Just after I had boarded a bus at the Empress on Sunday morning to escort National Media and the National Tour team to an event, my phone rang. It was Chris Saunders, passing on that Ian Cruickshank had located a Palm Warbler at Swan Lake!
When compiling my list of birds I needed to make 252, Palm Warbler was very low on my list of likelies, and to have one here in April is a great find! Unfortunately, I was stuck where I was for 3 more hours, giving the bird plenty of time to seek out greener pastures. As it turns out, it didn't, and when I finally made it to Swan Lake Ian was again looking at the bird hopping about in a fir. We got great looks at the bird, number 156 for the year.
Following the Palm Warbler, a mad dash home for a change out of the suit (or maybe I should just keep it on? A trademark of sorts?), and off to Whiffin Spit, where there seems to have been no end to great birds lately. At last, the Mountain Bluebird would be added to my list...... or not. Whiffin Spit was at its finest, with more dogs than birds, and definitely no Bluebirds. As a consolation of sorts, I added Band-tailed Pigeon on the way out, for 157.
The original plan for Monday was a climb up Mount Wells for Sooty Grouse and Townsend's Solitaire, but the rain kaiboshed that, and instead provided an opportunity to hit the Victoria waterfront a bit. I added a single Bonaparte's Gull at Clover Point, plus a flock of 15 or so Least Sandpipers at Panama Flats, but Townsend's Solitaire managed to elude me at 2 recent locations, and warblers kept low and out of the wind.
Seems that Sooke would have been a better destination, as a Whimbrel and a Marbled Godwit were reported from Whiffin Spit on Monday. C'est la vie. I did manage to add 7 species this weekend, to bring the total to 159. 93 species and 8 months to go.
Good birding,
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