First day of the Back yard Bird Count

Today was the 1st day of the 4 day ‘Great American Backyard Bird Count’…and there were a couple of other ‘1st’s as well…this morning was the first morning I’ve heard Robins calling from the tree tops…and

over at the log bay….down there on the point of grasslands…

the 1st Canada Geese of the season.  There were actually 4 of them and yes, I know there have been geese here whenever we’ve had high water, but from now on we are going to start seeing pairs of them as they start searching out nesting spots….

As for the count itself, although the day was beautiful and sunny, there was a strong cold outflow wind happening…

and bird watching is never very productive when the wind is blowing.  Bird counting can be a frustrating business…sometimes I swear the birds know what is going on and they are all hunched down giggling saying ‘don’t move’ ‘don’t make a sound’ ‘don’t let anyone know we are here’…because birds you know are there, that you have been seeing on almost a daily basis…are no where to be found!

We (my husband took an unexpected day off)…traveled along Morris Valley road…so here are some views of the estuary from that perspective…this area, right beside the road is actually owned and protected by Duck’s Unlimited..

Here we are looking back towards the area I report on everyday..

and this is looking at the part of the estuary owned and protected by B.C. Naturetrust…

We did a quick drive in and around Kilby and then headed east…

so even further afield…we are now on the east side of Mt. Woodside…looking back at an arm of the Fraser River…down there, and around the corner is where it joins the Harrison River….

and we’ll finish our little tour by looking in a south east direction at Mt. Cheam in the distance.

Bird Count for just the Chehalis Estuary area today:

Canada Geese – 4; Mallard – 40; Green Wing Teal – 42; Barrow’s Goldeneye – 4; Bufflehead – 1; Hooded Merganser – 1; Bald Eagle – 8; Glaucous Wing Gull – 2; Starling – 2; American Robin – 3; Varied Thrush – 3; Steller’s Jay 9; Song Sparrow – 1; Spotted Towhee – 1; Dark Eyed Junco – 3; Gold Crowned Kinglet – 5; Black Cap Chickadee – 4; Red-wing Blackbird – 47.