15 January

 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 doesn't look like a path, you're right, but it was only about three inches below the top of my gumboots.  

Alas, no hooded mergansers.  I'll continue to monitor the situation--no doubt they're around somewhere.  

The shrubbery along the path was lively with kinglets--way too energetic to allow for photos but fun to visit.

The tide was moderate, the shore quite ducky.  The flock of scaups was still present, although it appeared to have shrunk a bit.  I suspect that a construction project in the RV park has moved them out of their usual winter abode.  


... I do wish people would pick up their beer cans!

The river is high, and swift.  

The path homeward (still no rain--oh frabjous day!) was highlighted, first by a not all that uncommon but nice fox sparrow, another somewhat unusual pose.  Fox sparrows seem to be rather casual about keeping their beaks clean.  No idea why.



 and then by a shrike atop a fir tree!  Definitely an uncommon bird in these parts!



 Funnily enough, I'd just the day before been telling the birders I'd met that the stretch of path where I saw the shrike was a good spot for shrikes.  They'd asked when I'd last seen one and I had to admit it was over a month, and sure enough, there he was today.  He was only about my fifth shrike in the time I've been birding here, so, as the Scots saying goes, "No a common bird."  (originally in response to "Pigs micht flee...")  Anyhow, I was very pleased to see him, although I'd guess the small creatures he preys upon aren't.  Shrikes are unusual as songbirds in that they prey on rodents and small birds.  They're sometimes called "butcher birds," because they have a  grim habit of impaling their prey on thorns or barbed wire to--tenderise?--them a bit.  Eeks.


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