The Littlest Big Day

On May 21, I did my Baillie Birdathon Big Day, and given the time of year and recent sightings, I was hoping for big things. Maybe we can just subtitle this post "The Show Must Go On" as big things were not to be.

A gas up stop and two road blocks had left me a little behind schedule, and there was no way I was going to make it to my intended Cowichan Valley starting point by midnight. At 11:55pm, I drove past a Great Horned Owl sitting on a telephone wire just outside of Duncan and initially kept driving, figuring I would run into another. I eventually turned around and drove back, finding the owl still sitting on the wire, at 11:58. I cringed every time a car drove by, watching the clock with one eye, and the owl with the other, waiting for the beginning of the new day, my Big Day. After what seemed like an eternity, the clock ticked over to 12:00 with the owl still perched in plain view. As I let out a sigh of relief, the owl flew from the wire and disappeared. Close, but still within the big day. It also turned out to be my only Great Horned Owl of the day.

In many spots I checked in the Cowichan Valley, the owls were silent. In fact, the only owls I actually heard were two young Barn Owls begging from a nest. I also found a Barred Owl, pretty much where I expected it, again sitting on a telephone wire in Cowichan Station.

Heading south, I checked a couple of other spots, and again came up empty. My favourite Western Screech-Owl spot in Shawnigan Lake had three police cars parked in front of it with lights flashing, so I took a pass. Something tells me they weren't there for the owls. I was quickly running out of darkness, and decided on a few last-ditch stops along Munn Rd, hoping for anything to call. That was also right around when the rain started, and set a precedent for the rest of the day.

The first daylight stop was Mt Tolmie, where I expected any number of warblers and sparrows. It was a little odd to be the only person on the mountain, but it was also quiet on the bird front, with many vocal Bewick's Wrens and Orange-crowned Warblers being the main birdlife.

I found much the same at King's Pond, where there was still a lone male Ring-necked Duck, and where I added my first Yellow Warbler of the year. I finally had a little bit of action at Swan Lake, which turned out to be my best stop of the day. There were 4 species of warbler and 5 species of swallow present, plus a flock of 7 Long-billed Dowitchers that flew over. Chris Saunders was at the lake as well, and pointed me in the direction of a Western Wood-Pewee he had located.

The rest of Saanich was fairly quiet, with nothing out of the ordinary at Blenkinsop Lake, Rithet's Bog, Panama Flats (though 1 Cinnamon and 3 Blue-winged Teal were a nice touch, as were the 4 American Pipits), or Viaduct Flats.

At Martindale Flats, Eurasian Collared-Dove and Mourning Dove were quick adds, and a stop at Welch and Livesay yielded a Solitary Sandpiper in the flooded field. Two Northern Harriers sitting in the field south of Martindale Rd were also a surprise. A run down to Islandview Beach found little, and the Central Saanich Bulb Fields added only a singing Sky Lark.

From there, I headed out to Hastings Flats, which was quiet, and Charlton Pond, which also failed to yield the Virginia Rail that I had staked out, and which had been calling all week previously.

A walk through Francis King Park and along the power line trail off Munn Rd was a little more productive, turning up my first House Wrens of the day, plus many singing MacGillivray's Warblers, Swainson's Thrushes, and 4 Western Tanagers.

From there, it was Sooke-bound. A stop for Golden Eagle turned up a miss, as they had apparently abandoned their nest. Otter Point and Whiffin Spit were quiet, and I added only Band-tailed Pigeon to my day total. Albert Head Lagoon on the way back turned up my only Merlin of the day, and Esquimalt Lagoon added Caspian Tern.

The Victoria waterfront was perhaps the most dismal and disappointing portion of the day, with nothing new being added between Ogden Point and Cattle Point. I blame the people, which were everywhere! A follow-up stop at Mt Tolmie turned up nothing new, so I headed back to Swan Lake, hoping to add the missing warblers to my list.

Down at the lake I again ran into Chris Saunders who, with Mike McGrenere, was looking for the Green Heron that had been around. Alas it was not to be, and Chris and I made our way over to Tuesday Pond, hoping for a vireo or warbler.

At Tuesday Pond a pair of Cooper's Hawks flew over, adding to my all too short list of raptors for the day. As a flock of swallows began feeding around the pond, a Bank Swallow flew past us. Its dark primaries stood out immediately, but it took a couple passes at high speed before I could distinguish the brown band across the chest (Chris got a great look before I did).

Daylight was quickly slipping away as I left Swan Lake, and I revisited many spots from earlier in the day without adding anything new. The wind came up around 9:30pm and the rain started, so I called the big day at 10pm, after 400 solo kilometres and 23 hours.

The final result was a dismal 89 species, far less than I had anticipated, with big misses being all vireos, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Townsend's Warbler, and Virginia Rail. Shorebird numbers were low, with only three species found, and raptor numbers were a little on the low side as well.

The day was not without its highlights, as I added 7 new species to my Big Year (Bank Swallow, Black-headed Grosbeak, Swainson's Thrush, Western Tanager, Yellow Warbler, Western Wood-Pewee, and Pacific-slope Flycatcher). Solitary Sandpiper and Northern Harrier were also nice surprises, and it is always great to run into birders in the field.

To date, I have raised just about $300 for Bird Studies Canada and Rocky Point, but apparently I have seven more months to bring in pledges, so that total should come up nicely.

Next year............