Swan & Goose Count, December 9th, 2015

Bald Eagle adult
Bald Eagle adult

 

Northern Shoveller
Northern Shoveller

 

Western Screech Owl??
Western Screech Owl??

 

“And there they were gone”

Was it the wind and rain or the barmy temperatures that drove our birds away this week, the swans were gone and the eagles followed suit, our numbers tumbled like the Canadian dollar and the price of oil.
With only 75 swans total this week and 59 Eagles our numbers were down over two thirds from last week and to add to insult even the American Kestrel had departed, but all was not lost I have to mention the weather again, how many more times are we going to be blessed on a Wednesday. How could we have fitted a sunny day into these past few days of wind and rain, we are truly gifted.
Our day started with a nice group of 8 counters setting out from the dog park and heading off along Beverly where many Canada Geese were playing at splashing each other in the school pools and then at the corner of Berverly and TCH we waved at the underwater dike builders. Our arrival at Somenos Lake was our first taste of the missing birds with just a few Canada Geese and a handful of Double-crested Cormorants they had the whole lake to themselves. We moved on to Quist’s Farm where the duckies were having fun and several species were seen. With all these duckies you would think the eagles would be present, but no just 3 immature and a Red-tailed Hawk. Along Westholme Road a major group gulls were seen with the majority being Mew and a few Thayer’s Gulls for good measure. Around to Richard’s Trail and we found our first Trumpeter Swans with 13 adults and 5 immature, little did we know that this was going to be our second highest flock of the day.
Most people know that I am very serious when out counting birds and this count is no exception, so when I made everyone stop and get out and shouted Western Screech Owl everyone was out and looking, this little bird has been seen in this same tree using a crevice as a roost for several days, photo attached. My wife wonders where all the bruises came from today.
Anyways, onward we went and a nice immature Coopers Hawk sat up above Richards Creek and along Herd Road a good group of Canada Geese and again along Hwy 18 another group of geese, even their numbers were down this week and we failed to find any banded birds.
One of our drivers decided to exit her vehicle and move around to the other side for a picture or ? when suddenly the vehicle took off by itself along with three other passengers, but it was with good fortune that the driver had just been fitted with a new knee and was very nimble and managed to slip into the drivers seat and bring this wayward beast to a standstill, white faces were seen all around, some from panic and one red one from embarrassment.
With all this excitement a rest stop was needed and so A & W came next and some real tasty treats were supplied to the counters. Refreshed and some nerves settled we headed off to Boys Road, here we had a best eagle count but only 26 were had, where had they all gone from a week ago?
Next stop was Sahilton Road where some nice Northern Shoveller’s showed well, photo attached, but that was it for this part of the east side.
At the corn fields on Koksilah Road west a Red-tailed Hawk sat in the trees and then a second bird came in and called and hovered over the tree where the first one sat,me thinks spring is in the air. Bench Road came next and 7 Trumpeters were counted, these lovely fields could accommodate whole monster flock and keep them in food for weeks.
Dougans Flats had a good number of Geese but the main fields were under water, except for one little patch that a Northern Harrier sat high and dry on, or maybe it could have been a dead duck or just a tuft of grass, but the distance we were looking it could have been anything. We quickly zoomed along the highway and over to St. Catherines Road where another 10 Trumpeter’s awaited our counting. We checked Jim’s Pond for any Snipe, but their little bank had shrunken enough that any Snipe would need it’s wellies. Koksilah Road east was a total bust with not even a duckie to be seen. Down through the Bay 2 Mute Swans we added to our pitiful total. But we did get three salvageable boats, which were the worst for wear from the previous days blow.
Dinsdales Farm came next and a very photogenic Bald Eagle sat in the sun for all those with cameras, photo attached. Most of the past week or two there has been hundreds of birds in the fields but today just 26 Trumpeters and 3 Canada Geese, We then hit the Dock Road with hopes of a last hurrah, but we had to settle with 14 Trumpeters.
Our day was over for counting and we headed back to the dog park.
On arrival I noticed this lady coming down from off the dike with trees and putting them in her truck, so I wandered up onto the dike for a look and there were many trees in pots down on the side of the dike, she was picking them over, so I said was she the person responsible for planting and she said no that she was saving them from getting waterlogged, I thought hello whats going on here. I said you do know these were here to enhance the fields below the dike and were not here for all and sundry to take, you know me always tactful. I said you best put them back as what she was doing is not right, with this she flew back to her truck threw one tree off and then roared out the car park with a truck half full of trees, what nerve. But when I

