When I saw Jeremy Gatten's name on my call display this morning, I knew he had something good, but I didn't know how good until he told me "Northern Mockingbird near Hastings Flats!".
There has been one other in the Victoria area this year (in fact, this may be the same bird), but that one was not chaseable. Given that as of Jeremy's call I would be stuck in a work commitment for 2 or 3 more hours, I wasn't sure if this one would be either.
After posting a plea for updates on BCVIBIRDS, Ed Pellizon called me an hour or so later, letting me know that he had refound the bird, and that he would keep tabs on it until I could get there. Right around this point, the skies opened up in Colwood, with rain and thick hail coming down. The hail actually started to accumulate on the ground, which left me doubtful about my prospects for relocating this gem.
Finally, two and a half hours after Jeremy's call, I made it to the area around 4040 Holland Ave, which provided the best view of the bird. Jeremy Gatten had returned, and he and Ed had kept tabs on the bird until 20 minutes previously, when it had disappeared. 40 minutes or so of scouring the fences turned up nothing, so we moved down to Hastings for a better view of the area. A male Eurasian Wigeon provided a distraction, but still no Mockingbird. One last chance was to scan from Granville. We walked over that way, looking again at every fence without luck. Just after 2pm, Mike and Barb McGrenere pulled up, and after a couple of minutes, Barb picked the bird out in a field.
Having been discovered, the bird provided stunning views from the top of the fence, and as it flew from post to post. It is always a treat to find one of these so far from home.
I don't think I could have picked a better bird for number 150 (and 151 came on the way home as JG and I had nice views of an Orange-crowned Warbler at Viaduct Flats).
Huge thanks to Jeremy and Ed for keeping track of the bird!
Good rarity hunting,
Sunday, April 17, 2011
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Spring might be near????
I have grown a little tired of writing "went looking for Hutton's Vireo. As usual, didn't find it".
On Sunday, finally, I did locate one visually. I had decided to spend the morning walking around Royal Roads University in search of it, as well as any other migrants that may have shown up. There were lots of Ruby-crowned Kinglets singing from nearly every branch of every tree and bush, a noisy flock of Pine Siskins, a calling Pileated Woodpecker, and a calling Cooper's Hawk, plus the bonus Red Crossbill flock overhead. As I was about to give up, I noticed what I took at first for a kinglet on Ritalin, calmly preening in a shrub. Upon closer examination, it turned out to be my long-sought Big Year Nemesis, in the feather! The bird quietly worked through the shrub and a nearby tree, affording incredible views (and me with my camera in it's usual place, at home).
The past few days have been spent looking for arrivals at a few key locations. Observatory Hill has been my first stop on the way into the office every day this week, and after Monday's snow and Tuesday's wind, I had almost given up. This morning was calm and warm, but despite a thorough search, I only turned up my first Checklist Area Rufous Hummingbird of the year, plus a singing Yellow-rumped Warbler.
Afterward, a quick jaunt down to Viaduct Flats yielded two more species for my Big Year total in the form of 4 Northern Rough-winged Swallows and a male Common Yellowthroat. Up to 148, only 104 species and eight and a half months left!
All of the usual spots have failed to turn up a migrant teal, though there are still 8 or so representatives of the Green-winged variety at the pond at the corner of Burnside and Charlton. This afternoon, none of them seemed to mind the Red-tailed Hawk that was gathering nesting material on the edge of the pond 10ft away.
Still awaiting the arrival of Townsend's Solitaire........
Good birding,
On Sunday, finally, I did locate one visually. I had decided to spend the morning walking around Royal Roads University in search of it, as well as any other migrants that may have shown up. There were lots of Ruby-crowned Kinglets singing from nearly every branch of every tree and bush, a noisy flock of Pine Siskins, a calling Pileated Woodpecker, and a calling Cooper's Hawk, plus the bonus Red Crossbill flock overhead. As I was about to give up, I noticed what I took at first for a kinglet on Ritalin, calmly preening in a shrub. Upon closer examination, it turned out to be my long-sought Big Year Nemesis, in the feather! The bird quietly worked through the shrub and a nearby tree, affording incredible views (and me with my camera in it's usual place, at home).
