucky number 7. Two cars full set off and we were soon adding up good numbers, birds were again spread out all over the place, a female Common Goldeneye was seen well on Somenos Lake a not so common sighting this winter as ducks have been at a premium around the marsh with not much water to test the new dike.
The first of three Cooper Hawks dashed across the highway as we headed north and up at Westholme we had to bushwhack the broom to count the swans, it has become harder and harder to count swans at this location as the vegetation keeps growing higher and higher. Once again a large contingent of geese were found off of Hwy.18 and a guestimate put the total at 1000 birds, but I couldn’t find any other species only Canada’s. Red-tailed Hawks dotted the hydro poles as we turned to head south for our rest stop.
Just to let people know that Canada Geese migrate both north and south during the winter months so it could be that some of the numbers encountered this week could have come from anywhere.

This week I received some upsetting comments, that I of all people would steal someone’s sighting and call it my own, so to put things right I kept note of what the others saw and did this week, below are some of those happenings:

Kurlene saw many hawks and eagles after the lead car had gone past.
Deb, a new birder, managed to distinguish between crows and gulls. Ouch!
Christina once again managed to drive while using the walkie talkie and her cellphone, plus scoop up rescue dogs, she is big into adoption you see. Ouch! Ouch!
Dorothy, complete with tan, managed to steer Eric clear off any oncoming vehicles from the back seat, whilst keeping all the data in good order. Whack!
Eric managed to ignore Dorothy and did a great job of driving.
Scotty learned the art of birdwatching and keeping his ears plugged with the ipod while being fed nuts and raisins with the ladies.
During all this I just pointed out a few feathered things and counted birds.
Now lets not say I don’t give credit where credit is due again.

The counting continued all the way around our route and down at Dougans Flats we had the opportunity to view a nice adult Coopers Hawk through the scope and nearly missed some Canada’s that hid behind some big cedar trees.
Off of Koksilah Road east we had a few Cackling Geese and a nice group of swans and it was here that “WE” spotted the immature Tundra Swan on the Willmot Road side.
Down through Cowichan Bay we had two nice adult Mute Swans and a Horned Grebe that had made friends of a female Bufflehead and on Dinsdale’s Farm even more geese were counted.
Our last stop on the Dock Road produced some more Mute Swans, a handful of Trumpeters, good looks at a immature Bald Eagle through the scope and a couple of Surf Scoters way out on the water.
I was half expecting to hear or see swallows as the weather was so nice, but let’s not get fooled into thinking spring is here already, there is new snow on the hills out towards Shawnigan this morning and colder temperatures are forecast for next week.

Until we count again, keep well and keep smiling.
Derrick

This week 4 participants headed out for the count and it was not long before we hit some good numbers of swans and geese. The DU pond at the Forest Museum had 7 Mute Swans and then Somenos Lake had just over 80 Trumpeter Swans and just under 100 Canada Geese. The lake was virtually void of ducks, not sure whats happening out there, but guess it’s lack of food?
A few swans were at Quist’s Farm and a handful of geese. A good flock of American Wigeon were feeding in the fields. We headed on round to Westholme Road where a large eagle type caught our eyes as it soared over the road, an abrupt stop had me out of the vehicle and squinting up into the sky, where low and behold we had a adult Golden Eagle that circled a few times before letting loose and drifting right out over our heads.
As always there was much conversation going on in the vehicle on all matters of life, none of which were really solved but it does make for some good laughs at times.
Highway 18 was our next good stop, here a big group of Canada Geese had congregated on a farmers field and right away closest to us I spotted 8 Greater White-fronted Geese, I gave a quick lesson on how to identify adults from immatures and pointed out that hunters refer to the adults as speckled bellies due to the dark bands that they have on their undercarriage. After a few scans it was estimated that there were 750 Canada’s which was down from the last time we found a big group in the same field.
On another matter:
There are times when all celebrities get some fan mail, so I was a little surprised that I get a few e-mails saying how wonderful they find my reports, well I’m not really up too Bieber standards but I get my share. Now and again I get stopped in the street by ladies who say I know you your that birder guy and how much they enjoy my little essays. Also of note are groupies that seem to follow stardom, this can at times be most welcome. I don’t get women’s things of a personal nature thrown at me, more like checklists and bits of scrap paper with field notes and bird lists on them. The occasional scream when I point out something good and yes the hug of thanks.
Now back to the facts:
After quick break at our rest stop we got skunked at our next 4 or 5 stops and so it was Dougans Flats before we found anything to enter on our sheet, over 70 Trumpeters were added and two handfuls of geese. Again we quickly moved along not finding anything until we hit Koksilah Road east when the fields showed much brown and white. 14 tiny Cackling Geese were close in for our inspection a couple of these showed the glint of a white collar that one would see on Aeulutian type which do show a distinct white band around their necks but I think they were not up to snuff for a positive identification. We added about 500 Canada Geese and just over 30 Trumpeter’s before moving on.
A couple more Mute Swans were had in Cowichan Bay village and 35 Canada’s on Dinsdales Farrm.
We hit the Dock Road in high hopes of adding a few more raptors to our days tally but other than a few more Bald Eagles nothing else was seen. Out over towards Khenipson Road on the other side of the bay we had 17 Trumpeters and 4 unidentified sleeping swans. Ducks were at a premium out on the water but we did manage a few Greater Scuap in amongst the Bufflehead.
Along Tzouhalem Road we added 7 more swans to bring our totals up to a respectable level and then it was back to the dog park where yes the men are still working on the footpaths on this never ending Beverly Street make work program.