got home i thought about it, what fools stacked all these trees there in the first place, were these our local tax dollars sitting there for all to help themselves.

Photo credits.
Northern Shoveller, Barry Hetschko
Western Screech Owl, Barry Hetschko
Bald Eagle,Barry Hetschko

Row row your boat.
Derrick

Swan & Goose Count, December 2nd, 2015

” Egg Salad Sandwiches”

Peregrine Falcon
Peregrine Falcon
Pale immature bald eagle
Pale immature bald eagle
Trumpeter swans
Trumpeter swans

It takes a certain type of person to be involved with the Swan and Goose count, not everyone fits the bill, “laughing under my breath” We as a team have many different personalities which come together to form a formidable group who’s dedication to the job at hand is undeniable. We have those who drive and keep us safe, we have those who record in digital form some of the species and sights that we see. We have those who put pencil to paper to keep the data in good order and those that count, usually me when I’m around. Then their are the others who encourage with goodies and smile and look good. Yes this is what it takes to form a good team of counters.
This week 8 counters headed off on a very murky day with mist over the fields to the south making it hard to pick out any strangers that may be lurking in among the big white and brown birds. This week saw a nice jump in swan numbers which is one of our highest early December counts for several years, also our raptor numbers where up with several good sightings, 3 species of Falcons is always a good day and we hit double digits with 10 Red-tailed Hawks recorded.
Top spot for Eagles was Boys Road where the trees and the fields were laden with both adults and immature’s, they congregate in this area because of the close proximity to the Cowichan River and the wonderful Salmon that can be found dying and dead along the water. One of the birds that was flying around the field was very pale and I told of how it takes up to 7 years to get to adult plumage for a Bald Eagle. Some of these pale birds are sometimes mistaken for Osprey when sitting high up in a tree, but when down low the unmistakable build of the eagle is easy to distinguish “photo by Barry”.
The vast majority of Swans and Geese were on the old Dinsdale’s Farm fields, which makes for easy viewing and counting, I have to admit though that the geese are sometimes not so easy to count especially when their are well over a thousand as it was today.
We had 3 neck banded geese from up island this week, but we only got two of the numbers as one was hiding just out of sight as we parked on the side of the Highway near Beverly Street. The two numbers that we got will be forwarded to the people running the program.
At our rest stop at A&W many species of foods come out, their are those that can down two drumsticks and a chicken rap in just under 5 minutes and their are those who just have a cookie or a few nuts. Then there is this couple who have been with us since day one who I am told only and ever have egg salad sandwiches, I have noticed this year that their skin is starting to take on a mild yellow discoloration, a bit like a first year Goldfinch.
The group known as the hawk gang spotted a bird high up in a tree along Tzouhalem Road which they were sure was a large falcon, Barry our leading photographer took a photo which he showed to me, it was this dark blob with not many field marks to distinguish it from one of senior Derrick’s branch hawks, but with a little help from photo-shop it turned into a lovely Peregrine Falcon. It made up our 3 falcon day with a Merlin along Sahilton Road and the lovely little American Kestrel at the exhibition grounds.
With 208 adult Trumpeters and 55 immature we are looking at over a 25% immature to adult rate which at this early count in the season looks very good for a healthy breeding numbers, lets hope that this continues through the winter. Did I mention winter, yes we just had that and it is all good from now on in to spring, there are buds forming on the trees already and the hummers are going crazy around the feeders as they get ready for a early egg laying start. A Great Horned Owl was calling up a storm this morning at Dinsdale’s farm, so he’s ready to go.
By the end of our day it was already getting very dark and checking the swans across Cowichan Bay was not easy. Many ducks were out on the water and hundreds of Gulls filled the north side of the bay. I made a half-hearted look for a Short-eared Owl but in the dimming light it well could have been sitting down low just out of sight, maybe next week then.

