It was a dark and stormy morning in Cowichan Bay. It was cold and windy with the waves breaking on the rocks and sending spray onto the path. In spite of the change to Daylight Savings Time, Gail, Christina, Linda, and John managed to get out at 8 am. In the rough seas the buffleheads and goldeneyes swam in tight groups, making them easy to count. The herons left their trees to circling and soar in the strong winds.
We counted:
Turkey Vulture 1, Surf Scoter 2, Great Blue Heron 31, Double-crested Cormorant 4, Bald Eagle 1 gull sp. 8 Northwestern Crow, 2 Glaucous-winged Gull, 4 Belted Kingfisher, 1 Hooded Merganser, 3 Bufflehead 118 Common Goldeneye 38
John
The waterbird survey off Khenipsen Rd. was a bit brief this morning, due to rather inclement weather!! Only six bird species were seen by Christine Gilbertson, Bob Nation, and Daryl Johnson.
Trumpeter Swans 2, Bufflehead 45, Bald Eagle 1, Glaucous-winged Gull 1, unidentified gull species 72, Barrow’s Goldeneye 4,
When one crosses wind with rain you create a hybrid and the 7 counters today had a pair of hybrids. The weather man said expect rain about 2 to 2:30 so I ushered our driver along in the hopes that we would beat the incoming storm, but sadly once again they lied and by 11:30 am it started as we set about lunch at A&W. From then on it went from bad to worse until near the end strong wind joined in and created a hybrid weather system. Trying to get the counters to vacate the vehicles was an impossible task, they just flatly refused to budge. At least one person did his duty and our numbers were very good considering, Trumpeter Swan adults went down a bit which is to be expected as some eager adults like to get up north first. immature birds were right on average with one flock having more younguns than adults.
Our first stop I did manage to get people out at Somenos Lake and we were rewarded with the Western Grebe which we showed to our good friend Peggy who I suspect was waiting for us to turn up, but not much else was seen.
On up the highway we went and a few Swans were had at Quists farm and a Killdeer was heard but not seen.
Eagle numbers took a dive this week as did most raptors.
We went up Westholme Road and were confronted by a large funeral at the first nations cemetery and just along from here in a small pond where we have had Wood Ducks; was this according to Barry a strange pheasant type bird, which amazingly turned out to be a Hybrid Mallard X Northern Pintail, this happens a lot across Canada and I had seen a few of these before. Barry was having a good day for strange waterfowl for as we went down Herd Road I saw some geese which Barry said they are different, we SCREECHed to a halt and run across the road and there they were 15 decoys all standing bolt upright with some strange feather patterns. 15 then became the number of the day, because at our next stop we had 15 real Canada Geese and at another stop we had 15 Trumpeter Swans.
Boy’s and Sahilton added a few more swans and a couple of Red-tailed Hawks and then it was over to the west side, now I know during a storm the west is not the way to go, but for swan counters you have to go where the birds are. Koksilah Road gave us a nice group of swans and there could have been more but with the raindrops beating against the scope of the one and only counter to get out of the vehicle and like one of our vehicles the wiper was knocked flat down in the wind.
Bench Road treated us to our best flock once again and for the most part all the swans were way down the field, all except for a small group at the corner of Wilson and Bench who seemed hell bent on defying the scarecrow who was about as scary as that famous lion from a film long ago.
Dougan’s Flats came and went and St.Catherine’s offered up a few swans, we checked Jim’s Pond, but I think the snipe have gone off to breed just leaving the single goose with the broken wing who has been here for years.
Koksilah Road east had many white blobs, well that what they looked like through the rain drenched window, but as luck would have it we did see a pair of adult Tundra Swans who were different from the bird seen earlier in the week, so there could be a few out there mixed in those far off flocks.
Down through the Bay and a few more eagles and a couple of Mute Swans and we were on the home stretch. the Dock Road was like a monsoon zone and I and anybody else failed to unlock the doors, that was it, enough of this weather, next week I will make sure that the sun shines as the group are starting to look paler than the swans because of their lack of sunlight.
Photo Credits
Pied-billed Grebe by Barry Hetscho
Scarecrow by Zan Stenhouse
Hybrid Duck by Barry Hetscho
Lamb chops by Zan Stenhouse
We dodged a real bullet today weather wise, with rain storms on both side of our first spring count, we had a dry run. 8 birders once again set out from the dog park and things were very slow for count species. Flying out over Somenos Marsh near the Forest Museum were both Tree and Violet-green Swallow and as it turned out they appeared nearly every where we went today with many hundreds seen. We did manage to find the Western Grebe again on Somenos Lake along with a couple of Ruddy Ducks, but other than a few Canada Geese that was it. Oh I nealy forgot as we came down Drinkwater Road along side the forested area I spotted a Pink Peggy who was heading down to see what was on the lake, this species is usually seen along the Dock Road. With most small dickie birds hiding from us today it was hard for the photographers to get many pictures, a lot of our sparrow species have started to move out with both Fox and Golden-crowned Sparrows moving north with just a few feeder birds yet to be enticed away. California Quail are starting to think about increasing the winter deficit and the males are parading around in fresh spring plumage, how could a young lady resist.