The past few days have been spent looking for arrivals at a few key locations. Observatory Hill has been my first stop on the way into the office every day this week, and after Monday's snow and Tuesday's wind, I had almost given up. This morning was calm and warm, but despite a thorough search, I only turned up my first Checklist Area Rufous Hummingbird of the year, plus a singing Yellow-rumped Warbler.
Afterward, a quick jaunt down to Viaduct Flats yielded two more species for my Big Year total in the form of 4 Northern Rough-winged Swallows and a male Common Yellowthroat. Up to 148, only 104 species and eight and a half months left!
All of the usual spots have failed to turn up a migrant teal, though there are still 8 or so representatives of the Green-winged variety at the pond at the corner of Burnside and Charlton. This afternoon, none of them seemed to mind the Red-tailed Hawk that was gathering nesting material on the edge of the pond 10ft away.
Still awaiting the arrival of Townsend's Solitaire........
Good birding,
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Brant Festival Big Day!
April 9th was the Brant Festival Big Day competition. This year, the competition took a different form, as it was not officially attached to the Brant Festival. However, Rhys Harrison and Sandra Gray did a fantastic job organizing and setting it up, with 57 birders from 15 teams taking part. The weather was also very cooperative, and even an accident south of Ugly Dwarf Fields that caused delays and detours for most of the afternoon couldn't dampen spirits.
My team, The Stellar J's, made up of myself, Jeremy Gatten, Jamie Fenneman, and Jason Kimm, had a great time of it, taking advatage of the great weather and racking up a total of 114 species. We ended up losing about 45 minutes of birding (and never made it to Ugly Dwarf) because of the accident, but managed to laugh it off (I don't think our team actually stopped laughing between 3am and 5pm, I was very fortunate to have such a fantastic and fun team!) and pick up two new species for the day, one while stuck in traffic (Rufous Hummingbird) and one on the detour (American Kestrel).
As for the birding, our total of 114 was good enough to finish first overall, and Jeremy Gatten's eagle eyes pulled an adult Iceland Gull out from the masses at the Englishman River Estuary, which was voted Bird of the Day. We had a few notable misses (Hairy Woodpecker being the big one) and some tense moments when we thought we were also going to miss Tree Swallow and Northern Shoveler. We also ended up running very short on time, and arrived at our last destination, a revisit to Hamilton Marsh, with about five minutes left in regulation time. What a sight it must have been to see four birders with scopes running down the trail to the marsh, dodging the others on the trail without a look back. We made it down to the marsh with about 60 seconds left, and managed to pick up Cliff Swallow and Tree Swallow to end with our 114 (actually 115 minus Collared Dove).
Other highlights for the day (aside from the great company and camraderie) were an immature Glaucous Gull at French Creek, a breeding plumage Eared Grebe at Qualicum Beach, and huge numbers of scoters and loons. Notably absent were expected warblers (we had only 1 Orange-crowned Warbler and small numbers of Yellow-rumped Warblers).
Huge thanks again to Rhys and Sandra, and a special thank you to the rest of the Stellar J's for an incredible day!
Looking forward to next year!
Good birding,
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Baillie Birdathon
Yes Ladies and Gentlemen, it is that time of year again!
This year I have decided to do the Baillie Birdathon (my first), figuring that if I am already doing a Big Year, why not take just one of those days, make it really, really Big, and help out Rocky Point Bird Observatory and Bird Studies Canada!
To sponsor me, please visit My Sponsorship Page. A portion of everything raised will come home to RPBO, and help us where we need it! My personal goal is to raise $500, but I sure hope to top that! Bird Studies Canada also provides a tax receipt for all donations above $10!
I haven't yet decided on the day, but it will be a 24 hour period in May.... stay tuned!
Good birding,
This year I have decided to do the Baillie Birdathon (my first), figuring that if I am already doing a Big Year, why not take just one of those days, make it really, really Big, and help out Rocky Point Bird Observatory and Bird Studies Canada!