Photo credits:
Trumpeter Swans by Barry Hetschko, in this photo if you look to the right of the swans you will see two different forms of Canada Geese with a dark belly and a light belly.
Peregrine Falcon by Barry Hetschko, this was a dark blob on the camera
pale Immature Bald Eagle by Barry Hetschko, lovely capture
Until we meet again
Derrick

Swan & Goose Count, November 25th, 2015

Red-tailed hawk at Dog Park
Red-tailed hawk at Dog Park
Trumpeter swans
Trumpeter swans
Canada goose with neck collar 071F
Canada goose with neck collar 071F

There are several things that have become apparent from the first few weeks of our counts, the swans are late coming, the eagles are early returning and the counters can do very well without me, well maybe.
The swans left their breeding grounds on time and departed their northern rest spots, but between there and here they must have stopped for some fun somewhere. The eagles arrived at least a week early from fishing up north, not sure if this meant that their catches were not good, but i think they would only get slim pickings when they arrived in the valley. This is not good for our duck population who will feel the eagles full force. When the eagles bellies are empty they are not very friendly. As for me i got a bug that has kept me away from the count for a couple of weeks, but the people have done a wonderful job of collecting data and all i had to do was sit at home and wait for it to come in, now my brain hurts.
Another good thing has been the number of accipiters that have been seen, Cooper’s Hawks especially appear to be doing well, maybe all those Eurasian Collared-Doves which make a lovely meal got the nesting season going well. More good sightings have included the Wilson’s Snipe that have been seen sitting on the edge of Jim’s Pond most weeks and going on the number of reports that i have had they just don’t sit out there on Wednesdays, they are there nearly every day, all except today’s count.
Did i mention the weather, the count has now gone almost a whole season with good weather, hope i don’t put the mockers on it. What is it about a Wednesday that makes the sun shine? We will have to see what the rest of this seasons count has in store for us.
As has been mentioned before we do take notice of other species and Gulls are one of them, I have tried to educate the uneducated but i fear it will take many years to accomplish this task, now now don’t think I’m being big headed it took me about 10 years to master the art of Gull identification, so i reckon at least another 7-9 years for them, that’s if they even care to learn.

Now for today’s count, at first on receiving the reports i found myself lost for words, have i failed as a leader, did i not teach them all the do’s and dont’s of a Swan and Goose count. I have tried and tried to keep the vehicles together so that hopefully everyone in the group has a chance to see any good birds, i have tried to teach them about adults and immature raptors, did all my teachings fall upon deaf ears.
I can see that on my return i will need a sturdy tow rope or a very strong bungy cord to keep the vehicles together. I will also be forwarding websites about what is young and what is old, lumping us all together is not good.
This week saw great excitement with the return of the American Kestrel on the flag poles at the exhibition grounds north of town and a pair of flyover Snow Geese near Quist’s farm. Richards Trail produced the sighting of the day with 4 Western Bluebirds sitting along a fence line, it has been scores of years since this species has been seen in the Richards Valley.
Again the counters hit a high of 9 Red-tailed Hawks with most being in the north end of town.
I think the counters must have been getting worried about the number of swans again this week as they only found a few until the last stop of day produced over 100 birds.
Goose numbers as expected rose again and at the golf driving range on Beverly Street three geese were found with white neck collars, they were all photographed and data sent in to a recently posted website. These birds originate from the mid-island area. No neck banded swans have been seen so far but it is still early days yet.
A couple of Accipiter Sp. and two peregrines were found and for the fourth week running one Northern Harrier was seen.
I did not receive any reports of dickie birds, so we can only assume that there are none left in the valley at the moment.
With this extra week break for me i have been lubricating my whip and i am sure that it will be cracking next week when hopefully on my return the count will resume to it’s past glories.

