Blog of the Plague Year(s)

 eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S84415732 Weather:  8 am 3C wind WSW 6, 1m 8C wind NW 15 Tide 10 am 3.6 m, falling Clear.  Slight haze for most of the morning. As the days lengthen, the morning arrives earlier.  (My apologies for stating the obvious.)  And as the morning arrives earlier, the birds waken earlier, and so must birders, if we are to see songbirds at their peak activity.  It is less true, of course, for shorebirds, who depend on tides.  Anyhow, I'm now wakening earlier and setting out earlier. I don't know is this morning is an indicator of spring birding or just a fluke--but it was really birdy, and on the shore, really ducky.  Listing 40 species in one outing is a lot for me.  It was an interesting morning, although I didn't get the photos I would have wished for. The path into the Estuary was, in fact, relatively quiet, but as I made my way into the fields and along the woods, things livened up. There was a group of fo...

 eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S84352054 Weather:  8am 4C windWNW 9,  12m 8C wind WNW 19 gust 28.  Clear. Tide:  10 am  3.2 m, falling After the genuinely nasty weather yesterday (high winds, torrential rain squalls, and hail), a glorious morning.  Sunny, crisp, but beautiful. The rosebushes are leafing out: I'm really looking forward to them coming into bloom--there are so many, the fragrance will be incredible.   The new growth gleamed in the sunlight. After the winds of yesterday, the Straits were wild. I'd heard the surf, loud in the night.   The mid-tide meant that there was a generous representation of ducks--mostly widgeons and mallards.  I sat counting ducks and drinking coffee in the sun.  The shade was still quite chilly, but my bench was nicely sheltered. When I continued along my path I met a young(ish) woman carrying a camera with a spectacular lens and garbed in what appeared to be Cabela's lat...

26 March   eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S84137944 Weather:  8 am 2C wind W6, 12m 10C wind  NW 10 mostly clear, patchy frost Tide:  10 am 3.1m, falling 27 March eBird data:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S84211477 Weather:  8am 2C wind SSE 2, 12m 8C wind ESE 13.  Cloudy Tide:  10:30 am 2.8m low, falling Two similar days.  Clearer yesterday, but both days windy and chill.  Bird populations a bit on the low side, especially the offshore ducks and gulls, possibly because of the low tides. There are big flocks of robins and flickers just now.  In the morning light, the robins are very showy. Yesterday's news was the fall of the big Douglas fir that has hung over the river since the winter's high water.  I'm not sure when it fell, but it took down a cedar with it, and there was a strong smell of cedar when I came on it.  Perhaps it had been a recent fall. It will require a re-routing of the riverside path. There is...

 No eBird data entered The day promised intermittent showers.  As planned I made my way up-island to see what has happening with the various migrations.  It was time well spent. I'd never stopped at the Nature Study Area at Qualicum Beach before, but certainly shall do so in the future.  It was very lively with flocks of gulls and shorebirds. The turnstones were very busy, guess what?  Turning stones. I guess that's why they call them that. Further north, I found the Little Qualicum Estuary Wildlife Preserve.  I still haven't found my way into its trails, but the shore was apparently the destination for the Brant migration this season, after the herring spawn... ...perhaps not the most wonderful photo aesthetically, but an example of the banks of herring roe along the shore.  It draws all manner of wildlife, including many species of gull. In the foreground of this photo there are three oystercatchers, then brant and gulls.  I've never been very g...

 eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S83965885 weather:  8am 0C wind SW 2, 1 pm 8C wind ENE 12, patchy frost early, then partly cloudy Tide:  11 am 3.6 m This is the season when it's really difficult to know what to wear when setting out for a morning.  Today was no exception.  There was frost when I left the house and I wore my warm "puffer jacket" and by the time I came home, it was really way too warm.  But carrying a camera and a pair of binoculars and with a fanny pack with a thermos and bear spray (ridiculous, but I like to keep the neighbours reassured), I can't do the "tie the jacket around your hips" trick, so I just feel warm.  Oh well. It was clear first thing, then became cloudy.  The path leading into the Estuary is drying.  Some bright spark has dug a little trench that lets the standing water run out into the fields.  Wish I'd thought of that.  No reason not to that I can see.  Definitely makes walking n...

20, 22 March  20 March  eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S83762333 Weather:  12 m 8C wind NW10, 3pm 7C windWNW 10  cloudy, occasional showers Tide:  1 pm 3m 22 March https://ebird.org/checklist/S83903194 Weather:  8 am 1C  wind SW 5, 1pm 8C wind NNW 17,  Sunny with cloudy interval Tide:  10:30 am 3.7m 20 March So here we are, the first day of spring.  I set out late as I'd waited for the weather to improve.  (It did, a bit...)   After a leisurely breakfast (toast and coffee and the news online...), and a few domestic chores, I could see that indeed it was clearing a bit.  I suspected that it would rain more, but decided to brave the elements.   I packed a lunch, for a change, as it was getting a bit late for my usual coffee and granola bar.  There really is nothing that can beat a kaiser bun and Balderson's extra old cheddar, and an apple and a thermos of tea. Looking over the fields near me...

 eBird data:https://ebird.org/checklist/S83576495 Weather:  8am 0C wind SSW2, 12m 9C wind E 14, scattered clouds, and patchy frost Tide:  10 am 4m Initially less birdy than usual, although the fields chimed with (invisible) red-winged blackbirds.  A high tide, ducks and eagles were mostly elsewhere. The Arrowsmith massif was lit brilliantly and gleamed in the snow.  It is now a backdrop for new foliage. The eagle population seemed down;  I'd guess that they were somewhere enjoying the herring spawn.  There was a handsome northern harrier who flew past before I could get a photo.  This happens. There were a lot of gulls. I figured out how to photograph through a cyclone fence!  Here are the first skunk cabbage.  I haven't found that many really boggy spots in the Estuary where these will grow, but there were bound to be some. The salmonberries are blossoming splendid hot pink:  They're hardly exotic, but I've always liked them becaus...