At Quist’s farm we did pick up a few Bald Eagles and this week our Red-tailed Hawk numbers bounced back up.
This week we had 2 Peregrine Falcons and 2 Northern Harriers and 1 Coopers Hawk in our raptor total and with 21 Bald Eagles and 10 Red-tailed Hawks. This was a slight decrease from last weeks total.
We slowly worked our way around Westholme and along to Richards Trail, but other than swallows birds were thin on the ground and water. By the time we had finished along Herd Road we had just over 100 Canada Geese and no Trumpeter Swans.
Hwy 18 was our saviour as we saw some Trumpeters as we headed up bedside the golf course, 15 adults and 11 immature was a good ratio, but that was it for some time. After our break it was down onto Boys Road and the raptor car found a few Wood Ducks in a small vegetated wetland, but they did manage to get a couple of pictures between all the branches. Us who were looking for bigger waterfowl found a Northern Harrier and a Peregrine Falcon, go figure?
It was time to move on and with not much to see on the east side we were across the highway and off to Koksilah Road where some big white birds awaited our arrival, Iwas dumped off on the side of the road to count the swans and after adding about 50 I was confronted by the raptor chicks who were taking photos of me as I played with my tripod in the bushes with swans in the background looking on.
We did manage another flock of swans along Koksilah before we headed out onto Bench where once again the big load awaited to be counted and like most weeks they couldn’t have been further away. There was a stiff breeze coming across the fields and it was then that I noticed that muggings was the only one out of the vehicles and with tears streaming down my cheeks from looking through the scope I managed to count 202 adults and 32 immature Trumpeter Swans. Along to Dougan’s Flats we headed and another nice flock of swans but sadly two fancy piggies which have had their pictures taken in previous weeks were not to be found, I can only hope that the bacon that I consumed for brekky were not these porkers.
Another 75 Trumpeters were had over the last few stops and 4 Mute Swans and that was it. A few rain drops started to hit the window screen and we knew that we were lucky on this dull but dry day.
photo credits.
Wood Duck by Kurlene Wenberg
Swan counter, Christina Cutbill
Golden-crowned Sparrow, by Barry Hetschko
California Quali, by Eric Marshall
On this lovely day when I went without a coat for the whole trip myself and 7 fellow counters saw and heard some wonderful sights.
This week we had a new driver, with Kurlene afraid to fill her vehicle up with gas in case the price dropped down, Zan took the wheel and did an admirable job, just a few bumps as she got used to the backroads and potholes, such is the life of a swan counter/driver. Taking orders from their beloved leader is a prerequisite for this position and Zan followed my instructions to the letter, I can see her getting this job again. Our good friend Dixie joined us this week and it was nice to show her some birds that maybe she had never seen before, her smiling face was most welcome on our route.
Numbers of swans were very good with just over 600 counted and even the Goosies went up a bit this week.
Our day started at the dog park where Barry spotted a lump in a tree on Lakes Road, this turned out to be a nice Peregrine Falcon our one and only falcon for the day.
Along the highway at Holmes Creek the shout went up for a Swallow, I missed it our first of the year, the bird disappeared over the willows and was gone. On the DU pond below the Forest Museum we had a pair of Mute Swans, they appear to be setting up for the upcoming breeding season, these birds have bred there for many years.
Out on Somenos Lake there was this strange grebe that kept laying it’s head and neck back on it’s body, at first Ithought it was a Horned Grebe doing some strange mating ritual, but then it sat bolt upright on the water and low and behold it was a Western Grebe a very rare visitor to the lake.
A few Ruddy Ducks continued over the far side of the lake and the Canada Geese were counted, so we headed back up Drinkwater Road where our driver come spotter said, there’s a woodpecker on the tree and there way down low was a nice Red-breasted Sapsucker, this of course drew all the photographers out from both vehicles and many images were taken. With the amount of time taken we could have done with a stop and go girl to help with the traffic.
Anyways we were off to the races as my old dad used to say with two good species seen with high hopes of more to come.
At Quist’s Farm came our first Trumpeter Swans with 9 adults and 1 immature, no more were added until we reached Hwy 18 where 14 more were out in a field opposite the golf course. Eagles were soaring up in the sky above the road along with many Common Ravens who were taking in the favorable thermals on this warm day.
It was about now that one of our party piped up about her husband lifting his night gown and showing her his lump, at this point I had to remind her that this was a family bird count and not like some episode of Dr Phil.
After a quick lunch break at A&W we were on our way again and it was not long until we hit the birds of the day when the radio crackled that the quasi raptor car had spotted a Western Meadowlark along Sahilton Road, after a fast turnaround and a glimpse at a male Eurasian Wigeon we joined the others and watched not one but two Western Meadowlarks and for those with hearing they sung also, for some this was the first time they had heard this wonderful song, a herd of Starlings dislodged them from their perch and so we moved on. I nearly forgot along this road a Killdeer was heard calling, they will be nesting soon.