Thanks to my fellow counters for their good humor.

hi to all my fans and until next week keep on looking.

Derrick

This week 4 participants headed out for the count and it was not long before we hit some good numbers of swans and geese. The DU pond at the Forest Museum had 7 Mute Swans and then Somenos Lake had just over 80 Trumpeter Swans and just under 100 Canada Geese. The lake was virtually void of ducks, not sure whats happening out there, but guess it’s lack of food?

A few swans were at Quist’s Farm and a handful of geese. A good flock of American Wigeon were feeding in the fields. We headed on round to Westholme Road where a large eagle type caught our eyes as it soared over the road, an abrupt stop had me out of the vehicle and squinting up into the sky, where low and behold we had a adult Golden Eagle that circled a few times before letting loose and drifting right out over our heads.

As always there was much conversation going on in the vehicle on all matters of life, none of which were really solved but it does make for some good laughs at times.

Highway 18 was our next good stop, here a big group of Canada Geese had congregated on a farmers field and right away closest to us I spotted 8 Greater White-fronted Geese, I gave a quick lesson on how to identify adults from immatures and pointed out that hunters refer to the adults as speckled bellies due to the dark bands that they have on their undercarriage. After a few scans it was estimated that there were 750 Canada’s which was down from the last time we found a big group in the same field.

On another matter:

There are times when all celebrities get some fan mail, so I was a little surprised that I get a few e-mails saying how wonderful they find my reports, well I’m not really up to Bieber standards but I get my share. Now and again I get stopped in the street by ladies who say I know you your that birder guy and how much they enjoy my little essays. Also of note are groupies that seem to follow stardom, this can at times be most welcome. I don’t get women’s things of a personal nature thrown at me, more like checklists and bits of scrap paper with field notes and bird lists on them. The occasional scream when I point out something good and yes the hug of thanks.

Now back to the facts:

After quick break at our rest stop we got skunked at our next 4 or 5 stops and so it was Dougans Flats before we found anything to enter on our sheet, over 70 Trumpeters were added and two handfuls of geese. Again we quickly moved along not finding anything until we hit Koksilah Road east when the fields showed much brown and white. 14 tiny Cackling Geese were close in for our inspection a couple of these showed the glint of a white collar that one would see on Aeulutian type which do show a distinct white band around their necks but I think they were not up to snuff for a positive identification. We added about 500 Canada Geese and just over 30 Trumpeter’s before moving on.
A couple more Mute Swans were had in Cowichan Bay village and 35 Canada’s on Dinsdales Farrm.
We hit the Dock Road in high hopes of adding a few more raptors to our days tally but other than a few more Bald Eagles nothing else was seen. Out over towards Khenipson Road on the other side  of the bay we had 17 Trumpeters and 4 unidentified sleeping swans. Ducks were at a premium out on the water but we did manage a few Greater Scuap in amongst the Bufflehead.

