Blog of the Plague Year(s)

26 January eBird data:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S101496613 weather:  8:30 am 0C wind SW 2, 12:00 m 1C wind WNW 5 tide:  11 am 4.7m, peak, falling 27 January eBird data:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S101546628 weather:  9 am -1C wind  S2, 1:00 pm 1C wind calm tide:  11 am 4.6m, rising 26 January I must admit that I'm thoroughly sick of fog.  It was a bit less dense today, but still present, and with the low temperatures, it makes for truly dreary weather.   It was also, for some reason, less birdy today than yesterday. There was a young cooper's hawk, eying the LBBs  (little brown birds) in the hedges. The tide was at its peak. By the time I reached my duck-counting bench, the fog had thinned a bit, but the islands and mountains to the northeast were still invisible. There were a fair variety of ducks.  The scaups are still in the channel, and there was a showing of Eurasian wigeons.   The above is an instance of "...

22 January   eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S101226213 weather:  9 am  5C wind WSW 3,   1 pm 5C wind NW3, cloudy tide:  11 am 4.4m falling 23 January eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S101302641 weather:  9 am 1C wind SSW 3,   12 m 3C wind ESE 3  foggy tide:  10:30 4.6m falling 25 January https://ebird.org/checklist/S101438341 weather:  9 am 1C, wind SSE 6,  1 pm 2C wind SE 4, foggy tide:  10:30 am 4.7m, peak, falling Despite an optimistic forecast last week, the past four days have been pervasively cold and grey.  There hasn't been rain, but the fog has been penetrating and dismal.  Locals comment that this is unusual, which I'd like to believe.  Let us hope this isn't the "new normal." That said, it's been quite birdy, especially today--the 25th.   In the mornings, the tides have been high.  Not king tides, but full tides, and a good population of ducks, especia...

19 January  eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S101051121 weather:  9 am 5C wind S2, 12:30 m 8C wind SE 11  increasing cloud tide:  11 am 4.0m falling 20 January no data available, clearing weather, dry 21 January eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S101155670 weather:  9 am 3C wind WNW 2m, 1pm 7C wind NE6, cloudy then clearing to partly cloudy tide:  11 am 4.1m falling Three days of variable birding.   19 January:  mild weather, and a harbinger of spring: Catkins are showing green.   The Arrowstone massif seems to be showing a bit of a thaw, although apart from the catkins, the Estuary remains wintry. Offshore, the tide is high, although not as high as it's been, and the duck population is fairly busy.  The scaups remain, as do the gadwalls. There was a nice little song sparrow in the bushes on my way home. 20 January For some reason, I slept in this morning and decided it was a day for a trip north in searc...

 eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S100801032 weather:  9:30 am 4C wind WSW 5, 1 pm 7C wind SE 6, cloudy tide:  11:00 am,  falling A second exceptionally fine day of birding.   Cloudy weather, but dry, moderate tide.  There weren't any REAL exotics, such as yesterday's redpolls, nor were there other birders, but it was a good day to be out. I got away late, after reading all the news I could find about the tsunami warnings.  No problem here, it seems--had it hit here it would have flooded the RV park down the road for a second time in a week, and although Victoria had a warning, it doesn't seem there was any damage.  From what I can read, the situation in Tonga must be horrific.   The path into the Mills Street trailhead was birdy--siskins,  a cooper's hawk, a merlin, and a Bewick's wren who provided me with an unusual pose, and then moved on. The path to the Merganser Pond was passible, with caution. ...if this does...

eBird data:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S100736816 weather:  9 am 3C wind SSE 2,   2pm 8C, wind E5 tide:  12 m  4m A remarkable morning which didn't yield many good photos.  I'd expected the paths and fields to be flooded still, from the atmospheric river that had come through on Wednesday, but only the path to the Meganser Pond was deeply submerged.   Early on the walk, there were a pair of hummingbirds who were acting a great deal like spring.  The male displayed his irridescent red head, and the female watched with an interested attitude that I'd translate as "Ooo. This is one hottie hummer!"  And then they flew off together.  Kinda cute, but spaced so widely I couldn't get photos. Made my way through the barriers of fallen willow trunks, and flooded marsh and slippery log bridge, to find a young couple of birders staring intently into the shrubbery at the Mills Road trailhead.  The young man pointed and said quietly, ...

9 January eBird data:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S100453063 weather: 9 am 4C wind SE 14, 1 pm 7C wind E 11 sunny tide:  11 am 4.8m, peak tide, falling 11 January eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S100565681 weather:  9:30 am 5C wind calm,  12:00 m 8C wind SSE 5  cloudy, rain at 11:40 tide:   11 am, 4.4 m rising near peak Two days separated by heavy rainfall.  The snow has largely cleared.  The tide remains high, but less so than the king tides that evidently caused flooding in a nearby RV resort.   On the 9th, one of the few recent clear days, the Arrowsmith massif gleamed.   I don't know where the waterfowl are during these high tides.  A couple of days ago, they were in the flooded fields, but they weren't greatly in evidence today.   There were siskins, very bright: and a few purple finch.  This is a female, lacking the male's bright colouration, but still a pretty little bird. 11 Januar...

5 January   eBird data: https://ebird.org/checklist/S100191179 weather:  9 am -1C, wind calm,  1pm, 1C, wind ENE 3 cloudy, occasional flurries tide:  11 am 4.4m 7 January eBird data:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S100292645 weather:  9 am 1C wind NW 20, 11 am 1C wind WNW 16, cloudy tide:  10 am 5.1m, peak of king tide, falling 8 January eBird data:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S100364815 weather:  9 am 0C wind SE 9, 10:30 am 2C wind SE 19, cloudy tide:  9:30 am 4.9 am peak, and falling 5 January First visit to the Estuary this year, after time away, and heavy snowfall here. A high tide this morning, and flooded fields. The path to the Merganser Pond was flooded and partially frozen. There were a couple of big flocks of siskins More trees have washed out into the Straits. There was a good assortment of ducks, although, strangely, I didn't see any widgeons.  There were four gadwalls--somewhat uncommon in these parts, and, I t...