Over we went to the west side of town and a few Trumpeters were found in a field with a couple of hundred American Wigeon along Koksilah Road west, it wasn’t until we hit Bench did we find a major flock with over 300 swans made up with 274 adults and 48 immature. I detected a sense of urgency amongst the flock as most were feeding, fattening up as the north beckoned them to come, within the next couple of weeks many will leave on this journey to the breeding grounds. As luck would have their journey should be good with conditions up north being very favorable with open water and semi mild conditions. The suspected 01UK was again in the flock but was far to far away to identify with certainty.
Dougan’s Flats had it’s usual group of Canada Geese and St. Catherine’s Road added another 20+ Trumpeter’s.
Koksilah Road east came through with many swans with a good ratio of adult to immature 96-35. We were on the home stretch and it was a surprise to find another good flock of Trumpeters to bolster our numbers on Dinsdale’s Farm with over 100 birds with an even better ratio of 60 adults to 41 immature.
Our last stop was a little colder as the evening breeze pushed up along the Dock Road, we added 7 Mute Swans and 8 Trumpeters and another surprise was our second Eurasian Wigeon who swam out from the river into the estuary. A pair of Gadwall were also at this location.
It was a great count full of good humor and laughter and best of all the birds put on a great show for us on this lovely early spring day.
We head into March with just 4 more counts to do and we wish the swans a safe journey north as they start to leave us.
Photo credits
Western Grebe by Barry Hetscho
Red-breasted Sapsucker by Barry Hetscho
Bob and Dixie by Barry Hetscho
This week saw 8 counters head out in two vehicles expertly driven by Christina and Barry, the worst of the rain held off until the last 15 minutes so we kept ourselves dry.
Adult swan numbers dropped a bit this week but the immatures were spot on with the past few weeks numbers. Bald Eagle numbers went up a bit from last weeks drop with many adult pairs sitting together at nesting sites, it is always great to see these pairs bonding together for the breeding season.
Canada Goose numbers dropped considerable this week with just 432, not sure where they all went, but they weren’t in our count area.
Red-tailed Hawks seem to have retreated back in the woods, but one lovely individual put on a nice show for the shutterbugs.
A 3 Merlin day was nice and a couple of accipiter species, the last one giving us much trouble even with a picture or two, my personal feeling was that it was an adult Sharp-shinned Hawk, but the pictures really didn’t confirm that.
One of the best sightings of the day was seen by me, as I always stop along Lakes Road to count the Geese as I head to the dog park, i climbed up on the dike behind the gas station and down below me were several Green-winged Teal and with them was a nice Eurasian version, known as the Common Teal, each year we seem to get one somewhere around the valley.
A strange sighting was up on Tom Windsor Drive where a bird sitting on a hydro pole gave us much trouble while looking through our bins, Barry suggested a Great Gray Owl but I thought more like Great Blue Heron, Barry said he could see the bill, while I thought it had it’s wings hanging down, well after much deliberation I got the scope out and put it on full power only to discover that it was some contraption on top of the pole with straps coming down onto the wires, it just goes to show, you must always check properly these strange looking birds.
Killdeer were heard calling at Quist’s farm and 2 others were seen on Richards Trail.
As we left Richards trail like we do each week we look for a black and white moggie, that sits in a field looking for anything that moves, this feline has been at this location for several years, but for the last few weeks had been absent, so it was with great pleasure we saw it this week and it posed nicely to have it’s picture taken.
Many nights after the day’s counting my head starts to create dreams of all sorts of strange happenings and last night was no exception, somehow or another I had a nightmare that we missed a whole bunch of swans when we failed to visit one of our better spots, I can remember screaming that we had to turn around and go back, but each time we ended up back at the same spot and why was Paul Fletcher driving? Those raptor girls kept laughing at me. It didn’t matter what I said we failed to count the birds, sadly I had to report that we only got a few Trumpeter Swans and there was outrage that we had failed to do our count properly, we even got a visit from the Trumpeter Swan Society to investigate if we were capable of carrying on. Not sure what happened after that as Ias i woke up rolled over and cuddled the wife. These counts must really get to me at times and all this talk about the upcoming visit from the swan society must have been playing on my mind.
A Pileated Woodpecker was working a dead snag at Duncan Meadows golf club as many Common Ravens frolicked in the sky having left the dump for some R&R.
Bench Road held the mother load of Trumpeter Swans with 332 adults and 80 immature, a wonderful sight indeed.
One very interesting sighting this week was on Wilson Road where a large pen had three big porkers, one brown, one black and one white, this reminded me of the British flag of red, white and blue. Not sure why they should have one of each color, but if they breed they might make an interesting striped pig.
We managed to get 3 Tundra Swans this week, one adult at Bench with an immature and another adult at Koksilah Road east which looked rather large and gave suggestion of maybe a hybrid, the bill suggests Tundra, but the size, who knows? but our photographers got a good picture so have look and see what you think.
While checking the swans out on the bay from the Dock Road the rain started in earnest and so we called it a day and headed back to the dog park.
This week it was our elder counter Eric’s time to get his picture taken along with swans in the background. I am amazed that our friend packs so much volunteering in to one week along with his wife Dorothy, who we have yet to get a snap.