Photo credit:
071F Banded Canada Goose, by Zan

Red-tailed Hawk & Swans – Barry Hetschko

Derrick

By Dorothy & Eric

As we gathered at the dog park on a cold frosty morning a red-tailed hawk posed on a tree above the dog compound while the photographers took many photos. Promptly at 10 we set of in two cars – I was at the wheel of the swan and goose car with Dorothy, Janice and Bob. Christina was driving the raptor car with Kurlene, Zan and Barry aboard; not that we restricted our observations to the designated birds. There was quite a flock of Canada geese on the driving range and we spotted three collared geese so got the scope out to read the numbers. Not to be outdone the photographers with the zoom lenses took photographs to confirm the numbers: 199F, 071F and 050F. These are numbers mentioned in the email from the Campbell River group so I will let them know that we have seen them. Somenos Lake yielded our first trumpeter swans.

As we passed the Exhibition Grounds we got a message over the walkie-talkies that sounded like ‘pull over to the left’. The raptor car had spotted the kestrel which was back on the same hunting grounds as last season.. We found a large flock of 90 geese on Westholme Road over the railroad tracks near the Crofton junction. There the raptor car reported that they had seen three snow geese flying south from Mount Sicker

On Richards Trail most of the flooded fields were frozen and there were just three swans on a clear patch. The sharp younger eyes in the raptor car spotted four western bluebirds on a fence along the Trail – Barry took a very distant photo – not his usual standard but clearly bluebirds.

Tom Windsor Drive yielded more geese and another red-tail. And there were more geese by the Hwy #18 park and ride. So at the A & W lunch stop we had quite a wait before the other car arrived – they claimed it took time to check out some of the hawks they had seen.

On Boys Road there were many bald eagles – some on the ground in a field and many in the trees. There were more on Sahilton Road but the flooded field was frozen and the usual flock of ducks was not there. There were no swans or geese on Koksilah Road East so our car got way ahead of the raptors who spent time looking, but not finding many hawks. It was not until we reached Dougan’s flats that we found more swans and geese and had to get the scope out to count them. St Catharine’s Road had 15 swans. Jim’s pond had the usual injured goose with its companion cackler. Search as we might we could not find the snipe on the shore of the pond which was partly frozen.

In Cowichan Bay there were two mute swans. And on Dinsdale’s Farm over 700 geese and five swans were grazing. Down Dock Road the tide was very high – a King Tide – and there were many gulls way over towards the north shore along with two trumpeters. This was a very different sight to last week when there were many gulls and eagles feasting on dead salmon with a lower tide exposing mud flats.

Kurlene told us that she had seen swans on the field by the river across from the Butter Church earlier in the week so she stopped and counted over 100 swans there!

Back at the dog park Bob’s poor car would not start so I have him a boost and I trust he made it home.

By Kurlene

With poor Derrick still down with the plague the pressure was on for another accurate raptor count. Pencils sharpened, extra erasers and Christina manning the wheel we were confident we had things under control. With two good sightings right at the dog park, a Red Tail and a Peregrin we were off to a great start! Low and behold as we were approaching the fairgrounds we spotted something on the flagpoles. There he was, our American Kestral perched in the sun!! First sighting of him this year! We quickly radioed ahead to the Swan car and pulled over but communications failed and the last sighting of the Swan car was Eric putting pedal to the metal, passing a semi and disappearing into the distance. Shortly thereafter a couple of cop cars with sirens blazing flew by so we weren’t sure what was up. We stayed and took pics of our old friend and then tried to catch up to the lead car.

