Hi This afternoonI witnessed one of the most amazing and sad birding sights I have ever seen. I had just been out to feed the birds as I usually do about 2:45pm each day, Icame back in and sat down ready to jot down my sightings when I noticed I had not filled up the…
It was one of those days which you could never have predicted, I personally thought it was going to be wet and totally lacking in birds, in fact it was totally the opposite. Big numbers of raptors and waterfowl included, Bald Eagle, Coopers, Sharp-shinned and Red-tailed Hawks, Merlin and Peregrine Falcons, mega number of Canada…
This week 4 participants headed out for the count and it was not long before we hit some good numbers of swans and geese. The DU pond at the Forest Museum had 7 Mute Swans and then Somenos Lake had just over 80 Trumpeter Swans and just under 100 Canada Geese. The lake was virtually…
This week 4 participants headed out for the count and it was not long before we hit some good numbers of swans and geese. The DU pond at the Forest Museum had 7 Mute Swans and then Somenos Lake had just over 80 Trumpeter Swans and just under 100 Canada Geese. The lake was virtually…
Today started out with myself getting a reality check, the holiday credit card bill came through the door, who spent all this money I ask? It was off to the S&G count feeling a little low, heh but I arrived at the dog park to be denied access, workers were doing the footpaths, you know…
Four observers, Daryl Johnson, Kurleen Wen, Jennifer Lawson and Carol Hartwig (and Bob Down for a portion of the count) conducted a Coastal Bird Survey on Cowichan Estuary North-Khenipsen Road Sunday, January 12 from Noon to 1:30 PM. Visibility was good during the high tide with a rippled surface. A total of 18 species were…
Hi It finally caught up with us, no not the holiday blues, but the weather, the rain that was forecast got us good, but in good counting style it did not sway us from the job at hand. Would you believe it, on our worst weather day of the season we had near record numbers,…
Hi Birders I have crunched the numbers and it was not as bad as i thought, most species were at or near our count average and there were a few that made star rating. Here are the main figures: Individules: 26,484 High Counts Anna’s Hummingbird 169 up from 143 last year Eurasian-collared Dove 92 up…
This week we were reduced to just 5 counters and so we squeezed into one vehicle which was admirably handled by Kurlene although the participants in the back seat were doing a lot of groping, it appears that the seat-belts were trying to get into the wrong receptacles. This week saw a new high for…
Hi There are times when us as birders encounter incredible sights, as was the case this Wednesday when we saw trees loaded with eagles down off of Sahilton and Boy’s Roads. Incredible numbers in just one tree left us in awe at what nature had to offer. Although we tried to count most on Sahilton…
Gail Mitchell, Hilary Stead, Kathy Coster, Linda Hill, Jane Kilthei, and John Scull gathered on a cold but beautiful Sunday morning to count the birds from Hecate Park. The bird list can be found at http://www.cowichanestuary.ca/wildlife/birds/#Coastal_Waterbird_Survey. The new bird for the day was a Killdeer who appeared to be uncomfortably cold. After the count most…
Three observers, Daryl Johnson, Carol Hartwig and Kurlene Wenberg, conducted a Coastal Bird Survey on Cowichan Estuary North-Khenipsen Road Sunday, December 8, 2013 from 10 AM to 11:25 AM. Visibility was excellent during the high tide and there was no human disturbance. There were a total of 15 species that included 515 American Widgeon, 230…
It was a cool morning that brought 6 eager birders out to count and it was slow going for the first couple of hours with other than Canada Geese not much was put on the list. The tally keeper had not even had to sharpen her pencil as things were so bad. Just two Trumpeters…
Hi Our numbers are growing, both in counters and swans. 6 people in two cars headed out through roadworks and dikes hoping that the good weather would hold and yes it did with ideal if not a little bright conditions for the whole count. This week I teamed up with Eric & Dorothy and the…
Hi We got off to a wonderful start to our annual count with record early number of both swans and geese. Our day started by trying to find our way to the dog park, this is a true test of ones road rage, North Cowichan in it’s wisdom had blocked off nearly every road with…