What a Weekend!

It is hard to picture a better weekend of birding in Victoria!

On Friday morning at 8am, Jeremy Gatten called me from Saanichton Spit, where he had found a possible Willet feeding on the mudflats. Five minutes later he called back to confirm that it was indeed a Willet. As fate would have it, I was stuck in the office, sans transportation, until 4:30 that afternoon, so I did the next best thing to seeing it, which was call a number of birders with the sighting. The bird was very cooperative, and several people did get good looks at it. With the tide on its way in, I didn't have much hope that the bird would stick around, but after work I drove out to Saanichton Spit anyway, where Jeremy G and I walked around the entire spit before relocating the Willet, in the company of 2 Whimbrel, about 50ft or so from the parking area. A great bird!

Saturday morning started off as usual, with no foreshadowing of the great things to come. I had dropped my wife off at the gym and was on my way to check out the Munn Rd powerlines when Chris Saunders called with a report of Yellow-headed Blackbird at Swan Lake. Presumably this is the same bird that has been taunting myself and other local birders for a few weeks now, popping up and disappearing every once in a while. I had missed it on four occasions, but fifth time proved to be the charm, as the bird was sitting in the middle of the bridge when I arrived.

As Friday was my wife's birthday, I had promised to make brunch for her and my father and stepmother on Saturday. I had also forgotten to turn my phones ringer on, and after brunch, I found that I had missed 10 calls, and had a number of text messages. Jeremy Gatten had struck again, and located a breeding plumage SABINE'S GULL at Tower Point. Two hours had passed by the time I arrived, but the bird was still there, along with a crowd of admirers. On my way home I also added Black Swift, with 2 individuals overhead at the Latoria Rd gravel pit.

Seeing three great birds in under 24 hours was fantastic, and the only way to make it any better was to add another great bird.

Jeremy G and I decided to head out to Sooke, where we located two drumming Ruffed Grouse (though we didn't get a look at either of them). From there we made the last stop of the day Whiffin Spit. The spit was quiet, with a few of the ever-present dog walkers about. My time was quickly running out, as I had to meet my wife and her parents for dinner back in Langford. Jeremy convinced me that there was still time for a last-ditch check of the open areas on the inside of the spit, and as we reached the first one, a nighthawk flushed up from under our feet. The bird looked a little "off" right from the start and Jeremy managed to get a couple of quick pictures as it moved around in 15ft bursts. The drive back into town was spent comparing his pictures with field guides, internet pictures, and the like.

Back at Casa Kimm, we went through my bookshelf, searching for anything to aid in the ID of our nighthawk. Finding little of use, Jeremy headed back to Whiffin Spit while I headed out for dinner. Jeremy ended up getting some more pictures, which can be found on BCVIBIRDS.

All opinions that have come back on this bird have confirmed it's identity as LESSER NIGHTHAWK, making it a first for the Victoria Checklist area, and only the 3rd (second found alive) for BC!

Wow! What next?