The difference with being the Swan and Goose car is their targets are large and easily identified so unless they get bogged down with large amounts of targets in one place, they easily count and are on their way. We, on the other hand, are left with obscure blobs in distant trees that are not easily identified unless you have the knowledge of our fearless leader. So by the time we stop, take pictures to enlarge, have a discussion about what we may have seen we fall far behind. And then there are the caterpillar nests that have taken on perfect hawk profiles in the distant trees!! We saw Red Tails, Coopers and another Peregrin by the time we hit the eagles on Boys and Sahilton. Thankfully Bob counted eagles for us because there were no swans and we caught up for a short while.

 

By Barry

We had lovely views of a Northern Harrier that hovered above us on Hillbank and a raptor that flew in over the car that we barely had a glance at. Christina noted he had yellow feet and darkish…………we didn’t attempt a guess at that one and he went down as unidentified. Dock road was quiet, we had hoped for a Sharpie and a Merlin for a grand slam of raptors for the day but no luck. We ran into another pile of eagles and swans hidden away close to the dike and stopped to count which put us late to the dog park again, but it was a great bit of luck as the Swan count missed these hidden away guys and it was our highest swan count of the day!!! Being a laggard sometimes pays off!! Great day in lovely sunshine, let’s hope our fearless leader returns next week, this counting business is a lot of work!! Get well soon Derrick!!!
I had a bit of a rocky start to yesterdays count. But i quickly shut my mouth and hide in the back seat.
I felt like a gunner in the back of a B52 Bomber. Sitting in my turret. Cold and alone. Patiently waiting for something to shoot.
The engine noise, the clammer and commotion coming from inside the cockpit was at times unnerving.
To fast in areas where the Boogies often hide and to slow to keep up with the Squadron leader.
I asked myself. Where we going to make it home alive?
But with a picture of my lucky crossed rabbits feet in my pocket. We all made a safe return back to the rally point.
Cold and hungry we all clambered out to thank our lucky stars we had a returned safely.

Here are a 2 pics I collected: Red-tail & swans
Can’t wait till next week.

Barry

Swan & Goose Count, November 18th, 2015

Cooper's Hawk
Cooper’s Hawk

 

Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk

Because i am sick with a bug and was unable to attend yesterdays festivities please find this weeks write up entitled.

” In their own words”

Dorothy:

Our day began with a big disappointment – an email from Derrick claiming to be too sick to lead our group and not wanting to spread the nasty plague to us. Determined to soldier on without him eight of us met as usual at the Dog Park. Imagine out joy when David Aldcroft drove up with Diana and we cried ‘Derrick has sent an expert to lead us in his absence!’ David had difficulty in convincing us that his arrival was purely coincidental and he did not have time to spare to come on the Swan & Goose Count with us. This was our second big disappointment and still just 10 am.

We set off in two cars on our usual route and the first part was another disappointment; however, by Pastula Farm, the day took an upward turn and we counted over 300 Canada geese and 37 trumpeters. On Tom Windsor Drive people in the lead car were thrilled to see a family of about a dozen quail.

Pulling into the Park & Ride on Hwy 18 we encountered a large flock of Canada geese close by. Our routine stop at A & W saw a wide variety of foods, including chicken legs, muffins and bagels while the frugal members survived with home-made egg salad sandwiches.

Boys and Sahilton yielded trees full of eagles, more than we could count and the two car loads began arguing if we were counting some of the Boys Road eagles again on Sahilton – we lacked our usual decisive leadership! While the argument waged on Eric was parked under a tree, unfortunately directly below an immature eagle. There was nothing immature about its droppings which hit the sunshine roof like the loudest hail storm you can imagine and flowed down the windscreen and doors in decorative stripes. Now we need a good old rain storm like we had on Tuesday or Eric will have to fork out money for a car wash.

