A Chipping Sparrow (Spizella passerina) showing its bright rufous cap and strong, black eye-line. I’m not sure but it seems to me that Chipping Sparrows (Spizella passerina) are becoming more and more common on Vancouver Island. I recall several years ago being surprised that another team had had several on the Comox Valley spring bird count in early May – …
Birds
A Morning in the Marsh
Guest post by Marcie Callewaert The Somenos Marsh is a renowned bird watching location just north of Duncan, British Columbia. It is home to hundreds of bird species who are year-round residents, and many that just stop by on their migration path. Besides birds; muskrats, beaver and river otter also reside here. The Somenos Marsh Wildlife Society has been working …
Savannah Spring
Over the last couple of weeks I’ve noticed quite a few Savannah Sparrows (Passerculus sandwichensis) in the playing fields at work. The grass is growing a little long and there are plenty of dandelions, many of which are going to seed. Flocks of Savannah Sparrows are working their way through the flowers, plucking out the fine white fluff and eating …
Schooner Cove Shorebirds
We’ve just gotten back from a fabulous weekend in Tofino where we attended several Shorebird Festival events hosted by Raincoast Education Society. The festival is over but if you haven’t had a chance to experience the incredible phenomena of spring shorebird migration you still have lots of time to make a trip to the west coast and see it for …
A Yellow Rump
I’ve really been enjoying my lunch time strolls along Lever Road in Merville – there’s a good stretch of roadside habitat that includes mixed shrubs and conifers, some older red-alder, a small pond, and open fields along which both warblers and sparrows are active. I’ve seen quite a few Yellow-rumped Warblers (Dendroica coronata) over the last couple of weeks and …
Orange-crowned Warbler
A flash of yellow/olive-green in a thicket of Salmonberry caught my eye on a recent walk at the Courtenay Airpark Lagoon. We had completed the main loop and were walking back along the Courtenay River towards the 17th Street Bridge. This section of the river walkway is productive bird habitat with a mix of Red Alder, Big-leaf Maple and a …
Fish Wrangling
I have to admit that I don’t usually go out of my way to photograph Great Blue Herons. When I’m out walking with my camera and telephoto lens I’m often approached by people with asking me if I’m photographing either Bald Eagles or Great Blue Herons (or in their words -“cranes”) when I’m focusing on something a little more interesting …
Oh Me, Deary-Deary-Me
You know that spring is here when early wildflowers come into bloom and newly arrived migrants from the south begin singing to to attract mates. Year round residents also join the chorus and this week during my lunch time walk I’ve seen (and heard) a couple of White-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys) singing from the tops of low trees along the …
Big Day Birding
Back from a full day of birding with some good folks down in the Parksville/Qualicum area. The weather cooperated and the rain held off. Our Big Day team – “Herring Today Gull Tomorrow” took 2nd prize in the “expert” category, with 104 species. One of the things I like about any kind of bird counts of any kind is that …
Herring Roe Feast
I never seem to get the timing right when it comes to the spectacle that is the herring spawn on the east side of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. I’m usually a little too early or a little too late and I have to settle with looking at the amazing photographs of other birders and naturalists like Guy Monty who have …