20 Kilometres or so, as the Goldfinch Flies

What a day on Saturday! I noticed a message on BCBirdRep on Saturday morning, mentioning a Lesser Goldfinch sighted in Shirley, somewhat west of Sooke. A phone call to Nanaimo, followed by a phone call to the property owner, convinced me that this could be a bird worth chasing! As with all good birds, I was in the middle of a meeting, and wouldn't be free for an hour or so.

Following the meeting, I met up with Jeremy Gatten and we headed out to Shirley, with my wife in tow. We arrived at the house specified under a shining sun, and were greeted by comments of "It was just here!". The property owners were very accomodating, and hopeful that it would show up again. We waited behind a screen of cameras and binoculars for 5 minutes or so, before Jeremy G caught sight of a yellow blur flying into a small tree. Within another minute the gem below flew onto the edge of a bird bath (thank you Jeremy Gatten for the use of the photo!).



We had the pleasure of watching this beauty (the FIRST record for Vancouver Island) on and off for about an hour, all the while chatting with Cathy and her husband. They are keen birders, and this is likely only the first of a string of great birds that will show up at their feeders. Thank you so much for reporting this bird, and for allowing us the pleasure of great looks at it! Sadly, this bird was about 20km or so west of the checklist area boundary, and can't be included in my Big Year.

After finishing with the Lesser Goldfinch, we headed up to Jordan River, where a Black-billed Magpie had been reported. No dice on the magpie, but a stop at Whiffin Spit on the return trip yielded two more year birds, Semipalmated Plover and Short-billed Dowitcher.

A great day of birding, and a great day in general!

Good rarity hunting,