I was at work when Jocie called to report that her mother B. had found a gray catbird (Dumetella carolinensis) down at Seaview Game Farm in Black Creek, on Vancouver Island. B. had heard the call of the catbird but hadn’t been able to see it—however, she did recognize it as being unusual and suspected that it might be a …
Birds
Honeysuckle and the Hummingbird
If you’ve got honeysuckle (Lonicera sp.) growing in your backyard on Vancouver Island, you’re bound to have some rufous hummingbirds (Selasphorus rufus) dropping in for a drink. The long, trumpet-like tube of the flower is perfectly suited for the hummingbird’s long slightly curved bill. Along the rural farm roads in Merville where I often take a lunch-time walk, I found …
Killdeer Cute!
The call of a killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) is distinctive—once you hear it you’ll never forget it. This afternoon, while walking the grounds at the old Tsolum School in Merville discussing Garry oaks with Loys Maignon of Comox Valley Nature, we both came to a stop when we heard a single bird calling from the playing fields. Even without binoculars, we …
Redhead
A great day out birding for the Comox Valley Nature spring bird count. Like Christmas Bird Counts, the spring count is an attempt to tally as many species as possible while trying to document the number of individual birds in the count area. Unlike Christmas Bird Counts, the weather is generally a little better. I spent the first hour at …
WildResearch Pelagic Trip to La Pérouse Bank
Despite a painfully stiff back (which I threw on Thursday wrestling with the kids), I made the trek to Ucluelet in order to join the April 29, 2012 WildResearch pelagic trip out to La Pérouse Bank. At the end of the day, this 7 hour off shore tour was nothing short of “shear” birding and wildlife viewing fun—not only were …
Book Review – How to be a Better Birder
How to be a Better Birder: Derek Lovitch How to be a Better Birder Derek Lovitch Princeton University Press Paperback 192 pages 2012 I’ve been birding ever since I moved to the West Coast nearly 20 years ago. Back then my strategy was pretty basic. My first field guide was a National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North …
The Budget Pelagic Tour
Whenever I make the crossing between Vancouver Island and the mainland on BC Ferries I always try to do a little pelagic birding, especially if the weather is good. Today I had a chance to look for alcids on the run between Nanaimo and Tsawwassen. This isn’t a particularly good route for budget birding (the Little River/Powell River route is …
Great Backyard Bird Count – February 17 to 20
Like most naturalists I’ve got a couple of backyard feeders and enjoy keeping a rough tally of the species that come and go. It’s always interesting when something a little unusual turns up, but the regulars make for entertaining viewing. Bushtits come through at least two times a week following some sort of urban feeding route which includes our suet …
Glaucous-winged but no Glaucous Gull
Portuguese Joe’s is usually good for gulls any time of the year – there’s a regular group that waits for scraps from the fish market here on Comox Road (also known locally as the Dyke Road). I’ve stopped in a couple of times over the winter hoping to see a Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus) that makes the occasional appearance with …
Surreal Somass Estuary
The forecast was pretty good and I decided to check out an area that I haven’t birded before: the Somass Estuary in Port Alberni, on Vancouver Island. Sandy McRuer of Rainbird Excursions wrote up a post describing the estuary and how to get there and I figured that it might be good for some winter birding. Sandy’s directions to get …