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,