“The real face of swan counting” Today we lost the Midas touch with the weather, as some of us got soaked while others curled up in the vehicles, what a rotter it was, oh well we had a good run of clear count days. All was not lost as we did extremely…
“Just one of those wonderful days” It had to happen, the weather finally caught up with us, a dull dreary day with spattering’s of rain, but with all bad things there was a silver lining and oh did we have some silver today. Our day started at the dog park where 7 counters set out…
“Cuddles and Kisses” It was a dull and nippy morning as 10 birders set off in the search for the swans and geese and once again it did not take long for our tally keeper to get her pencil working. We had both swans and geese along the highway just past the open air classroom…
“James Bond, well nearly” Today I returned to the count in hopes of shaking off this bad back and what a fine day it was, the rain was gone and the temperature was very pleasant and the birds did not disappoint. 6 birders left the dog park in two cars and another 2 joined up…
North Side of Cowichan Bay On a gloriously sunny afternoon, Daryl Johnson, Bob Nation, Christine Gilbertson and Carol Hartwig surveying for the Coastal Bird Survey on Cowichan Estuary North-Khenipsen Road. The group discovered there were 13 species and a total of 675 water birds: 2 Horned Grebe 1 Double-crested Cormorant, 8 Canada Goose 113 Trumpeter…
Eric and Dorothy’s notes from the Swan & Goose car where Barry was at the wheel: Wednesday 6th January began with the sad news that our leader has a bad back and would not be joining us. The temperature was only a little above zero when the seven of us set off in two cars….
Here are the final totals for the Duncan CBC. 112 Species 30,329 individual 1 new species for the count, Western Bluebird #3 2 Count week species, Dunlin, Evening Grosbeak 11 high counts Cackling Goose #199 Hooded Merganser #236 California Quail #327 Pied-billed Grebe #98 Merlin #10 Red-breasted Sapsucker #29 Steller’s Jay #339 Cedar Waxwing #30…
On Sunday on December 13 with the rain coming down, Bob Nation, Christine Gilbertson and Carol Hartwig surveying for the Coastal Bird Survey on Cowichan Estuary North-Khenipsen Road. The group found 10 species and 2480 water birds: 1 Double-crested Cormorant, 12 Trumpeter Swan, 1160 Bufflehead, 5 Mallard 2 Common Merganser, 1140 Common Goldeneye, 40 unidentified…
“And there they were gone” Was it the wind and rain or the barmy temperatures that drove our birds away this week, the swans were gone and the eagles followed suit, our numbers tumbled like the Canadian dollar and the price of oil. With only 75 swans total this week and 59…
” Egg Salad Sandwiches” It takes a certain type of person to be involved with the Swan and Goose count, not everyone fits the bill, “laughing under my breath” We as a team have many different personalities which come together to form a formidable group who’s dedication to the job at hand is undeniable. We…
There are several things that have become apparent from the first few weeks of our counts, the swans are late coming, the eagles are early returning and the counters can do very well without me, well maybe. The swans left their breeding grounds on time and departed their northern rest spots, but between there and…
Here is a guest post from Ovidiu Popescu in Romania. He has helped create a new website, http://greentumble.com, aimed at increasing environmental awareness. It is good to know we have allies around the world and to be reminded occasionally of the fundamentals of environmental stewardship. How You Can Help Wildlife There are a lot of…
Because i am sick with a bug and was unable to attend yesterdays festivities please find this weeks write up entitled. ” In their own words” Dorothy: Our day began with a big disappointment – an email from Derrick claiming to be too sick to lead our group and not wanting to spread the…
It is amazing how unreliable birds can be at times, we have had field trips, lectures, art and photo shows, we have even had beers named for the events and to cap it all off we have the faithful who turn up every Wednesday to count them. What do they do, they don’t show up…
On Sunday, November 8, the sea was smooth as glass with mist around Mount Tzouhalem. Dorothy and Eric Marshall, Gail Mitchell, Linda Hill, John Scull, Christina Cutbill, and Gord Allen counted on the south side of the Bay: 1 Great blue heron 1 Northwest crow 17 Double-crested cormorant 2 Mute swan 10 Bald eagle 3…