Photo credits:
Eric by Barry Hetschko
Swans by Christina Cutbill
Red-tailed Hawk by Zan Stenhouse
Moggie by Kurlene Wenberg
On Valentine’s Day, February 14th, 2016
It was a dark and overcast morning in Cowichan Bay, but there was no rain and the mist around the mountains was beautiful. Hilary Stead (and her Belgian WWOOFer Loic Leconte), Linda Hill, Gail Mitchell, Barry Hetcho, John Scull, Kathy O’Donnell, and Jim O’Donnell counted:
Canada Goose 3
Great Blue Heron 3
Double-crested Cormorant 21
Common Goldeneye 21
Bufflehead 113
Hooded Merganser 4
Glaucous-winged Gull 2
Gull sp. 11
Horned Grebe 4
Rock Pigeon (feral pigeon) 10
and 8 Surf Scoters.
The North side survey was done by Daryl Johnson and Christine Gilbertson. Seen were –
Horned Grebe 2
Double-crested Cormorant 3
Canada Goose 12
Mute Swan 5
Trumpeter Swan 9
Mallard 16
Surf Scoter 7
Bufflehead 12
Common Goldeneye 25
Hooded Merganser 1
Common Merganser 11
Bald Eagle 1 Adult
Gull species 87
Belted Kingfisher 1
Today marked a milestone on our count as we reached 125 counts, this in our seventh season. The party was wild as 5 participants piled into one car, no rain was going to dampen our day. We were joined by Eric and Dorothy later to make 7 hardy counters..
As I look back through the counts I noted that twice in two separate years in late February we had to cancel because of heavy snow, so all you people out there who think spring is here, think on.
This week we rebounded with our waterfowl and dropped further behind with our raptors. 560 Trumpeters were counted and 2 immature Tundra Swans were seen, well apart unlike last week when they were both in the same field. Immature Trumpeter Swans were identical to last week in numbers but adults went up be almost 100. It was strange in some places with many adults together with no young and others with lots, who knows why this takes place, maybe the adults don’t like the kids being around when they are thinking, I’m sure you know what that’s like.
Ruddy Ducks were once again seen on Somenos Lake and a few Northern Pintail were scattered in several places, Pintail numbers will grow over the next few weeks with major flocks appearing in many locations. Quist’s Farm had it usual flock of American Wigeon and a few swans this week which was nice. As is normal at this time of the year most swans were in the south end of town, luckily for the counter most were visible from the vehicle except it is still hard to differentiate adults from immature when the rain is beating down, so muggings has to get out now and again. One lovely raptor lady came up with a wonderful idea and so she held up a umbrella over my head while I was counting, I can see this becoming trend.
The photographers had a good day with many opportunities for some good shots, one came when we spotted a Northern Shrike up on Willmot Road; one lady carefully worked her way down a driveway stalking her prey firing off shot after shot as she got closer, little did she know that a neighbor was watching and came roaring down the road to see what was going on, our shutterbug leapt in the car and we were gone in a flash before we were reprimanded for going out of bounds.
As mentioned it was not the best of days and I was questioned about the weather several times, it appears that we have been spoiled and it is now time to pay the piper.
It was wonderful to see such big numbers once again at Dinsdale’s Farm and it was here that I spotted our second immature Tundra Swan, good pictures were taken of two immature of different species together. You will notice in the attached picture the very white plumage of the Tundra and the hint of a yellow teardrop appearing near the eye and the dark plumage of the accompanying Trumpeters. Also notice how thin the neck is at the body on the Tundra.
Barry got a wonderful shot of a dark phase Red-tailed Hawk during the week and on close inspection noticed the bird had broken the hook off of it’s bill, it closely resembles a parrot type bill, not sure how this would affect it ripping power on it’s prey, wonderful shot indeed.
As mentioned with raptor numbers down it was nice to get 4 accipiters, but only one was identified to species and that was a Coopers Hawk. Just a single Northern Harrier, a female,
at Dougan’s Flats, I think this bird lives there all winter as we seem to see it very often, there is abundant food out there in the meadows.
I have been trying to train the troops in Gull identification and slowly they have been getting the hang of it, they can now distinguish big ones from small ones. Today we pulled up right next to a Herring Gull along Koksilah Road west, a regular but uncommon gull in the valley, it took one look at the lens poking out the window and was gone in a flash, with just the tail end appearing on film.
Another good sighting today along Koksilah Road east when a Dixie sp. pulled up and captured Dorothy and carried her off before anyone could stop her. Poor Eric was left to find his own way home.
A great day of birding with some very special people when huddled together make a a bad day warm and comfy.