Along Tzouhalem Road we added 7 more swans to bring our totals up to a respectable level and then it was back to the dog park where yes the men are still working on the footpaths on this never ending Beverly Street make work program.

Thanks to my fellow counters for their good humor.

hi to all my fans and until next week keep on looking.

Derrick

Today started out with myself getting a reality check, the holiday credit card bill came through the door, who spent all this money I ask? It was off to the S&G count feeling a little low, heh but I arrived at the dog park to be denied access, workers were doing the footpaths, you know that work which was supposed be finished back in November, yer right! The S&G team were assembled across the road awaiting my arrival, their smiling faces soon had me feeling much better but it was obvious they didn’t get a bill like mine or they wouldn’t have been smiling. Off we went to count in the warm temperatures that have encompassed the valley.
This week saw a decline in Bald Eagles and Swans, where have they all gone, here we are in a nice valley with warm temperatures and green grass, what more could they want?
Somenos Lake had some good numbers of both Swans and Geese, but any of the ducks seen last week had gone. Quist Farm was gooseless, but a nice Eurasian Wigeon was spotted by the girls, also here was a pair of Lesser Scaup. Westholme produced just two Trumpeters so we quickly headed along to Richards Trail where for the first time this season we found a nice group of swans, all they wanted was a nice bit of water to paddle in.
We slowly worked our way around the route not finding much more in the north end until we reached A & W where I spotted a nice immature Coopers Hawk sitting on a hydro pole over towards Wendy’s, great looks were had through the scope. After a short break we headed off south and along Sahilton Road where we saw a group of 14 Eurasian-collared Doves sitting in a tree and further down the road a nice group of Trumpeters. Two Northern Harriers were seen in the area. More swans were found on Boy’s Road before we headed off west to Koksilah Road, we checked fields but came up a little short. Bench was empty so we headed off to Dougans Flats which had many swans and a bumper group of geese, the sun and mist made for bad viewing and all we could do was to estimate numbers and call them all Canada’s. From here on in we failed to find any more swans and the only compensation was about 100 Canada’s on Jim’s Pond.
The Dock Road was good with both Mute and Trumpeters on the far side of the bay. We had looks at Greater Scaup,Common Goldneye and Surf Scoter diving for goodies. A group of swans were sunbathing on the banks of the river by the longhouse on Tzouhalem Road. Our final stop was a small field by the Cowichan River that had just 3 swans.

Next week Dorothy and Eric will be doing a Iguana and Tortoise survey while we carry on with Swans and Geese.

Take care

Derrick

Four observers, Daryl Johnson, Kurleen Wen, Jennifer Lawson and Carol Hartwig (and Bob Down for a portion of the count) conducted a Coastal Bird Survey on Cowichan Estuary North-Khenipsen Road Sunday, January 12 from Noon to 1:30 PM. Visibility was good during the high tide with a rippled surface. A total of 18 species were observed including 74 American Widgeon, 560 Unidentified Gull, 497 Bufflehead, 37 Common Goldeneye, 1 Common Merganser, 14 Mallard, 3 Mute Swan, 54 Trumpeter Swan, 53 Mew Gull, 11 Surf Scoter, 6 Hooded Merganser, 3 Bald Eagle, 3 Double-crested Cormorant, 6 Pelagic Cormorant, 4 Canada Goose, 2 Horned Grebe, 1 Northwestern Crow, and 1 Belted Kingfisher. This was a total of 1330 waterbirds. This record has been filed with the BC Coastal Waterbird Survey.

