Winter Has Arrived

Hello once again,
Well, I guess Winter has officially arrived. That is, when you start to see the Swans come back and snow low down on the mountains it is a sure sign that it is right around the corner.

The weather at the Nanaimo Estuary has been a real mixed bag lately. Sometimes the day will start out dark and then end up being sunny or it could be like today. When I first entered the Estuary it was frosty and cold with good light. However, that changed in a couple of hours to dark clouds and heavy sleet. I had to retreat to my car to warm my hands and try to dry out my gear.

I got a couple of shots of the Female Harrier and missed out on some closer shots of the male Harrier. They call the male Harrier the "Grey Ghost" for good reason. Just when you least expect it he will pop up in front of you and then disappear just as fast. I must admit that I am seeing him more often than last year and he seems to hunt closer in now instead of way out on the mud flats like usual. His markings are quite a bit different from the female and are more white with grey. Sometimes he can be mixed up at a distance with the seagulls and by the time you realize that it is him he is already past you.

In this installment I will include two shots. One of the swans taken yesterday, and a picture that I have of one of the estuary Eagles that I took about a week ago.

By the way. No sign of the Short Eared Owl this trip. The weather was just too mucky to do a thourogh search for him this time out.

Until next entry,

Happy Birding and don't get too cold.

Steve

Return of the Short-Eared Owls

Hi,
Here are a couple of shots taken from last week of the Short-Eared Owl out on the Nanaimo Estuary. So far I have seen only one and he is hit and miss at best.Hopefully there will be a couple more show up in the near future. These pictures were taken from a distance of around 260 feet so they are major crops and only suitable for small example shots such as you see here.

The owls are really skittish when they first arrive and take a couple of weeks to acclimatize to their winter home. Unless they inadvertently fly close to me or are hiding and I flush them,I won't be able to get any close up shots until they feel more comfortable about hunting during the day.

Lots of the other usual Fall and Winter birds out there as well. The Northern Shrike puts on quite a good show every day with his hunting antics and there is an immature Blue Heron that will come and talk to me from about 20 feet away. Tons of Towhees and Juncos too and of course the large population of Crows and Ravens is always entertaining to watch.

Until next time take care and happy birding.
Steve

Interesting Fall Visitors

Hi There,

I made it out to the Nanaimo River Estuary today for the first time this week. Lots of bird activity going on out there right now in conjunction with the salmon runs that have been happening. Hundreds of Sea Gulls and Crows and the local population of Eagles has also picked up somewhat.

I have been keeping close tabs on the place hoping to spot some Short-Eared Owls. I wasn't dissapointed today as I managed to flush one out of the hedgerow about thirty feet in front of me! Unfortunately, he got away pretty quick and I had no time to set up and get any good shots. Oh well, at least we know that they are back. This particular owl sighting was at least two or three weeks earlier this year than the ones I had spotted last year.

There were some other interesting Fall visitors as well. I was busy trying to keep my equipment dry from a deluge of rain when I noticed a small flock of Snow Geese heading across the estuary towards Holden Creek. I managed to get off a few shots from some distance before the flock dissapeared. To my knowledge this is not a usual occurance in these parts although there have been reports before of a single Snow Goose mixed in with the Canada Geese sometimes. They were probably trying to avoid the rain storm and needed to take a detour as they are normally seen on the mainland side during their migration.

Another note worthy individual that I could only see from a distance was the male Harrier that seemed to be playing the usual game of chase with the local Ravens. No sign of Trumpeter Swans at the estuary yet but I would think that they should be arriving any day now.

Until next time take care,

Steve

Thornton Creek Bears

Hi,
I decided to make a small change today. Instead of calling this blog a "Birding Blog", I have decided to make it into a "Wildlife Blog". This way more people can benefit from some of my animal photos as well.

Yesterday I went with my family to Thornton Creek on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Here we visited the Black Bears that were fishing near the mouth of the creek for the incoming runs of salmon. Lots of fish in the river and of course a few bears around as well. There were three large bears there when we arrived and a couple of times I had to reposition myself in order to maintain a safe distance from them.

Thornton creek is a must see at this time of year for anyone out there who is a Bear lover. However, I would exercise extreme caution in situations like that which involve wild animals. On one occasion I had to retreat to the safety of my car and leave my camera gear behind. In my opinion, not the place to take small children.

