” Egg Salad Sandwiches”
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