I think everyone went home happy on this dreary day, our job was done and some wonderful pictures were taken for your entertainment
Photo credits
Hookless Hawk, Barry Hetschko
Northern Shrike Zan Stenhouse
Immature Swans, Barry Hetschko
Rainy Day Birding Barry Hetschko
Enjoy
Derrick
Today we lost the Midas touch with the weather, as some of us got soaked while others curled up in the vehicles, what a rotter it was, oh well we had a good run of clear count days. All was not lost as we did extremely well for birds if not numbers. This week saw a major reduction in Trumpeter Swans as the number dropped by 250 birds, this is the first time on our yearly counts that we have seen a drop of this magnitude in the month of February, we have had drops before due to freezing and snowy conditions, but nothing like this. The Bald Eagle numbers also took a tumble with just 17 adults and only 2 immature. Now for the good stuff, we managed 3 Tundra Swans and 10 Mute Swans, the Canada Goose numbers were stable with numbers almost identical to last week. The raptors put on a good show in spite of the weather with a reduced number of Red-tailed Hawks, but a Coopers and Sharp-shinned Hawks, a Merlin and a Peregrine Falcon to round off our numbers. We once again came across the Common Redpolls who seem to be playing a game with some local birders as they move back and forth around the Somenos area, this week they were back beside the offices of the school board along Beverly Street. A few Ruddy Ducks were way out on Somenos Lake and many Ring-necked Ducks were seen along the Somenos Marsh strip.
I mentioned to our 9 participants at our meeting spot that I needed a nice picture of myself birding to send to a good friend in Ontario who I hadn’t seen for many years, so I had to be on my best behavior not knowing where and when the shutters might click, well with cat calls coming from the Raptor groupies to get my gear off, what I exclaimed in this weather, not likely, so I gave them the look of a disturbed birder. One nice raptorette did get some nice pictures that I could use and I thank her most profoundly.
Most of our Trumpeter Swans were found on the west side of town with Koksilah, Bench Roads being the hotspots. Dougan’s Flats was deserted except for a massive flock of American Wigeon and Dinsdales Farm was lacking any birds at all.
As I mentioned before there were three Tundra Swans this week and an adult up on Bench and those two pesky immature birds seen last week were on Willmot Road, I am now sure that they identified properly. The ten Mute Swans were all in the Cowichan Bay and were seen from the Dock Road, it appears that birds that had moved a bit south to Mill Bay have moved back north.
That was it a wet and windy day, with not much chance of a good photo of a bird, but we had done our duty and another count was under our belt.
I have asked that prayers be given for next weeks weather in the hopes that I don’t get the blame for the wet stuff.
Photo credits
Oh Canada, by Zan Stenhouse
Catkins and Redpolls by Zan Stenhouse
Common Redpoll by Kurlene Wenberg
Disturbed Birder by Christina Cutbill
It had to happen, the weather finally caught up with us, a dull dreary day with spattering’s of rain, but with all bad things there was a silver lining and oh did we have some silver today.
Our day started at the dog park where 7 counters set out and we had not gone a km when the lead car was looking at a wonderful Northern Shrike, this shrike was so intrigued with us as we sat watching it. I came closer so that Barry was able to get a few snaps of this lovely bird. As we admired the shrike a crackerly voice came over the walkie-talkie exclaiming that those lovely raptor ladies had some Common Redpolls back behind us, we of course had driven right past these birds because we were checking the fields for swans and geese and most times don’t bother to look up. We arrived back to find the ladies out of their vehicle with cameras shooting off pictures of these rare birds for Vancouver Island. I am afraid with bad light and many branches the photos were nothing to write home about, but were good enough for confirmation purposes. It is ironic that the first time a large group was ever found on Vancouver Island it was in this same location, how neat is that?
After all this excitement it was back to the counting of the waterfowl and it was not long before our numbers started to grow. This week saw another rise in our swan numbers but a major decrease in Canada Geese. Somenos Lake offered about 15 Ruddy Duck and some more geese, but not one swan was in sight. A couple of Pied-billed Grebes and a very small number of sundry duck species were seen. We headed off down the highway in high hopes of something bigger and better, well bigger came in the shape of our first Trumpeter Swans along Westholme Road and the ladies found a Sharp-shinned Merlin, this is another species that can change it’s shape and it’s pedigree while you look at it. Along Westholme is a small holding that has a few sheep and some piggies, the sheep were up and feeding while the pigs were all in a pile lying on top of each other with trotters and ears all over the place, they had all decided that with the incoming weather it was best to cuddle up and cure the bacon in one large lump, while marinating in a pile of mud, put it like this they looked happier than the sheep anyways, thus the old adage “happy as a pig in you know what.” Richard’s Trail came and went with lots of water but lacking in what we were looking for. Our tally sheets were looking decidedly thin as we arrived at A&W, but those rapets showed us a picture of a Northern Harrier that we had overlooked on Tom Windsor, so all was not lost. After a hearty meal of chicken legs, egg salad sandwiches and homemade cookies we were on our way again. Boy’s Road area added a few more swans and some much needed Bald Eagles. A small group of California Quail ran up a driveway and huddled together for a group photo. It was time to head off to the west and find some swans. Koksilah Road did not disappoint with a major group of swans to get us counting. It is good to see that this farmer is leaving the swans to feed in his fields. We worked our way around to Bench where again we were greeted to a major flock of over 280 swans, our list was now starting to look good. It was at Bench that we found, which for me was the bird of the day in the form of a very dark Red-tailed Hawk of the Harlan’s form, with totally dark body and a mottled tail, it was such a shame that the bird was so far away and on such a dark dismal day as I would have liked for one of our photographers to have got a good picture, oh well you can’t have everything. Dougan’s and St.Catherine’s had just a few more swans and it was not until we hit Koksilah Road east did we find another big group of 160 birds. We were now well over last weeks total and heading over the 700 mark for the day. The rain was now coming down good as we headed for our last few stops, a Cackling Goose sat out in the open at Dinsdales Farm and to finish off our day we reached the Dock Road for a quick look at some distant Mutes and Trumpeters.