Eric’s passengers persuaded him to turn down Corfield Road hoping to see a red-headed sapsucker again – there was just one adult eagle down there. Unfortunately the walkie-talkies failed at this point (or passengers in the other car were talking too loudly to hear) as they failed to follow us and hence took the lead. Luckily Christina and Janice had cell phones and we were able to reconnect and catch them up in Cowichan Station and take the lead up Bench Road.

Dougan’s Flats yielded large numbers of Canada geese, far in the distance, screened by bush, which we struggled to count as traffic thundered by on Hwy #1.

At Jim’s Pond, with great difficulty we spotted the snipe. Even with the scope trained on him it was hard to decipher what we saw. The usual resident goose with the broken wing was not seen. We saw hooded mergansers both here and on Cowichan Bay.

A flock of swans was at the far side of the Bay from Dock Road and after discussion and peering down the scope we finally agreed that there were 23 trumpeter swans not mute swans. Then 13 more swans flew overhead to add to our total. Many gulls, bald eagles and one seal were feasting on salmon carcasses near Dock Road. Christina had insisted that a tiny speck on top of a spindly bush across the march seen from Dock Road was a shrike, so reluctantly, when the other car confirmed this, we decided to believe her.

We dearly hope our leader will return to exert his authority next Wednesday – it was after 3 pm before we finished!

Kurlene:

Today was a great day aside from a few minor malfunctions…………thankfully Eric was kind enough to translate my data sheet into something legible. Now it wasn’t all my fault that the sheet was something of a mess, the pencil with an eraser leaped from my hand and rolled across the dash directly into Barry’s air vent. He thinks he may be able to dig it out at some point. So there were raptors to the left of us and raptors to the right of us and between identification, area we were in and numbers, there were a few smudges. So Eric saved you from further grumpiness I’m sure! Now on to the corrections, the COHA on Telegraph was actually on Koksilah East. When Barry did the U turn in the middle of the road to chase it I must have put it down in the wrong spot……we found him again sitting majestically on a fence post. He didn’t like the looks of us and flew into a large maple across the road and out of the maple came a ton of tweetie birds fleeing for their lives wondering where he came from! Anyway this adventure put us somewhat behind the Swan and Goose car, we were the Raptor car. Another slight error is a Peregrin Falcon spotted by Janice on Sahilton, he was a distant black blob that we thought was a COHA but when I lightened the picture it was our only peregrin! Also please add a COHA to the dock road, we spotted him on the way out. Dorothy was great in your place and did her very best to crack the whip and keep us on schedule. Admittedly the Raptor car was a laggard, cameras, slow identification skills and at the end of the day, we totally forgot about giving poor Eric and Dorothy the sheets and were very late back to the dog park. Our apologies, and our only excuse is the birds that grabbed our attention and we forgot we had the sheet still………And the eagles, I lost control of the eagle count on Dock RD. There were so many way across the bay and they kept flying so the Dock Rd eagle count is iffy. Probably way more!! So get well soon, we need you, really we do!!!

What can i say ?

photo credits
Red-tailed Hawk by Zan
Coopers Hawk by Christina

Derrick

Swan & Goose Count, November 11th, 2015

Red-tailed Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk

It is amazing how unreliable birds can be at times, we have had field trips, lectures, art and photo shows, we have even had beers named for the events and to cap it all off we have the faithful who turn up every Wednesday to count them. What do they do, they don’t show up for the party provided for them. This was the case this week when panic had set in among the counters, here we were three parts through our count and we hadn’t got a Swan of any species. Luckily at Dougans Flats a pair of Trumpeters were way out in the field among a large throng of Canada Geese. That was it with the Dock Road shut up for this solemn day we had a grand total of 2 Swans.
Eight counters turned up to start the day and another two stragglers met us at A&W.
Before we had gone through Lakes Road, Somenos and Quist’s Farm we had added over 500 Canada Geese and a few Raptors. This week saw good numbers of Red-tailed Hawks ” photo thanks to Zan”, a Peregrine Falcon and a very fast Coopers Hawk who zipped in after some Starlings and Blackbirds at the corner of TCH and Hwy 18.
At Quist’s farm i had no sooner got out of the vehicle to check the ducks when several motor bikes roared down the Hwy and a Northern Harrier flew up the railroad, one of us put all the ducks and geese into flight never to be seen again.
There were some very accommodating Bald Eagles at the foot of Boy’s Road which helped get our total of eagles up above last weeks numbers, we will surely be getting many more in the weeks to come.
You know your having a bad week when the number of Ruby-crowned Kinglets is three times that of the swans and the same with Red-tailed Hawks who tripled our swan count.

