“The real face of swan counting”
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
Derrick