Swan Song

On Saturday I decided to get out check some of the local flats to check of the waterfowl numbers and diversity.  In the last few weeks there has been multiple reports of Tundra Swans (Cygnus columbianus) and there were other sightings involving Redheads (Aythya americana), Canvasbacks (Aythya valisineria), and Ruddy Ducks (Oxyura jamaicensis).  This was motivation enough for me to see what I could turn up close to home.

I started off at Tod Creek Flats behind the Red Barn Market on West Saanich Rd.  As I came down the hill towards the Red Barn Market, I could see the number of large white dots on the water had gone up significantly in the last week.

The bustle of waterfowl on Tod Creek Flats is accentuated by a picture perfect fall scene with loaded hawthorn shrubs, dead grasses, and turning leaves contrasting the evergreen wall of conifers.

I was excited to get out and sort through those large white dots to see how many were Tundra Swans.  The last Victoria checklist was produced in 2001 and it asserts that Tundra Swans as rare for this area, which means they are annual but typically limited to a few records.  I think the timing of rainfall this fall has resulted in higher-than-average numbers in our area.  The first report this fall came from Ian Cruickshank on October 23rd when he noted nine Tundras (4 adults, 5 juveniles) flying over the appropriately named Swan Lake.  These birds landed on Viaduct Ducts where they were enjoyed by many Victoria birders.  On October 31st, Mike McGrenere noted a flock of 17 adult Tundras passing west over Martindale Flats and the next day he found a group of nine resting on the fields at Martindale that likely constituted a different flock.  Considering Mike is one of the most active birders in Victoria, this quote from BCVIBIRDS says it all: "I think this must be close to the number that I have seen in Victoria since I moved here in 1985."  I don't get to study Tundra Swans very often, so that puts my excitement in perspective.  I was not hoping to find a Tundra, I was expecting it!

Spoiler alert!  Yes I did see some Tundras!  The front and centre cygnet and adult are Tundra Swans.  Compare them to the back right cygnet and adult Trumpeter Swans (Cygnus buccinator).  When adult Tundras have a yellow spot in front of their eye, they are much easier to identify as you can see here.  The juvenile Tundra has a bill that is largely pink, including the base and sometimes extending into the lores.

Almost immediately I spied my first Tundra.  In fact, it turned out to be a group of five.  There were three adults and two juveniles travelling together.  I looked through the whole flock twice and found four more adults, making a total of nine Tundra Swans mixed in with 50 Trumpeters.  There are many subtle features involving the bill that can be used to the separate the two species.  If you're interested in learning more about distinguishing these two species, please check out this swan identification article by David Sibley from his blog.  I spent a fair amount of time scanning through the ducks after sifting through the swans and was tickled to hear the Tundras making their higher-pitched honks for several minutes.  It was a perfect encounter!

I estimated there were more than 2500 waterfowl out on Tod Creek Flats, and you can see the breakdown of that from my eBird checklist here.  I thought I heard Greater White-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons) when I first arrived and eventually tracked one down.  As you may have seen from the checklist, it turned out there was actually a flock of 14 that I was able to observe after they flushed, circled the flats a couple times, then settled back on the water.  I was also pleased to pick out three male Eurasian Wigeons (Anas penelope) amongst the American Wigeons (Anas americana).

Flock of Greater White-fronted Geese about to land on Tod Creek Flats

I went to Viaduct Flats next as there had already been one report of Redheads this fall from Duncan and Viaduct was the location I last saw them in Victoria.  These hunches occasionally work out and this was one of those times.  In with the mix of diving and dabbling ducks were three Redheads and ten Canvasbacks!

I had hour-long birding sessions at Hastings Flats and Tower Point afterwards and just saw a nice variety of the usual suspects.  The only bird I don't encounter all too often that I came across was a male Red-breasted Sapsucker near the parking lot at Tower Point.  I ended the day with 78 species, which was a little surprising considering I wasn't specifically trying to amass a high species total for the day.  I think a big day could easily churn out over 100 species right now.  I do believe a certain Victoria birder with a blog about unsuccessful big years was prodding me to do a November big day.  Maybe that's on the horizon?

Crosses and Crossbills

I'm back on familiar birding grounds and making up for lost time.  On Friday, I stopped in at the Vantreight bulb fields and had my first self-found Yellow-headed Blackbird (Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus) in a sizable blackbird flock and yesterday (Saturday) I met up with Jeremy K. and did the Sooke-Metchosin-Esquimalt circuit to see if we could turn up any interesting fall birds.

Our day started with a frigid stroll to the tip of Whiffin Spit and back.  This walk always seems to be the football equivalent of a Hail Mary pass - nine times out of ten it doesn't pan out, but the rewards are huge for the one time you make the pass.  Today was not the big payoff we had hoped.  Bird activity was plentiful with flocks of Zonotrichia sparrows, but we just couldn't seem to dig out anything unusual.  We did manage to start a running theme for the day here when we saw a Sharp-shinned Hawk (Accipiter striatus) cruise over, followed by a few Bald Eagles (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), and a Merlin (Falco columbarius) zipped through in pursuit of a morning meal.  Every stop hereafter we managed to see a raptor of some sort.