We had a wonderful day for birds and our worst day for weather, but smiles were seen all around, so everyone was happy.
Photo credits
Common Redpolls, Zan Stenhouse
Northern Shrike, Barry Hetschko
Baldy fierce, Christina Cutbill
Young Eagle, Zan Stenhouse
It was a dull and nippy morning as 10 birders set off in the search for the swans and geese and once again it did not take long for our tally keeper to get her pencil working. We had both swans and geese along the highway just past the open air classroom at Somenos. Also along this stretch were Red-winged Blackbirds sitting up on territory singing away. At Somenos Lake several Bald Eagles flew around and about 10 Ruddy Ducks were over in the far corner of the lake. Many Double-crested Cormorants were out on the water with both immature and adults, the immature show a pale blaze down their fronts unlike the all black adults. Quists farm had good number of Bald Eagles unlike last week when there were just three.
We then went along Westholme Road where we picked up just under 40 swans.
Our totals for swans went down a little this week, but the ratio of immature to adults got better, which is a good sign as they build up strength for the trip north in March. I was also very surprised at the lack of diving ducks in Cowichan Bay who’s numbers have totally disappeared from just a couple of weeks ago.
Once again we did well for hawks and eagles with 2 Peregrine Falcons, 1 Merlin, 3 Coopers Hawks and a Sharp-shinned Hawk boosting our numbers.
Yesterday I noticed a posting on one of our BC birding sites that the Trumpeter Swan with neck band 01UK which has been in the valley for the past few years was photographed on Saltspring Island this week, guess she decided to vacation on one the islands this winter. This year makes it 10 years since she was born. This is the good information you learn about when you have a banded swan or goose.
When we reached our half way point at A&W one off the hawk team started kissing people in passing cars while holding a chicken leg in one hand and a coffee in the other, I think this must be some old custom shown by those who search out raptors. You know how those hawks are drawn to chicken.
After the break we headed to Boys and Sahilton Roads but other than a couple of Gadwall and a pair of Red-tailed Hawks it was a bit of a bust. At this time we left our Raptor team as they tried to count the Red-tails from two different roads and headed over to the west side and Koksilah Road. At first we found hardly anything and then along just before Bright Angel Park a nice group of swans were found, 70 birds in total boosted our numbers. Then onto Bench Road where again it appeared to be empty, then as we came to the top of the ridge in the road those big white forms started to appear and another 250 Swans were added.
It then went slow again until we hit Koksilah Road east where a large group of swans and geese appeared and our second Peregrine Falcon sat up for us to admire.
Down through the bay we went and Dinsdales farm, it was alive with birds, it is amazing how these birds come back to a spot when the hunters stay out of this sanctuary, to me it is sheer stupidity to allow hunting on this farm what was purchased by Nature Trust for conservation purposes. How can these people allow over 2000 ducks, swans and geese be displaced by a couple of hunters with a dog for a couple of weeks. These birds just go and impact other farms, when they should be safe in Dinsdales.
It was here that I took advantage of a lapse in concentration by the raptor counters, I had always wondered what had enticed both Barry and Bob to the back seat of their vehicle, so I made a run for it and leaped in the back, here I was met by hugs and giggles by one of these raptosius counters, I was lucky to escape with my life, I quickly lept out and sort refuge back in with Eric and Dorothy, never again will I
try that stunt.
Our day was coming to a close as we went down the Dock Road, 3 Mute Swans were counted and 8 more Trumpeter’s. Some adult eagles sat out on the piling’s wondering where all the duckies had gone, guess it will be Gull for supper again.
After the count Zan went back to check on the geese at the golf driving range and got 4 neck banded geese, 008F, 050F, 071F, 135F, well done Zan and all photographed as well.
Photo Credits
Baldy by Zan Stenhouse
ducking the ball by Zan Stenhouse
calling up the girls by Kurlene Wenberg
until next weeks thrilling encounter
Derrick of 9 lives.
Today I returned to the count in hopes of shaking off this bad back and what a fine day it was, the rain was gone and the temperature was very pleasant and the birds did not disappoint. 6 birders left the dog park in two cars and another 2 joined up at A&W at the break. It didn’t take long for the excitement to begin with plenty of geese to count along the Beverly Street stretch and at the golf driving range there he was James Bonds older brother with neck collar 008, it will be a great day if we ever find 007, that’s if it hasn’t already been shot. 050 was also in the same field.
This week saw a great increase in Trumpeter Swan numbers with just under 650 being counted, this is not unusual for the numbers to go up in the middle of January as more birds come down from the north end of the island. All it takes is a little snowfall and the fields get covered and food source becomes hard to find.