Hi
It finally caught up with us, no not the holiday blues, but the weather, the rain that was forecast got us good, but in good counting style it did not sway us from the job at hand. Would you believe it, on our worst weather day of the season we had near record numbers, go figure.
Eagle numbers were down from the dizzy heights of two weeks ago, but we did manage 8 Red-tailed Hawks and a nice Peregrine Falcon sitting up on a dead snag on Koksilah Road east. No accipters this week, guess they, like us only like the good weather days.
Somenos Lake was very light on big waterfowl but little ones were good with 4 Ruddy Ducks and a single Canvasback swimming together and of course Hooded and Common Mergansers. 2 Pied-billed Grebes showed well.
Swans and geese were spread out this week and we did manage some big white birdies in the north end of our count with Quist Farm and Westholme Road adding a few.
Goose numbers have started to climb as birds from up island start to come for the good feeding in the valley and it was nice to spot two white neck banded birds on Herd Road which originated from Craig Bay up in the Parksville area, both were banded in 2012 and had not been seen since that summer. This is the second time I have had some of these birds in our area and I’m sure it won’t be the last. I contacted the banders and they were just happy to let us have some of their birds.
The mother load of geese, one of our biggest ever recorded flocks for our count were on Hwy 18 with 1100 Canada’s, 5 Cacklers and 8 Greater White-fronted Geese. Good job someone can count without fingers.
This week there were only 4 counters and I was entertained by 3 young at heart ladies who tried to sway my judgment with nuts and chockies, Christina took on the driving duties even though she had a bad foot, this bad foot came into play as we entered A&W where two amighty bumps had us bouncing around in the van, I’m sure if she had seen him earlier that poor fellow would not be laying prone on the ground, he was okay though as Isaw him with a coffee and a burger walking across the car park as we left, thank god for security cameras as it showed that he had thrown himself under the van to try and stop us form using the loo’s.
We headed off to Sahilton Road where we found over 200 Trumpeter’s in several different fields, once again there was a lack of immature birds, so i think we can safely say this was not a good breeding season for the swans.
We checked the fields on Koksilah Road west for any pheasants but all we found was a large flock of Robins. Bench Road was next and we added another 90+ swans. As we hit Dougans flats birds were flying about and it was hard to judge just how many were coming or going or how many we had counted already but when the feathers settled we had added another 70 birds to our ever growing total.
Surprise, surprise as we got to St.Catherines Road where 50 more swans were spread out down the fields.
From here on in it was getting wetter and the birds had gone and by the time we hit the Dock Road the fog and wet made it almost impossible to identify which species of swans we were looking at so I put them down as species.
Thanks to my three lovely ladies, Christina, Kurlene and Deb for their company and their friendly banter which makes these counts so entertaining to do.
You will notice in the files that i have added in the Duncan Christmas Count numbers for January 1st and although a little higher are not that far off from what we encountered.

Until next week, finish up those leftovers.
Derrick

Hi Birders
I have crunched the numbers and it was not as bad as i thought, most species were at or near our count average and there were a few that made star rating.
Here are the main figures:
Individules: 26,484
High Counts
Anna’s Hummingbird 169 up from 143 last year
Eurasian-collared Dove 92 up from 49 last year

Bird of the day Ring-necked Pheasant on Koksilah Road west

Big misses this year were Harlequin Duck, Red-throated Loon and Black Oystercatcher.

Highest count area was Quamichan Lake with 72 species, where Ruddy Duck numbers were down at #359, i was lucky to find 1 on Somenos Lake.

American Coots and Spotted Towhees were second highest ever counts and Peregrine Falcon and Merlin at 7 apiece was a nice showing.
Long-billed Dowitchers #3 are always nice addition on count day.

Duck numbers took a bit of a tumble and the very dry conditions had much too blame for this.
My area Somenos Marsh was very low in duck species and our total of 47 species total was a record low for me in 25 years.
Finch numbers were down with both Red Crossbills and Pine Siskins going on vacation this year, although we did get a few Evening Grosbeaks to add the totals.

One really good thing about the count this year were the arrival of some new counters, which pushed our total foot soldiers in the field up to 48, we haven’t had this many people for some time. Add to that about 8 feeder watchers, which sadly could be a lot better.
Once again we failed to put a boat out on the water, which kept our species total down from some of our good years.

A really big thank you to all participants and to all those helpers at the roundup who spoiled us rotten once again this year.

Good Birding

Derrick Marven
North Cowichan, BC

This week we were reduced to just 5 counters and so we squeezed into one vehicle which was admirably handled by Kurlene although the participants in the back seat were doing a lot of groping, it appears that the seat-belts were trying to get into the wrong receptacles.

This week saw a new high for this season of Trumpeter Swans with just over 300 found, which were spread out over most of the area that we cover, but sadly once again immatures were in low numbers. Canada Geese numbers went down again, but no other goose species were encountered.

