South Side:
Birders: Gail Mitchell, Robin Lawson, Christina Cutbill, Linda Hill, John Scull, Myra and Pat Micek.
It was raining at the beginning but it soon cleared and we were treated to a beautiful display of clouds, mist, and sun. We saw
1 Horned Grebe
4 Red-necked Grebes
11 Double-crested Cormorants
82 Buffleheads
2 Common Goldeneyes
2 Hooded Mergansers
1 Bald Eagle
14 Glaucous-winged Gulls
2 Belted Kindfishers
4 Northwestern Crows
We also saw Spotted Towhees, Dark-eyed Juncos, Harbour Seals, and a Stellars Sea Lion.
The results of all our counts may be viewed at http://www.cowichanestuary.ca/wildlife/birds/bc-coastal-waterbird-survey/
There was shooting going on at Dinsdale Farm and decoys in the water up the estuary, but this seemed to disturb us more than it bothered the birds. Is it interesting that today the gulls and widgeons preferred the north side of the bay while the Buffleheads preferred the south?
John
North Side:
Thirteen species of waterbirds were observed by Bob Nation, Kurlene Wenberg, Daryl Johnson, Christine Gilbertson and Carol Hartwig on Nov 9, 2014, a calm, overcast day with
a bit of rain. These were the group counts:
Double-crested Cormorant 16
Horned Grebe 2
Mute Swan 9
American Widgeon 410
Mallard 67
Surf Scoter 13
Common Goldeneye 11
Bufflehead 316
Hooded Merganzer 8
Common Merganzer 11
Bald Eagle 10
Mew Gull 40
Unidentified Gull 300
Common Raven 2
Total birds 1215
Species 14
Carol