I was hoping for a bit of sympathy today and thought I would be sat in the vehicle watching the others do all the counting, well this did not happen instead I did the counting and the book work, which somehow seemed to get in a tangle each time I entered some numbers on the spreadsheet, all those pencils on string, most confusing, they had a mind of their own.
Eagle numbers went down, which again is the norm for mid January, with the food source diminishing fast, they all start to move on.
44 Trumpeters were on Somenos Lake and another 16 were at Westholme, so this got us off to a good start and it seemed from here on until the end we found swans at most locations. This week 3 immature swans gave me a little trouble with identification, you see Trumpeters stay very dull brown and gray well into February before they start to molt whereas Tundra molt from December into January and are very white by the middle of the month. Two birds were on the fields at Bench an another was up off of Koksilah Road, We got photo’s of one of the swans and it shows what appears to be a Trumpeter in advanced spring plumage, this is very strange. The bill clearly identifies the dark of the bill right up to the eye, which rules out Tundra. I guess I will put them down as immature Trumpeters unless next week we get a better look at these very pale birds.
As we entered Tom Windsor Drive a young Deer peered at us through a page wire fence and seemed entranced with us, Barry of course was quick off the mark and shot a few pictures off through the window, the other car lagged behind looking at a Cooper’s Hawk and before they arrived a large semi turned onto the road and frightened the deer off, who ever heard of a semi truck being on this short dead end country road.
After our break we headed down to the Boy’s/ Sahilton Road area and as luck would have it the Barred Owl which was seen and found by Kurlene last week was waiting to say hello to the arriving counters and of course photographers. This lovely bird just sat there posing for all. This is our first Barred Owl in all these years of Swan and Goose counts which is surprising to me especially with how many there are around the valley. A few more swans were added and our goose numbers started to rise. We had only gone halfway and we were over 500.
Over to the west side of town we headed and much to our surprise Koksilah Road west gave us over 100 swans and some very accommodating eagles. A couple of Ruby-crowned Kinglets put in an appearance beside the road, these tiny little mites had survived the cold and snow and were getting a living low down in the bushes. Bench had a few more swans and then Dougan’s Flats added a few more Geese.
Over on St.Catherine’s a nice mixed group were seen with over 70 swans and 400 Canada’s. Here a Anna’s Hummingbird was intrigued at what we were doing and sat watching us watching him, Barry always on the alert for a good client, blasted a few pictures to keep the hummer happy. It kept turning it’s head to show his better side.
Birds have finally started to use the fields on Koksilah Road east and our totals gained a few more of both swans and geese.
In Cowichan Bay village we managed 5 Mute Swans and then it was down to Dinsdales Farm where we were treated to a nice flock of birds. In among the Canada’s I got a look at 2 Cackling Geese, there could have been more but many of the geese were down sitting having a snooze. A Peregrine Falcon sat up in the old Maples keeping an eye on the surroundings below.
Around on the Dock Road we got our one and only Northern Harrier sitting way out in the field taking in the mild temperatures.
After a few more swans were added both on the Dock Road and along Tzouhalem our day was done and we headed back to the dog park and headed home.
I was pooped by the time I got home, I am not used to all this gallivanting and a cup of hot chocolate and a comfy sofa soon had me dreaming of rare birds.
North Side of Cowichan Bay
On a gloriously sunny afternoon, Daryl Johnson, Bob Nation, Christine Gilbertson and Carol Hartwig surveying for the Coastal Bird Survey on Cowichan Estuary North-Khenipsen Road. The group discovered there were 13 species and a total of 675 water birds:
2 Horned Grebe
1 Double-crested Cormorant,
8 Canada Goose
113 Trumpeter Swan,
25 American Wigeon
155 Mallard
8 Surf Scoter
133 Bufflehead,
5 Common Merganser,
36 Common Goldeneye,
176 unidentified Gull,
11 Bald Eagle
2 Common Raven
South Side of Cowichan Bay
On the same glorious sunny and cold afternoon, a record number of birders arrived at the Cowichan Estuary Nature Centre: Robin Lawson, Gail Mitchell, Peggy Smith, Christina Cutbill, John Scull, Linda Hill, Dorothy Marshall, Kathy Coster, and Kathy O’Donnell. We were accompanied by 4 members of Christina’s family. In addition to all the happy birders, there were plenty of birds.
5 mute swan
2 american wigeon
2 mallard
16 surf scoter
132 bufflehead
25 common goldeneye
5 hooded merganser
1 common merganser
1 horned grebe
9 double-crested cormorant
6 great blue heron
1 bald eagle
2 thayer’s gull
2 glaucous-winged gull
9 gull sp.
Eric and Dorothy’s notes from the Swan & Goose car where Barry was at the wheel: Wednesday 6th January began with the sad news that our leader has a bad back and would not be joining us. The temperature was only a little above zero when the seven of us set off in two cars. Have you ever tried looking for neck collars on white trumpeter swans against snow in a thick mist with the sun trying to shine in your eyes? It isn’t easy and I don’t recommend it!