If we compare numbers from the previous couple of years the numbers of Trumpeter Swans have gone up from last year, but go back three years and we have dropped down a lot. Canada Goose numbers over the previous three years were somewhat consistant, but are at an all time low this year, not sure what’s going on with them. Looking back it appears that once we get into the new year, numbers of swans start to grow, more than likely due to birds moving further down the island as the weather deteriorates or food sources dry up.
This year we have yet to find any neck banded birds, we were hoping for a couple that we have recorded before would grace our valley once more.
Here are the comparable numbers for week six from the four years of the count

2013/14 Trumpeter Swan # 318 Canada Goose # 747
2012/13   “”    “”    “”    “”      # 237    “”    “”     “”     # 1774
2011/12    “”    “”    “”    “”     # 396    “”    “”      “”     # 1322
2010/11    “”    “”    “”    “”    # 502    “”    “”      “”    # 1400

Eagle numbers dropped down a bit from last weeks great showing but were still well represented around the valley, many of which were up and flying, so we could have missed many as we navigated around all the Christmas shoppers.

As we left Somenos Lake and headed up Drinkwater Road a Road Runner lay prone on the side, it appeared to be of the sub species nikensis. It is strange how many of this species you see on the side of the road and on very rare occasions you will see a pair, one wonders where they all come from. I have also recorded adididasensis,conversis in the Cowichan Valley checklist area. If you are fortunate to find a pair please retrieve them as people at the nature house are in dire need of them.

At A&W during our little break, eagles were soaring all over the place, I guess the thermals were just right for a fly about.
Also down off Sahilton Road good numbers were flying. Guess they got fed up with sitting around in the trees and chatting.
I was glad to hear that one of the Somenos Marsh members high on coffee from the garage lounge staggered across the road, looked up and was amazed at how many eagles he could see, dots before the eyes he said. Glad I’m a tea drinker.

Anyways more about the count, we continued on our route and chalked up the numbers adding a few here and a few there.
I should add that once again we were blessed with incredible weather that is six weeks in a row now, although the breeze coming off Cowichan Bay made a couple hide in the vehicle after a few minutes.

As we proceeded along Hillbank Road a little yellow job flew across the road, I screamed stop and lept out the car hoping that we would find some wonderful species for our count, alas it was just a Ruby-crowned Kinglet that had been lit up by the bright sunlight, oh well maybe next time.

A wonderful pale Red-tailed Hawk sat on a fence post on the side of Telegraph Road; a beauty of a bird, well could have been a more easterly sub-species.

Cowichan Bay came through with a few Mute Swans and a score of Trumpeters. A nice Northern Harrier cruised past to give us nice close views.

So that was it, another great day in the valley and many thanks to Dorothy’s meticulous number keeping and to Eric, Deb and Kurlene for their company, may you all have a wonderful holiday. We will be taking a break for a while and be back on January 8th

All the best
Derrick

Hi
There are times when us as birders encounter incredible sights, as was the case this Wednesday when we saw trees loaded with eagles down off of Sahilton and Boy’s Roads. Incredible numbers in just one tree left us in awe at what nature had to offer. Although we tried to count most on Sahilton the numbers on Boy’s Road could only be estimated as there were so many in view and so many back in the trees.
The question was asked why? was it a lack of food that caused them all to sit up in the trees, was it that they were all full up with salmon or were they just resting or was it their Christmas Party, we will never know.

This week also saw some wonderful Christmas cards and tins of smoked salmon, see you should have come. Thanks to Christina for this lovely surprise. May she have a wonderful holiday. Sadly we missed out on chocolates this week, but we did have some wonderful mulled wine and cookies to keep us on top of things. Yes this counting business takes a major toll on us.

This count saw a major drop in both Swan and Goose numbers, where they went, who knows? I am sure that the cold snap that we have been having had a lot to do with it. We did have swans in a few new places from previous weeks so that made a change. The north end produced swans for the first time for a while with a nice group at Quist’s Farm and on Hwy 18 opposite the golf course.
A small group of swans were on Koksilah Road west but no Snipe or Killdeer were seen this week.
As we rounded a bend around to Dougan’s flats I’m sure a Hermit Thrush leapt up off the side of the road and disappeared into the woods, these hardy souls tend to spend some winters in northern climes not like their close cousins the Swainson’s who head south to warmer lands.