One last thing. You won't need a big lens to catch the action at Thornton Creek. I took my 500mm - Big Mistake! Even 300mm is overkill as the bears are usually less than 50 feet away.

Take care until my next entry.

Steve

Thanks to Everyone

Hi there,
As many of you know I had the misfortune of having all of my camera gear stolen from my garage last month. Thankfully, for the most part, all of the larger items have been returned. It was a strange cicumstance through which I heard that it had been found. Apparently it was picked up at a local medical centre and then ended up in the police compound in downtown Nanaimo. There it sat for almost a month until somehow word made it out onto Facebook. From there the news traveled quickly through the web to all of my birding buddies and I was soon notified of it's existence. People wondered why I had taken so long to claim it and it was even recenly advertised on the RCMP website as well as radio, television, and the local newspaper.
I wish to thank each and everyone that was involved in finding my equipment and especially the ones that went out of their way to notify me when it had been found. I didn't realize that there was so many people out there that were aware of my situation and were keeping such a close watch to aid me it its return.
Needless to say, I have been out with the equipment since its return and it works perfectly. Here is a shot taken today on my first real outing with my lost gear in over a month. Stats: Canon 50D, Canon 500mm F/4, ISO 400, 1/40sec at F/8

Thanks again.

Hope you all continue to have a good life, good laughs, and good light,

Steve

Buttertubs Merlins

Today I went to Buttertubs Marsh. I haven't been there for quite some time as I have been busy with all of the activity at Neck Point. Buttertubs has it's own kind of action but can be quite slow some days.

The Merlins were out as they usually are this time of year. One was a mature bird possibly a parent of the second bird. The plumage on the mature merlin seemed quite clean, colorful, and well defined where as the second Merlin looked a bit beat up like it's adult plumage had yet to grow in.

Their main interest was to fly out over the marsh at high speed and snatch Dragon Flies out of the air. It seemed as though the mature Merlin was prompting the other bird as it would come and harrass it occaisionally and then disapear again. This I gathered was the parents way of motivating the immature bird to hunt on it's own.

There was a multitude of smaller birds at the marsh as well such as Black Headed Grosbeaks, several different types of warblers, plus the usual ocupants like Robins, Red Winged Blackbirds and Cedar Waxwings.

Visit to Colony Farm In Coquitlam

Hi there,
This week I had the pleasure of visiting Colony Farm in Coquitlam. It's Quite the place for a birder/photographer like me. Lots of activity but somewhat subdued at this time of year. I really needed to be there about a month or so earlier to catch all of the major action with the mating and nest building. Apparently there have bee several sightings of the Lazuli Bunting as was noted on the news board at the head of the path before starting the walk in. There are also lots of different kinds of swallows including the Rough Winged Swallow and of course the regulars like the Tree Swallow and Violet Green Swallow. There are plenty of fly catchers there too such as the Eastern King Bird and Willow Fly Catcher.

I was hoping to see a Green Heron on our walk as I had heard that they too were there on the odd occaision. To my delight we hadn't gotten more than a couple of hundred feet into the farm when an immature Green Heron flushed from one of the ditches right in front of us. Using my old 20D and a Canon 100-400mm lens that I had aquired some time ago, I managed to get a couple of decent shots. Too bad the parents were'nt around anywhere as their plumage is supposed to be quite a bit more colorful than the new fledglings.

Another Great time to visit Colony Farm is in the fall when migrants stop by to rest. In the winter there have been reports of a rare and beautiful Great Grey Owl that has shown up for the last couple of years around Christmas time and usually stays until the end of January. Due to scheduling and financial restraints I couldn't make it when he was there but I am hoping he will show up again this winter so I can see him in person. Hopefully I will have all of my regular gear replaced by then and I can get higher quality shots.

July Tanagers

I must appologize as it's been a while since I have posted anything in this blog. I have been plagued by personal theft which has left me temporarily without my camera gear.

Here is a shot from my last outing with my camera. It is of the beautiful Western Tanager. Normally you can't get very close to these birds as they tend to spend a great deal of time up in the forest canopy searching for bugs. The male is brightly colored with a yellow body and a red head and has black and white wings and a black tail. To see them for the first time you would think that someone's tropical bird had escaped. You wouldn't be too far wrong to make that assumtion either.