A stop in at the Goodrich Peninsula wasn't quite as brisk as Whiffin, but the level of success was similar.  My personal highlights for this stop were a lone Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia) flying over the marina and a flock of Black Turnstones (Arenaria melanocephala) and Surfbirds (Aphriza virgata) on the floating logs by the docks.

We continued on to Metchosin via Lindholm Rd. and stopped to check out the small farm pond near the Galloping Goose crossing.  The pond was quiet but we located a huge, uncooperative blackbird flock.  We only managed short, partial views of the flock and consequently came up empty.

The best stop of the day was Swanwick Rd.  We started with a nice flock of geese on the main field, which contained 26 Greater White-fronted Geese (Anser albifrons) and 30 Cackling Geese (Branta hutchinsii) in with the usual Canada Geese (B. canadensis).

Three species of goose in one flock is always a nice sight!

My personal highlight for the day came next as three Red Crossbills (Loxia curvirostra) descended from the top of a conifer to a couple of puddles right in front of us.  I believe it was a family group as there was a single juvenile bird with an adult male and female.

The male Red Crossbill is the reddish bird with dark wings, while the streaky, olive-infused is a juvenile.

Here's a better look at the streaky appearance of the juvenile Red Crossbill.

This is the female Red Crossbill and she is really showing off her namesake crossed bill!

Swanwick Rd. was also our best raptor location of the day with two Red-tailed Hawks (Buteo jamaicensis), a Sharp-shinned Hawk, a Cooper's Hawk (Accipiter cooperi), a Peregrine Falcon (F. peregrinus), and seven Turky Vultures (Cathartes aura).

After a rather fruitless stop in at Albert Head Lagoon, we finished our day off at Esquimalt Lagoon.  The high  tide limited the amount of birds along the shore and the close flocks of ducks and gulls all seemed to be at the north end of the lagoon.  We were starting to study a male Eurasian x American Wigeon (Anas penelope x A. americana) when a Bald Eagle put all the birds.  I managed one distant shot that shows some of the key characteristics, including mottled grey and pinky-brown flanks and oddly-coloured head pattern.

Note the male's (right) largely grey flanks which is a feature of a Eurasian Wigeon, whereas the head pattern is closer to that of an American Wigeon.  This bird looks much less Eurasian-like than most reported hybrids.

After the dust settled from the eagle stir-up, I noticed an adult Thayer's Gull (Larus thayeri) had landed on the shore.  Shortly after, I found a nice American Herring x Glaucous-winged Gull hybrid (L. smithsonianus x L. glaucescens).  After commenting on its identification to Jeremy K., a classic adult Western x Glaucous-winged Gull (L. occidentalis x L. glaucescens) joined the other bird.  I couldn't pass up the opportunity to photograph the two side by side!

The dove-headed look is a good way to distinguish Thayer's Gulls from the more block-headed American Herring Gulls.  With experience, this species is not too hard to identify (with exceptions of course) but it is hard to tell you exactly why it is a Thayer's and not one of superficially similar species.

The left bird is a typical Western x Glaucous-winged Gull based on the mottled head and not overly dark mantle, while the right bird appears to be an American Herring x Glaucous-winged Gull due to the slight fading to the primaries and dark eyes.

Here is a closer view of the American Herring x Glaucous-winged Gull hybrid, which shows the slight fading in the primaries mentioned above.  The structure of this bird is more representative of its American Herring side as it is more slender than you'd expect for a Glaucous-winged.

That's all I have from this weekend's outings.  I hope to get out during the week, but whether I'll have anything worthy of posting is another story altogether!

Spit one day, swallows the next...

I enjoy doing a vacation late in the winter because the scene has noticeably changed by the time I return.  When I left for Panama at the end of February, murmurings of spring were starting.  The Bewick's Wrens were singing, drake waterfowl were engaging in testosterone-addled rituals, and Anna's Hummingbirds were gathering cattail fluff for nests.  I still peeked at the local sightings while I was Panama to see how things were progressing and I read news of Orange-crowned Warblers returning, swallows over Swan Lake, Brant filtering north through the Strait of Georgia, and the start of the herring spawn.  I was anxious to get out and see the signs of spring for myself this weekend and I was not disappointed in the slightest.

On Saturday, I zipped off for an afternoon jaunt to the tip of Saanichton Spit to see if anything interesting had rolled in during my absence.  The birding was actually quite slow and most sightings were more representative of winter dragging on than the transition to spring.  Near the sparse patch of conifers, the long-staying Snow Bunting put in an appearance.  It won't be long before it departs for more northerly climes.

Seen on Saturday, perhaps this Snow Bunting was hanging on
for the brief sprinkle of snow on Sunday before it heads north

The group of Western Meadowlarks that overwintered on the spit have their hormone levels shifting into high gear, with multiple males sitting up on logs singing.  Meadowlarks bred on Vancouver Island historically, but they have long since been extirpated as a breeding species and we are only able to enjoy their songs for a brief window in late winter and early spring.  My best harbinger of spring came as I was driving away and gave one last look over the gulls.  Among the usual assortment, I spotted around ten California Gulls.  I enjoy seeing them in the spring as some individuals have a leg colour that is a rather morbid shade of yellow-green, while others show off a radiant set of school bus yellow legs.