To sponsor me, please visit My Sponsorship Page. A portion of everything raised will come home to RPBO, and help us where we need it! My personal goal is to raise $500, but I sure hope to top that! Bird Studies Canada also provides a tax receipt for all donations above $10!
I haven't yet decided on the day, but it will be a 24 hour period in May.... stay tuned!
Good birding,
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
First Osprey!
Well, it has been a week of not much birding at all. Between work and the weather, I haven't been able to make it out nearly as much as I would have liked, and the times I have gotten out have been almost unbearably quiet. I spent a few days chasing down Mountain Bluebird reports to no avail, as well as checking other likely spots for them.
Yesterday, finally, a new species for the year! I was doing some banking at Colwood Corners, when I heard a familiar, but lately absent, call. Looking up, I saw a pair of Ospreys circling their former nesting location near Juan de Fuca Rec Centre (the nest was blown down over the winter, and the poles in the area altered to make them unsuitable for nest construction). I can imagine the confusion of the returning birds, wondering where their nest had gone. Hopefully the new pole and nesting platform that have been promised will be put up in time for this years nesters to take advantage of it!
Aside from that, the migrants have yet to appear. I spent this morning looking (again) for Hutton's Vireo, and hoping for a Townsend's Solitaire, but Observatory Hill had only juncos, and a gathering of perhaps 25 ravens that were taking great and vocal delight in harrassing an immature Bald Eagle. I can't recall running into this many ravens at once, nor being unable to hear anything else through the sound of them all croaking and calling at once. Oh well, the year is still young.
Good birding,
Yesterday, finally, a new species for the year! I was doing some banking at Colwood Corners, when I heard a familiar, but lately absent, call. Looking up, I saw a pair of Ospreys circling their former nesting location near Juan de Fuca Rec Centre (the nest was blown down over the winter, and the poles in the area altered to make them unsuitable for nest construction). I can imagine the confusion of the returning birds, wondering where their nest had gone. Hopefully the new pole and nesting platform that have been promised will be put up in time for this years nesters to take advantage of it!
Aside from that, the migrants have yet to appear. I spent this morning looking (again) for Hutton's Vireo, and hoping for a Townsend's Solitaire, but Observatory Hill had only juncos, and a gathering of perhaps 25 ravens that were taking great and vocal delight in harrassing an immature Bald Eagle. I can't recall running into this many ravens at once, nor being unable to hear anything else through the sound of them all croaking and calling at once. Oh well, the year is still young.
Good birding,
Monday, March 21, 2011
Two days of birding in a row!
After Saturday's owling adventure, I took Sunday to round up some loose ends. For those who have been following from the beginning, this is a familiar story....
The targets of the day were Violet-green Swallow, Purple Finch, Hutton's Vireo, and Virginia Rail, plus whatever else happened to be around. My wife and I started off at Swan Lake, and quickly found Violet-green Swallow and Purple Finch (the latter thanks to Ian Cruickshank's finely tuned ear), but Virginia Rail was a no show. A bright male American Goldfinch also made an appearance by the boardwalk.
We headed to Observatory Hill on a bit of a high, hoping that today would be the day for Hutton's Vireo. Despite a thorough search we didn't so much as hear one call, and decided to cut back to Viaduct Flats. Halfway to Viaduct, and an email came through from BCVIBIRDS, of Horned Larks at Martindale Flats, so we changed course and headed up the Pat Bay Highway.
After walking Islandview Rd, Puckle Rd, McHugh Rd, and Lochside Dr, the Horned Larks were not to be found. Not a big loss, they will be back.
Our last stop on the way home was Royal Roads University, again looking for Hutton's Vireo. A little pishing and a lot of walking turned up scads of Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Song and Fox Sparrows, and Dark-eyed Juncos, but no Hutton's Vireo. Let's hope I don't still need this bird in December!
All in all, not a bad day. Two species added, bringing the total to 143. Only 9.33 months and 109 species to go!
