Hi Birders Two carloads of festive birders headed out this week in warm but dull weather, I was hoping that our numbers of swans would increase and I was not disappointed as we had over 400 Trumpeters. What was surprising was the number of immature which went way up, with a ratio of over 30%…
South side of the Bay Partly cloudy, calm, no rain. No boat activity. Few walkers with dogs. Eight counters: Janice Creed; Melanie Circle; Michael Mascall; Hilary Abbott; Alison Perry and Katie Smith from Victoria; Robin Lawson and Gail Mitchell. 80 Bufflehead; 30 Common Goldeneye; 2 Barrow’s Goldeneye; 6 Doublecrested Cormorant; 3 Western Grebe; 3 Horned…
Hi Birders We wondered when the weather man would finally catch up with us on a Wednesday and today he finally caught us, so 8 counters set out in wet conditions and it appears that some birds like it wet and some not so much. The number of Canada Geese took a nose dive this…
Hi Birders Sorry for the delay in my report but we have uninvited birding guests turn up from Ontario. I have been commandeered into housework, I thought I was exempt. Anyhow the count went off very well with record numbers of counters this week, 10 and half people (Dorothy’s numbers) in three cars set out…
“WONDERFUL WEDNESDAY & BLACK THURSDAY” Hi Birders Today was one of those days that dreams are made of. 9 participants set out to count this week with two new counters and one old counter making his season debut. Things started very slow with the usual spots having a smattering of geese, our first Trumpeters were…
Hi birders Our second count of the season was a very slow affair, just four of us took part this week, myself, the Swarovski sisters and Deb. Although there was much to talk about on many items in the vehicle, which i have to say was admirably driven by Christina, nothing appears to have caught…
South Side: Birders: Gail Mitchell, Robin Lawson, Christina Cutbill, Linda Hill, John Scull, Myra and Pat Micek. It was raining at the beginning but it soon cleared and we were treated to a beautiful display of clouds, mist, and sun. We saw 1 Horned Grebe 4 Red-necked Grebes 11 Double-crested Cormorants 82 Buffleheads 2 Common…
Hi Birders We got this seasons count off to a roaring start with 6 participants in two vehicles and we have to thank Kurlene and Eric for doing a wonderful job of driving. Deb took over the duties of keeping our records and other than a few corrections made a great job of the numbers….
From the north side: Kurlene Wen, Bob Nation, and Daryl Johnson did the Coastal Waterbird Survery on Oct. 12th, 2014. Overcast skies, and calm seas made the birding fairly easy on Sunday morning. Birds seen: Double-crested Cormorant 7 Horned Grebe 2 Great Blue Heron 2 Trumpeter Swan 2 Mute Swan 35 Mallard 52 American Wigeon…
Hi With word flowing around the Vancouver Island birding community of a massive influx of Heermann’s Gulls to the east side of the island into the Salish Sea, myself and senior Derrick “he don’t like being called old anymore” decided to do a big gull search around the Cowichan Valley on Saturday. There has only…
It was a very quiet morning. Only one counter. The weather was clear; seas were calm; and there was moderate human activity – 3 powerboats, 2 kayakers, 8 walkers, 5 dogs. Start time was 09:30. Finish 10:30. The tide was high and still rising. I only observed seven species of birds: Double-crested cormorants: 7 Great…
Bob and Helen Nation, Kurlene Wenberg, and Daryl Johnson spent a beautiful one and a half hours with the birds on a sunny, calm morning in the bay. We saw thirteen species of birds: D.C. Cormorant 2 Great Blue Heron 3 Canada Goose 37 Mute Swan 34 Trumpeter Swan 1 American Wigeon 8 Mallard 36…
Hi Naturalists It has been a while since I put fingers to keys and thought that as surveys are about to start that I would enlighten you on what this birding duffer has seen this late summer. The shorebirds have been the best for many years, but numbers are still low for what was once…
Kurleen Wenburg, Daryl Johnson and Carol Hartwig conducted a Coastal Waterbird Survey on Cowichan Estuary North-Khenipsen Road Sunday, April 13, 2014 from 5:37 to 6:30 PM during high tide. Visibility was good but there was glare on the rippled surface. A total of 13 species were observed including 100 Bufflehead, 69 unidentified Gull, 45 Mew…
Spring is here and the migrants are starting to pour in, many new species have been recorded including Black-throated Gray, Orange-crowned and Townsends Warbler, Pacific-slope and Hammond’s Flycatcher. Brightly colored male American Goldfinch are starting to appear at feeders and the shorebirds are being seen in Cowichan Bay with good numbers of Greater Yellowlegs and…