On Sunday morning, I got in touch with Jeremy K. to see if he was game to continue digging up more spring goodies.  He is a good sport and was easily convinced to head out my way so we could start with a pass through the Martindale area, head out to the Victoria waterfront, and then meander our way back.  

Our morning started rather slowly and we didn't really pick up anything of interest until we reached the Blenkinsop area.  Along Lohbrunner Rd., a pale grey spot up in a Garry Oak proved to be a Northern Shrike.  A couple minutes later, we passed the Mount Douglas Golf Course and were surprised to find a different Northern Shrike posing atop a small tree.

We carried on southeast and punched out to the waterfront at Cattle Point.  Normally Cattle Point is rather mundane in terms of gulls, but the scene livens up a little while gulls are on the move up the strait.  By bare eye, I could see a couple California Gulls on the water.  With the binoculars, several more Californias jumped out of the mix on the rocks as did a couple juvenile Thayer's and a nice adult Herring Gull.

This adult Herring Gull is stood out nicely among the usual assortment of gulls on the rocks at Cattle Point

Two of the California Gulls offered a great comparison between a third-winter (left) and an adult (right)

While being nerdy with the gulls, I made sure not to neglect a rather confiding Black Turnstone that edged its way in close enough for a decent shot.

This Black Turnstone was working the water's edge on one of the rocks off Cattle Point

The remainder of the day went to a few somewhat rapid-fire searches.  We met up with Jon Carter - a birder I had corresponded with before but never had the pleasure of meeting - who treated us with a showing of a Great Horned Owl.  Harling and Clover Points and Mounts Tolmie and Douglas were all checked, but the stints of sunshine brought out the masses and kept bird activity at bay.  That and it's just a touch early for some of our hoped-for targets.  I still enjoy the usual suspects, though, so this Dark-eyed Junco got a little attention while we were up on Mount Doug:

I would almost say the lichen-covered Garry Oak branch is just as photogenic as the Dark-eyed Junco

Jeremy K. is already getting a little antsy about picking up Redhead for his big year, so we stopped in at Elk Lake to see if one had magically shown up in the last while and avoided detection.  His worry is not unfounded as he saw a grand total of two last year - a male and female that made a brief appearance at Viaduct Flats.  Aside from that, they were not reported on the Island last year.  That background is largely irrelevant because we didn't find one.  We were a little stunned to scan out on the lake and see a Red-throated Loon floating in the distance.  I decided I would take a miserable record shot, crop it, and present it.  Why not?

Sasquatch or Red-throated Loon?  You make the call!

I'll add a couple more shots from the lake for good measure.  First, probably one of the more emblematic birds of North America that is definitely taken for granted most of the time.

The uniformly dark head contrasting the grey back of this American Robin distinguishes it as a male

At the Beaver Lake side, we came across a flock of approximately 80 American Coots that looked great in the late sun from the southwest.

Unfortunately this shot doesn't show off the American Coots' outrageous feet

While scanning out over Elk Lake, I could see a handful of very distant swallows seemingly feeding over the water.  We came across perhaps the same group from the Beaver Lake side as they swirled over the conifers at the far end of the lake.  We finished our day at the fields along Oldfield Rd. and were once again treated to a group of swallows.  Rather than distant views, they made several low passes over the fields and we were able to identify the majority as Violet-greens with a smattering of Trees mixed in.  A flooded section hosted a nice selection of ducks, including at least a couple Gadwalls, dozens of American Wigeons and Green-winged Teals, a bird Jeremy K. identified as a female Eurasian Wigeon, and another teal that was either a hybrid Green-winged x Common or pure Common Teal.  The bird lacked the white shoulder spur, had an unimpressive white horizontal stripe, but the face had a very pronounced facial pattern.  Below, another cryptozoology-style photo shows the bird in question and might even reveal one or two of the aforementioned features.

The right bird has no white shoulder spur, vaguely visible white horizontal stripe on the body, and well-defined
 facial pattern that peg it as either a Common Teal or a bird with some Eurasian genes flowing through it

In addition to all the spring bird action, the plants were perhaps even a better indicator of the times.  Two flowering shrubs, Indian Plum and Red-flowering Currant, were conspicuous with their flowers in full bloom.  With the latter typically synchronous with the arrival of Rufous Hummingbirds, it is only a matter of time before I glimpse a flash of orange followed by the characteristic whir created by their wings.  At Harling Point, Bear's-foot Sanicle dotted the grass edge in a fashion that lends itself more to its other common name: Footsteps-of-Spring.  Finally, at Mount Douglas the first wave of plants I locally associate with Garry Oak habitats had pushed out some blooms, including Chickweed Monkeyflower, Small-flowered Blue-eyed Mary, and Spring-gold.

Regardless of the brief snowy interlude today, I know spring has arrived and I look forward to all that the season brings.  Feel free to drop a comment on spring activity you've noted or just your favourite sign of spring.