For a little while this morning it almost felt like spring....
and first bird we spotted was an American Robin. In fact there were birds everywhere. Can't swear to it but thought I heard swallows - couldn't spot any though and due to other commitments, couldn't really take the time to search them out.
so just for the record - here is what the last day of February 2018 looked like at the estuary.
By the time we could head over to Harrison Bay for a decent walk...
it was no longer spring like....we did manage to not get too wet and boy were there birds! Nothing out of the ordinary, but lots and lots of the regulars....
Red-wing Blackbirds.....lots of them, all through the bushes and trees along the dike.
Song Sparrows....there were lots of Spotted Towhee's too but none of those photos turned out (it wasn't exactly great photography weather)
all kinds of members of the woodpecker family - here a female Hairy Woodpecker (saw another one further along, also several little Downy Woodpeckers)
and a Pileated Woodpecker. There had also been a Northern Flicker.
and lots and lots of Dark-eyed Junco!
One of the Bald Eagle pair was perched near the nest (you can just see a tiny bit of it in the bottom corner.
a little flock of Black-capped Chickadees....
also a couple of Brown Creepers (only one in the photo)
European Starlings too....lots of them...
and speaking of 'lots'....
ducks, hundreds of them in the fields on the way to the walk....
Northern Pintails - I don't recall us ever having the number of Pintails we've had here this winter.
and Mallards...with a few American Wigeon (the littler ones)
and so tomorrow it will be March and the weather is forecast to improve....things should start getting interesting!
So it has started....
this was taken about 9:30 this morning when the first few flakes began...
by 12:30 we were here.....then it got really serious....and I haven't been down there to get another picture....it will still be there when I do as the temperature is well below freezing and going to stay that way for a while.
there was a little bit of interest over at the log bay....on one of those pilings....closest to the shore...
there were a pair of Northern Flicker working away....Flickers are cavity nester's and believe it or not, spring is on it's way (hard to believe at the moment)..
those old pilings play host to a whole bunch of species that nest in cavities, besides the flickers, they include Chickadees, Starling, Tree Swallows, other woodpeckers...etc. etc.
also at the log bay today...
was this female Belted Kingfisher. A few ducks were poking about too.
An absolutely beautiful day today!
Yesterday, not so much....
it snowed lightly all day long with the temperature staying well below the freezing mark.
This morning though....
we were greeted with blue skies and sunshine! Didn't get over to the park today but we did head over to Harrison Bay....
where it was equally spectacular.
Still not a great deal of bird activity....
the Northwestern Crows are starting to pair up....
and we did spot this Varied Thrush today.....hadn't seen too many of them over there this winter, probably because they are all in our yard - 15 of them yesterday!
the farm fields continue to be full of Trumpeter Swans, Canada Geese, Cackling Geese and various ducks. At least a few Tundra Swans out there too. We guesstimated over 300 swans in the area today.
Some of the ducks on the river as well including this female Green-wing Teal, illustrating where they get their name.
down at the other end, by the railroad bridge....
American Coots continue to hang out....
a Great Blue Heron was there too!
in the area near the place with the bird feeders....
there is always lots of activity, including Fox Sparrow....
and House Sparrow among many others.
Well, so much for counting birds. Sunday, the 3rd day of the count we gave up completely. Beautiful sunshine but so windy and cold there was just nothing around.
Yesterday, the last day of the count we did get over to Harrison Bay....
it was actually quite beautiful as the wind was pretty much non existent. It was quiet bird wise though...
on the way there, a number of swans in the fields including this family of Tundra Swans (with two Trumpeters at the rear).
a pair of Common Merganser, including this female who was perched in the sunshine. Some Mallard, Northern Pintail and Green Wing Teal as well.
I'm thinking this is a female Northern Pintail....
and then there was this guy....now my guess is it is a hybrid between a Glaucous-wing Gull and a Herring Gull. That is what I reported it as, if I'm wrong I'm sure someone will tell me.
Down the other way, where the river turns to head towards the Fraser river...
quite a few American Coots (some Mallard here too)
all the 'song' type birds were clustered down by the feeders...although there had been quite a few Black capped Chickadee further up the dike as well.
this day the geese were all over in one of the farm fields...a mixture of Canada Geese and Cackling Geese, well over 300 in total.
and one of the most consistent sightings despite the cold weather????
those Anna's Hummingbirds! this one a young male. I've also heard that some Rufous Hummingbirds have been seen in the Parksville area of Vancouver Island - that is about a month early, but then there have also been some Red flowering current in flower over there for the past few weeks - again about a month early....that was before the snow arrived - again!
It is the 2nd day of the 4 day Worldwide Back Yard Bird Count. We are supposed to be out counting birds....and this is what it is doing!
we did get over to ....
the log bay this morning, where, apart from a flock of Red-wing Blackbirds, there wasn't much of anything.
Yesterday, the first day of the count, wasn't a whole lot better. Drove over to Harrison Bay
where farm fields were full of Trumpeter Swans, Canada Geese and a little further along, Mallard and Northern Pintail ducks....the rainbow here though gives an indication of what the weather was like - windy and showery and not nice at all!
We did have one pleasant sighting though...
a Northern Shrike! First time I've ever seen one over at Harrison Bay, and first one I'd seen anywhere this winter.
over at the estuary saw this pair of Ring-neck Ducks.....it had been so rough on the water at Harrison Bay that there was nothing in sight.
Perhaps we'll attempt a drive around Nicomen this afternoon and see if we can see anything, since the snow seems to be letting up, at least for the time being.
Finally.....sunshine! Even before the sun arrived though, we'd had a sign of spring....
American Robins were seen on the 8th of February....a few days earlier than we consider 'normal' - we usually expect to see them by mid-February. Of course they are never that far away.....but sure nice to see.
Backing up a few days from today....
again, taken on the 8th....here is the log bay and if you look very carefully you will see some pussy willows on that shrub at the left of the photo....also take notice of the water depth in this, the log bay....because....
here is what it looked like today - in other words, water levels dropping rapidly - along with the temperatures because it may look lovely and sunny, but temperatures weren't much above freezing...
this Song Sparrow was soaking up the sun in a sheltered spot against my neighbours fence.
I'll toss in this photo...
taken on the 9th over at Harrison Bay.....
not a lot of bird activity, hopefully it will improve as the Backyard Bird Count is coming up this coming Friday, Saturday, Sunday & Monday.....oh, and did I mention that the weather forecast is talking about snow?!
