20, 22, 25, 28, 29 January

 20 January

Trip report, no data 

22 January

eBird data:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S126736076

weather:  9 am 2C wind WSW 7, 1:00pm 6C wind NW9, cloudy

tide:  10:30am 4.0m

25 January

eBird data:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S126925361

weather:  9:00 am 5C wind calm,  1:00 pm 7C wind N4, mostly cloudy, occasional clearing 

tide:  10:30 am 4.6m, falling

28 January

eBird data:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S127124083

weather:  9:00 am 4.5C wind E8, 1:00 pm 5.5C wind NE11

tide:  11:00 am 4.7m, falling

29 January

eBird data:  https://ebird.org/checklist/S127218227

weather:  9:00 am 0C wind W6,  1:00pm 3C wind NNE 3, brilliantly clear

tide:  11:30 am 4.5m, falling

20 January

After a very frustrating community meeting re a proposed development the night before, I'd promised myself a day of birding.  Alas, I wakened with a miserable stiff neck--no idea whence--but definitely not something that I could navigate while birding or photographing birds in the Estuary.  

I decided to strap myself into my soft collar (not the first stiff neck I've ever had) and drive up to Deep Bay and Union Bay in search respectively of long-tailed ducks and oysters.  It was a good call.  The neck freed up considerably and Deep Bay was agreeably birdy.


Enroute, I stopped at Qualicum Beach's nature information site.  There was a good view of the grey skies and sea, which persisted all day.  I finally found the label for First Nations' place names, including Deep Bay.


I think there remains a perspective among "Settlers" (white folks) that the First Nations didn't appreciate the beauty of their land.  It's wrong, from anything I've ever experienced, and I really like "ay'ajumuuxw."  It still fits.


The point of land at Deep Bay was definitely birdy, and yes, on arrival I heard the rather goofy vocalisation of long-tailed ducks.  (Used to be called "oldsquaws" but the S-word, like the eradication of N-word place names, has been quite rightly replaced as offensive.)


So:  

In their breeding plumage, the males sport these really long tailfeathers.  They weren't apparent  on all of them yet.



In addition there was a nice pair of buffleheads.





A red-breasted merganser.


And a little flock of black turnstones.




For what it's worth, I'm adding a birder's nightmare:


So then I made my way further up-Island to buy a nice batch of oysters and made my way home for a fine dinner.

22 January

A cloudy day, but dry.  Although I don't seem able to photograph them, the red-winged blackbirds are still along the path, their song delightful.

There are big flocks of purple finches in the shrubbery along the path.


The flooding in the Estuary fields has subsided somewhat, and with that, the pond has returned to its usual size.


I don't know where the male hooded merganser had taken himself off to, but the female was hanging about with a few mallards.  

Arrowsmith still has a fine snowpack.




There were at least ten eagles circling the estuary, and a magnificent northern harrier.  My harrier photo jinx persists, alas.  

The tide was at its mid stage, and waterfowl and gulls abounded.



There were four gadwall.  Handsome ducks.



The bushes along the river have many kinglets, both ruby- and golden-crowned.


25 January

A day of mixed weather, dry, and fairly mild.  Some species I've not seen for a while.  


A juvenile cooper's hawk, in the usual cooper's hawk roosting place, the stand of dead trees at the entrance to the forbidden pathway between Nerbus Lane and Mills Street.  I'm not sure what the attraction is for cooper's hawks there--possibly a collection of small rodents in the gardens facing on the path.

Once again the pathway chimed with red winged blackbirds.  It still seems strange to see so many this time of year, but I welcome their song.  

The fields to the west of the forest are drier than I've seen them in past winters, although there are still large ponds with ducks hanging about.  There is a big female northern harrier who still defies my attempts at photography.  

The Salish Sea was very calm, and somehow radiated the winter light.




There seems to be an abundance of kinglets, both ruby-crowned and gold-crowned in the shrubbery just now.  They're what might be called "flighty," but this one was somewhat cooperative.


28 January

Scattered clouds and cooling temperatures.  The forecast is for cold weather in the coming few days.  

There is now a small flock of quail in the blackberry vines, not evident in recent months.  


Somehow I've not seen a brown creeper for months, and red-breasted sapsuckers are a comparative rarity.  

Not a great photo, but the two birds on opposite sides of the tree trunk was startling.


Time was, I tried to photograph every Anna's hummingbird I saw.  There are quite a lot of them, in fact, and I've cut down.  But I'm experimenting with settings on my camera and I think this photo may be clearer than previous efforts.

There was a very handsome Eurasian wigeon just offshore.


The light over the river was strange for mid-day.  It looked more like evening, perhaps especially with the half moon showing.




29 January



Finally a brilliantly clear day, a tad chilly but glorious.


There were three eagles, terrorizing the large flocks of ducks. 

The river is down, but the bank is still collapsing and trees falling into the water.


To my delight, the two dippers reappeared, singing to one another.

One settled near the islet, the other headed upstream.


It had been a fine morning with the sunlight a welcome change.  But it was chilly, and a bowl of soup awaited me at home.








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