| I went down to the Victoria waterfront yesterday to see if there were any interesting gulls down at Clover Point. There was just the usual mix of Glaucous-wingeds (crossed with anything and everything) sitting on the grass and the boathouse and Mews and Thayer's on the rocks below. The Harlequin Ducks were looking absolutely stunning sitting on the rocks with the sun at my back! They have to be one of the most stunning ducks on the globe! I checked Gonzalez Bay, which was not too birdy. The highlight there had to be a few close Pelagic Cormorants that also had the sun hitting them perfectly. The irridescence ranged from green to a deep purple. At the Chinese Cemetary, a little pishing produced three Song Sparrows, a couple Fox Sparrows, and, surprisingly, a single Lincoln's Sparrow. Further on down the line, I saw some shorebirds on the rocks off of McMicking Point, so I pulled over. There was another birder on a bench scoping the scene and then Mary and Chris pulled up. We surveyed the rocks and had Dunlins, Surfbirds, Black Turnstones, and a couple Black Oystercatchers. They were pretty skittish, which could have had something to do with the human activity or the Bald Eagles perched off on the Trial Islands in the distance. More likely it was a juvenile Peregrine Falcon, which made a pass and sent them up with a little extra urgency. The mystery birder on the bench turned out to be a visitor from Winnipeg named Rudolf Koes and he was a nice fellow. It sounds like he's had a nice week and a half birding the southern Vancouver Island area. As we were all talking, three Cedar Waxwings flew over making their distinctive calls. I tried to help him find Greater Yellowlegs for his trip list, but the activity off of Bowker Ave. drove it away. There is a chance he still saw it off Queen's Park, but I'll never know. After Rudolf and I went our own ways, I decided to see if the Wood Ducks were at Mystic Pond because it has been the best spot for them over the winter. To my surprise they were nowhere to be found. There is a chance some were on a smaller pond very close by, but I never really looked into it. Instead, I thought I'd see if they moved onto other ponds. I checked a small pond near the base of Mount Tolmie where there were at least four Wood Ducks (2 males, 2 females), then I went over to King's Pond and was happy to see, for the first this winter, numerous pairs of them! That was the end to my birding escapades for the day. I went downtown and bought some nice books because Crown Publications had books for 40% off. I now have the Ambibians and Reptiles of BC, Land Snails of British Columbia, Rodents and Lagomorphs of British Columbia, and Some Common Mosses of British Columbia. Not a bad haul! I didn't see the Bats of British Columbia, so I'll have to check back in later. They did have the excellent and thorough series for the vascular plants of BC, but that's a bigger purchase. Okay... that book part wasn't necessary, but I get cheaper thrills than usual right now! I suppose I should wrap this up by making the name of the entry complete (as I've only addressed one Peregrine so far). While taking a drive to Keating Rd. today, there was an adult Peregrine Falcon sitting on a snag off West Saanich Rd. It was not exciting as I was driving, but they're always a treat! |