During a lull in proceedings one of the counters exclaimed that she had spotted toeees, we are unaccustomed to such outbursts while we are counting and usually do not get into other peoples afflictions, not sure how she got this terrible disease, but I do know she spends a lot of time in Cowichan Bay, so maybe this is where she got it. Let’s hope it’s not catching.

A couple of Cacklers were seen in amongst a large group of Canada’s up on Koksilah Road east and a good group of swans were there also.

From the Dock Road we could see a dozen or more Trumpeter’s, also there 2 adults and 1 immature Mute Swans. A lot of the diving ducks have left leaving me to believe that the food source has almost gone, this is early this year and is a little worrying. A couple of Surf Scoters were spotted, (well not spotted, that was someone else) and the Double-crested Cormorants had their arms out pleading for more food on the log booms.

This week we said goodbye to one of our eager lady counters as she is leaving for parts colder, she did a wonderful job of driving this week and only had to be told a few times which way to go. She will be back with us in the new year to keep us on the not so straight and narrow.

I don’t think that on the count we will be recording more eagles than swans too often as was the case this week.

When all was said and done we had another great weather day, that makes 5 weeks in a row now, some great things to look at and some wonderful company. Just one more count before the holidays lets hope we can improve on this weeks low numbers of waterfowl.

Take Care
Derrick

Who knows what’s around the corner?

Gail Mitchell, Hilary Stead, Kathy Coster, Linda Hill, Jane Kilthei, and John Scull gathered on a cold but beautiful Sunday morning to count the birds from Hecate Park.  The bird list can be found at http://www.cowichanestuary.ca/wildlife/birds/#Coastal_Waterbird_Survey.  The new bird for the day was a Killdeer who appeared to be uncomfortably cold.  After the count most of us adjourned to the True Grain Bakery for coffee.

Three observers, Daryl Johnson, Carol Hartwig and Kurlene Wenberg, conducted a Coastal Bird Survey on Cowichan Estuary North-Khenipsen Road Sunday, December 8, 2013 from 10 AM to 11:25 AM. Visibility was excellent during the high tide and there was no human disturbance. There were a total of 15 species that included 515 American Widgeon, 230 Unidentified Gull, 245 Bufflehead, 8 Common Goldeneye, 67 Mallard, 12 Mute Swan, 24 Trumpeter Swan, 11 Mew Gull, 6 Surf Scoter, 9 Hooded Merganser, 14 Bald Eagle, 2 Double-crested Cormorant, 2 Canada Goose, 1 Great Blue Heron and 2 Horned Grebe.

It was a cool morning that brought 6 eager birders out to count and it was slow going for the first couple of hours with other than Canada Geese not much was put on the list. The tally keeper had not even had to sharpen her pencil as things were so bad.
Just two Trumpeters were on Somenos Lake and were surrounded by a multitude of Common Mergansers. A few eagles materialized at Quist’s Farm and a nice Merlin flew over A&W at break time.

The Corfield, Sahilton Road area provided us with our first significant count with over 400 geese and 33 Trumpeter Swans
Koksilah Road west provided us with some swans which skulked along a hedgerow making it almost impossible to get a proper count, but 30 swans were added to our slowly growing total. Bench and Wilson’s Road were devoid of birds unlike previous years counts
Dougan’s flats were bad again and St. Catherine’s Road could only manage one adult Coopers Hawk and a smattering of Sparrows of three different species.
We headed on past Jim’s Pond and around off Telegraph Road, the three ladies were really getting too far behind us at this point and were sure to miss something good if they didn’t keep up, this is where I spotted a Snowy Owl sitting on top of a house, a quick message was sent out over the walkie-talkie and shrills were heard as the girls roared up the road to join us, they were in such a hurry that they failed to hear all the message as the Snowy Owl was a plastic one put on the roof to attract gulls, heh heh heh.

Koksilah Road east provide us with some very good numbers of waterfowl with the cornfields being filled with with nearly a 1000 birds.
Once again this week the immature swans were low, but with a better percentage overall as the adults were down a bit.

Along the Dock Road we found a good number of swans and some idiot in a motorized hang glider who was disturbing all the birds over by the mill, not wanting anybody to get hurt I would have liked to have seen this individual go head first in the estuary.
Strangely only one Mute Swan was tallied for the area, not sure where the rest were hiding.