The walk from our vehicles at Somenos Lake was slushy, and counting the swans and geese was difficult due to the low sun glaring through the think mist. We swung off the highway near the Exhibition Grounds but our friendly kestrel was not around. At Quist’s farm we saw killdeer and eagles but no swans or geese. The turnoff towards Crofton yielded no geese but there were eagles in the roadside trees. Heading back through Westholme things were looking bleak – not even the Norwegian Fjord ponies were around. Along Richard’s Trail by the Pastula farm mist was very thick but the water was mostly frozen so no swans or geese. On Tom Windsor Road the thick mist hid some fields where we often see geese. Crossing the TCH our totals were still low when we suddenly spotted a large flock of geese just before heading up the hill by the gold course.
The United Nations joined us at the lunch break. On Boys Road we met an immature trumpeter swan on the roadside. It was trying to get away from us but the chain-link fence was stopping it. Christina stopped her car and shepherded it back round the corner away from the traffic on Boys Road. We found just two more swans in the field at the end of Boys Road. Numbers were boosted slightly when on Koksilah Road west there were some 13 swans close to the road – 6 were immatures – a high proportion.
Finally at Bench Road we found a large flock of both swans and geese which boosted our numbers but still low for January. The sun was now shining making the later part of the day quite pleasant. Dugan’s Lake and flats were empty of swans and geese and on St Catherine’s Road we found a small flock of swans – some had been hiding behind a hedge but for some reason were disturbed and flew out so we added them to our totals. As we swung round the corner on to Wilmot Road we found a few more swans and a huge flock of geese.
Heading along Cowichan Bay Road there was a peregrine falcon in a tree by the Old Farm B & B which was well photographed before we stopped at Dinsdale Farm where there were a few swans. Down on Dock Road the tide was high and relatively few birds are to be seen – just a few swans way over by the white house where they are often fed. Our final stop was just before the bridge by the Butter Church where a small flock of swans were in the field.
Hopefully next week Derrick will be back and our numbers of swans and geese higher and perhaps we will finish a little sooner that 3.45 pm.
photo credits
Barred Owl by Kurlene Wenberg
Great Blue Heron at 12 o’clock by Zan Stenhouse
Trumpeter Swan Head by Zan Stenhouse
PS
The Barred Owl is the reason they were so late.
Derrick
Well we certainly had a wonderful Raptor and Swan chase, oops I mean, Swan and Goose count although Derrick your charm, wonderful wit and of course expertise were sorely missed.
Kurlene our fearless driver, well it seems that you decided to go off on your own and hit the jack pot with your Barred Owl. Some people just don’t like to SHARE.
Today “the Raptor†vehicle had Deb, who decided to get in on the fun again and was a great asset, Zan, “our photographer†and Carol who kept us on tract and didn’t miss a single tally and of course myself who got us back in one piece, albeit doing a little extra scoping on our own routes. Sorry Derrick, but we did actually stay closer to the lead vehicle regardless and managed to get a good count for ourselves.
Although the first vehicle had tried to lose us several times we managed to do a very competent job of tallying our birds, while analyzing where we could make time to get close to them again. Chuckle chuckle!
Neither the Shrike nor the Kestrel made an appearance today.
As per usual we stopped at our fav spot, AW and were joined by Bob and Helen, they opted to go in the First vehicle. Wonder why?
Some of us had to be forced to go in and purchase organic, grain fed …
Once again Dorothy kept up with what I think is a wonderful addition to the entire count, with her delicious cookies.
Kurlene had called us and explained where to find the Barred owl she had seen earlier. Although we did search high and low we were unable to find him. Alas ! We did find an immat swan who had strayed from the flock and was trying desperately to get through a chain linked fence. We were relieved when it made its way to an open field and hopefully it got it’s bearings and was able to catch up with it’s clan.
Eric and Bob did an amazing job of counting everything even swans which we had thought were missed. But no they were onto to them.
Along the way we did get birds of note, Eurasian Widgeon, Ring Billed Ducks, oodles and oodles of Red-winged Blackbirds, Killdeer spotted by Barry’s eagle eyes at Dock Rd.
52 Bald  adult eagles, and 26 Immatures seems to be a good ratio.
 8 Red-Tails
 2 Northern Harriers
 2 Coopers
 1 SharpSh
1 Peregrine (great photo op)
 1 Barred Owl ( we think it should be included)
Christina
Barred OwlTrumpeter SwanGreat Blue Heron at 12 o’clock
On Sunday on December 13 with the rain coming down, Bob Nation, Christine Gilbertson and Carol Hartwig surveying for the Coastal Bird Survey on Cowichan Estuary North-Khenipsen Road. The group found 10 species and 2480 water birds:
1 Double-crested Cormorant,
12 Trumpeter Swan,
1160 Bufflehead,
5 Mallard
2 Common Merganser,
1140 Common Goldeneye,
40 unidentified Gull,
14 Surf Scoter,
7 Bald Eagle.
On the same raining Sunday morning, Gail Mitchell, Linda Hill, John Scull, and Caroline Deary, counting from Hecate Park, saw
6 Mute Swan
179 Bufflehead
32 Common Goldeneye
6 Hooded Merganser
15 Double-crested Cormorant
2 Western Gull
1 Glaucous-wing Gull
4 Gull sp.
2 Northwest Crow
1 Bald Eagle
