Cowichan Bay South 11th Nov
Donna Zipse. Ken Bendle, Linda Hill, Gail Mitchell, and John Scull met in Hecate Park at 9 am on a clear, crisp, cold morning. The estuary was full of life, with Fox Sparrow and Towhee in the bushes, Mink, Seal, and Otter in the water, and the voices of the Sea Lions. We counted waterbirds, too, seeing:
Mute Swan 2; Trumpeter Swan 7; Bufflehead 159; Common Goldeneye 7; Hooded Merganser 4; Red-necked Grebe 1; Glaucous-winged Gull 2; gull sp.23; Double-crested Cormorant 15; Great Blue Heron 1; Belted Kingfisher 2; Northwestern Crow1.
Cowichan Bay North was calm from 9:10 until 10:15 AM, 11th Nov. when Daryl Johnson, Kurlene Wenberg, and Carol Hartwig found a total of 688 waterbirds of 16 species
on Khenipsen Road North on Cowichan Bay.
Double-crested Cormorants 7; Pelagic Cormorants 10; Great Blue Heron 1; Trumpeter Swan 8; Mute Swan 2; American Wigeon 82; Mallard 15; Surf Scoter 20; Bufflehead 75; Common Goldeneye 240; Bald Eagle 13; Mew Gull 5; Glaucous-winged Gull 36; Gull sp.172;Belted Kingfisher 1; Common Raven 1
On a peaceful and bright Nov. 12 Jim and Lyn Wisnia counted in the Verdier Point area:
American Wigeon 18; Mallard 1; Bufflehead 25; Common Goldeneye 35; Red-breasted Merganser 16; Horned Grebe 8; Western Grebe 385; Mew Gull 7; California Gull 2; Glaucous-winged Gull 9; Gull sp. 2; Common Loon 4; Brandt’s Cormorant 1; Pelagic Cormorant 1; Bald Eagle 2; Northwestern Crow 2.
And in the Mill Bay area:
Canada Goose 1; Mute Swan 8; American Wigeon 20; Surf Scoter 4; Bufflehead 51; Common Goldeneye 17; Red-breasted Merganser 21; Horned Grebe 2; Red-necked Grebe 5; Mew Gull 86; Glaucous-winged Gull 30; Gull sp. 8; Pacific Loon 15; Common Loon 3; Pelagic Cormorant 2; Double-crested Cormorant 3;
The next count is scheduled for 8 am on Sunday, December 9