We were also approached by an older gentleman who, to say the least smelt like the perfume counter at Eatons, and then by another two guys who appeared to have been in close proximity to the first guy. This was a first for me having not smelt the bay being so exotic ever. I do hope I never meet them in a closed environment as I am not one for the old smelly stuff.

After the numbers were crunched the swans were down as were our hawks and eagles, but sadly those pesky Canada Geese increased a bit, maybe some from further up island thought that the weather would be warmer in the south.

With our chances of getting 5 weeks with good weather looking rather bleak and with this onset of cold snowy weather that our numbers over the next two weeks will be greatly diminished. Much counting I think will be done from the vehicles.

At the start of the day I had told the group that I would be unable to join them for next weeks count having a special engagement which due to a hiccup in my memory bank was totally wrong, but the three girls in our group had already started to plan how, what and where they were going to monopolize the count, well tough luck girls as I will be there to control your takeover bid, until next week.

Stay Warm
Derrick

Hi
Our numbers are growing, both in counters and swans. 6 people in two cars headed out through roadworks and dikes hoping that the good weather would hold and yes it did with ideal if not a little bright conditions for the whole count. This week I teamed up with Eric & Dorothy and the trouble makers followed on behind connected by the walkie-talkies.
We managed to count a nice group of geese at the golf driving range before moving on to Somenos Lake where a handful of Trumpeters and 1 Mute Swan were found.
Soon we were on our way along the Hwy where out the corner of my eye I spotted a large group of Elk off to our left, but with traffic coming behind us fast we were past them before we could stop, but the girls in the following vehicle managed to stop and count around 30 lovely beasts feeding in the field.
It was now north to Quist’s Farm where we managed a meager count of swans and a large herd of geese, did I say herd, I meant cackle. This season has been a bit disappointing in the north end of our count with most birds favoring the warmer weather in the south end. The Bald Eagles are starting to return and we had a healthy count of both them and Red-tailed Hawks for the day.
Westholme Road had a nice bunch of swans. Our lookout at this location is starting to grow over with broom and it took me two attempts to find my way through, maybe some loppers might be added to the trunk in the weeks to come.
Well that was it for a while, our pit stop at A&W produced both cookies and chocolates which were well received before we moved on to the south. Corfield and Sahilton were a bust so across the Hwy to the west we went, the cornfields on Koksilah was our next stop although no big birds were visible some smaller feathered friends were skulking in the stubble. It was time to put all my promises together and produce a Wilson’s Snipe, well what can I say we had them coming out our ying-yang. At one time I had 10 snipe in the scope at once, but if they didn’t move some had problems seeing them, in the end all had good looks and we moved on. YES Daryl SNIPE!
On and on we went with just goosies to count and it was not long before we had reached Cowichan Bay and Dinsdale’s Farm where this year we have got our numbers made up with large flocks of both Swans and Geese and of course our wannabe Swan, Sandy the Sandhill Crane.
It amazes me that the Swans roost this season out on the water in the bay but the Crane fly’s in and out with them both early and late, I just wonder where it sets up it’s bed in the evening. Could it roost on the back of a swan or maybe on a close by log, who knows?
After much counting we had increased our swan numbers from the previous week and even added a Tundra Swan and 9 Greater White-fronted Geese who appeared to be worn out and maybe had just arrived from the great white north. One of our counters tallied the geese and had arrived at about 700, which is one of the largest counts per location that we have ever had. Our overall numbers for geese decreased a little this week as I guess some had moved further down through into Washington State.
The Dock Road was next and we were greeted with a really nice surprise when we spotted 5 Bonapart’s Gulls mixed in with both California and Thayer’s Gulls. Earlier in the day I had seen a adult Herring Gull on the car park at Art Mann Park so it was a good gull day. I know not everyone’s cup of tea and some would say a gulls a gull, well not in my eyes.
That was just about it we said goodbye to the Marshalls and I jumped in with the trouble makers, one especially caused a lot of trouble and accused me of mis-conduct which in turn caused the woman to take me in the wood yard, where I feared for my life and after much begging I was taken back to my car with my scope in tact.

That’s it folks have fun and until we meet again next Wednesday.

Take Care
Derrick