Time to start checking through the gull flocks, as Little Gulls have been reported south of the border on both coasts!
The targets of the day were Violet-green Swallow, Purple Finch, Hutton's Vireo, and Virginia Rail, plus whatever else happened to be around. My wife and I started off at Swan Lake, and quickly found Violet-green Swallow and Purple Finch (the latter thanks to Ian Cruickshank's finely tuned ear), but Virginia Rail was a no show. A bright male American Goldfinch also made an appearance by the boardwalk.
We headed to Observatory Hill on a bit of a high, hoping that today would be the day for Hutton's Vireo. Despite a thorough search we didn't so much as hear one call, and decided to cut back to Viaduct Flats. Halfway to Viaduct, and an email came through from BCVIBIRDS, of Horned Larks at Martindale Flats, so we changed course and headed up the Pat Bay Highway.
After walking Islandview Rd, Puckle Rd, McHugh Rd, and Lochside Dr, the Horned Larks were not to be found. Not a big loss, they will be back.
Our last stop on the way home was Royal Roads University, again looking for Hutton's Vireo. A little pishing and a lot of walking turned up scads of Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Song and Fox Sparrows, and Dark-eyed Juncos, but no Hutton's Vireo. Let's hope I don't still need this bird in December!
All in all, not a bad day. Two species added, bringing the total to 143. Only 9.33 months and 109 species to go!
Time to start checking through the gull flocks, as Little Gulls have been reported south of the border on both coasts!
Owls, owls, owls
Saturday at 3:00am found me driving north on the Malahat, aiming to find the last two owls I need. Without coffee, and with four hours of sleep, I started my owling loop in Shawnigan Lake. From there, I worked my way north, winding my way through the backroads towards Duncan, where I finally grabbed the morning double-double (and, as an aside and definite highlight, I won a free coffee - my first Roll Up the Rim winner in two years!).
The weather was not quite ideal for owling, with a little drizzle here and there, but once committed, the show must go on. I ended up finding 5 owls from 4 species, without adding either of my targets. The first owl was my sought-after Western Screech-Owl, which called briefly and then remained silent and out of sight, giving me a great listen but depriving me of adding it to my Big Year List. Maybe next time I will scatter some seed on the road and wait for it.....
After the Screech-Owl, I was treated to a Barred Owl sitting on the side of the road near Cowichan Station, a Great Horned Owl and a Barn Owl near Duncan, and another Barred Owl on a telephone wire at Cowichan Bay. Without my camera handy, the picture below was taken with my blackberry (I did mention I am not a photographer, right?).
I made it to Cowichan Bay at first light, and starting checking all of the usual places for Short-eared Owl, without luck. I was treated to a flock of 40+ Northern Shovelers, which I have not seen in Victoria in these numbers this year, as well as various other waterfowl, and good numbers of singing sparrows and Ruby-crowned Kinglets.
The day ended without a single addition to the Big Year list, but I am finding it really hard to complain.
Good birding,
The weather was not quite ideal for owling, with a little drizzle here and there, but once committed, the show must go on. I ended up finding 5 owls from 4 species, without adding either of my targets. The first owl was my sought-after Western Screech-Owl, which called briefly and then remained silent and out of sight, giving me a great listen but depriving me of adding it to my Big Year List. Maybe next time I will scatter some seed on the road and wait for it.....
After the Screech-Owl, I was treated to a Barred Owl sitting on the side of the road near Cowichan Station, a Great Horned Owl and a Barn Owl near Duncan, and another Barred Owl on a telephone wire at Cowichan Bay. Without my camera handy, the picture below was taken with my blackberry (I did mention I am not a photographer, right?).
I made it to Cowichan Bay at first light, and starting checking all of the usual places for Short-eared Owl, without luck. I was treated to a flock of 40+ Northern Shovelers, which I have not seen in Victoria in these numbers this year, as well as various other waterfowl, and good numbers of singing sparrows and Ruby-crowned Kinglets.
The day ended without a single addition to the Big Year list, but I am finding it really hard to complain.
Good birding,
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