I know I sometimes mention some of the other people in our group along with their little foibles but sadly one of our group has a problem, well three actually I being one of them, we tend to home in on discarded returnable cans and bottles, but what took place this week sadly disturbed me, one of our party picked up one of those Vodka cooler things Palm Bay which was half full and started to drink it  and it was not long before she was totally sloshed and pointing out all sorts of rarities. I do hope she gets help before she misidentifies to many birds.

In among the Geese at Dougans Flats was a Cackling Goose or two, but to far away to record more than one but we doubled our number with a single bird once again at Jim’s Pond, here we enjoyed good looks at a Wilson’s Snipe and a couple of Eurasian-Collared Doves. A Great Blue Heron sat on a fence watching us with fixed eyes, he could have been counting us.

This was our day, not the best, but the weather which once again treated us to a sunny Wednesday.

Eric and Kurlene did a wonderful job of driving and with a little incentive from me about a certain Sparrow species got us around the route in good time for me to have my afternoon nap. Big thanks to who was once my good friend and a good sport Christina for giving me some fun to write about.

Lastly we should give a thought to all those men and women who gave up so much so that we could enjoy what we do today, thankyou.

Derrick

Waterbird Count – Cowichan Bay – November 8th, 2015

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

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

Swan & Goose Count November 4th, 2015.

Canada goose with cackler
Canada goose with cackler
Great blue heron
Great blue heron
Pipit
Pipit
Sharp-tailed Hawk
Sharp-tailed Hawk

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

Birding – Wednesday, October 14th, 2015

This little piggy
This little piggy
Merlin
Merlin

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

Derrick

Waterbird Count – Cowichan Bay – October 11th, 2015

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

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

John

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

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

Carol

Field Trip to Crofton, September 30th, 2015

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

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

Derrick

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

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

Cowichan Bay Waterbird Counts – Sunday September 13th 2015

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

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

Total birds 111

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

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

161 birds – 9 species

Splashing it all over and Chickadee’s – July 2015

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

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

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

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

Take care and have fun
Derrick

Rare Cowichan Bay Sightings – July 2015

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

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

Derrick

Waterbird counts – Cowichan Bay – 10th May, 2015

SOUTH SIDE

Gail Mitchell, Linda Hill, John Scull, Kathy Coster, and Barry Hetchko counted:
belted kingfisher     2

great blue heron     10

purple martin           39

osprey                        3

glaucous-wing gull    9

unidentified gull        11

common merganser  4

bald eagle                   2

northwest crow           1

1 harbour seal & 1 river otter

A total of 13 species of waterbirds (233 birds) were observed on the North Side of Cowichan Bay 
on May 10, 2015, a partly cloudy day with good visibility and calm sea state by Kurlene Wen and Carol Hartwig.
Common Loon 1
Great Blue Heron 6
Canada Goose 38
Mute Swan 28
Mallard 8
Bufflehead 34
Common Merganzer 58
Bald Eagle 5
Osprey 5
Black Oystercatcher 2
Mew Gull 20
Unidentified Gull 25
Northwestern Crow 2
Total birds 233
The next day 22 white pelcians were seen on north side of the Bay

Earth Day birding in Cowichan Bay – Wed. 22nd April 2015

Pale swallowtail Pale Swallowtail

On Dock Road
On Dock Road

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

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

A full list of birds is below.

Derrick

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