Tanagers originate in South America where they spend the winter. The purpose of coming up to Canada and other northern climates in the summer is for breeding. The Western Tanager Male uses his red pigment to attract the female. Normally in the off season the male is all yellow but when he migrates north he feeds on certain insects in the fir trees that contain a special chemical. This chemical has the effect of turning his head feathers a bright red during mating season. The female picks the male with the reddest head. This ensures that he will be a good provider of insects for the young when they establish their nest. The Tanager pictured here is in post breeding plumage but you can still see remnants of his red pigment closer to his beak.

I'll be back with more picture blog updates once I have my camera gear replaced.
Untill then, take care and enjoy the summer.

Great Horned Owl at Neck Point

Friday was one of those weird nights where you just happen to be in the right place at the right time. When I pulled into the Neck Point parking lot I knew that I was in for some owl shooting by all of the commotion that the Robins were making. Just off of the parking lot by a couple of hundred feet was a Great Horned Owl. I got my camera gear ready and headed over to the tree where all of the noise was coming from. Sure enough there he was with an added suprise. He had a freshly killed rabbit in his talons.

I have photographed the Owls at Neck Point for years but had never seen one with any prey. This was my lucky night. I was kind of excited and needed to hurry because my light was running out. The owl kept on changing perches and moving from one tree to another. I think he must have thought that I was after his dinner. At first I thought that the animal it had caught was someone's cat because of the distinct black and white tuxedo type markings but later I could see that it was one of the local farrow rabbits that inhabit the park. The Owl finally came to rest on a large fir tree branch about 50 feet up on the side of the hill. It paused there for several minutes while a flock of crows attacked it and that is when I got the shot that is pictured here. Not a bad clarity for a 1/2 second exposure at around 9:00pm in the evening.

McGregor Marsh - Home of the Grosbeak

This week I have been spending a lot of time at McGregor Marsh at the top of Rutherford hill. Tons of stuff going on in there like a lot of places this time of year. There seems to be a large amount of Black Headed Grosbeaks there along with a large number of Cedar Waxwings and other assorted summer birds. If you are lucky you may catch sight of a Western Tanager down near the ponds in the old dead trees. The Grosbeaks usually like to sing from a high perch but there are times when you can get close and find them down low to get a quick snap shot. It took me three or four times out there to get the picure of this guy on the right. He is like a guard and seems to man the entrance to the marsh. A couple of Willow Flycatchers help him out in the same area just to go scurrying away to warn the other birds when anyone approches. Along the way there is evidence of some beaver activity where the upper marsh drains into a metal culvert on it's way to the pond closest to the main road.

If you stay on the road you can access the upper pond which is alive with all sorts of summer birds now such as different types of Verios and lots of different species of Warblers.

Brookwood Marsh - A Busy Place

Hi There,
During a breif break in the rain I took a trip out to Brookwood Marsh just off of Rutherford Road. Even though the weather wasn't great the place was just buzzing with bird activity. Everything you can think of from the raucus Red Wing Black Birds to Wood Ducks and Yellow Warblers. For the uninitiated, Brookwood is a rather special little microcosm right in the middle of a large subdivision. It can't be much bigger than a couple of acres but it is packed with life. There are houses all around the outside of the marsh and even a small children's play ground but life goes on for the creatures that dwell there including birds, turtles and frogs. Although I have never seen it personally, it is said that there is even an active beaver that lives there.

Normally I have quite a bit of trouble with certain birds in that they are very easily spooked and hard to approch for a good shot. As a lot of the birds are used to people at Brookwood it makes many of these species more accessable to being photographed. Here with this post are some example shots of what used to be a difficult bird to shoot, the Wood Duck. The female had to run from other ducks because she had caught a juvinile Bull Frog and they all wanted a bite. It took her about ten minutes but she finally managed to swallow it whole and still kicking.

Tune it for the next post sometime soon!

Pileated Woodpeckers Nest at Neck Point

Hello All,
Just finished a nice shoot at the Pileated Woodpeckers nest at Neck Point. Got to love the chicks. Real cute with their "Punk Rock" hair styles. Not quite as easy as you might think to photograph though as the adults only fed the chicks about twice an hour. After quite a bit of patience I managed to get a couple of good shots. Most of the time however, the parents would cover the hole while feeding the chicks so it was impossible for any kind of good family portraits.

I will spend a bit of time near the nest and attempt to use my "Better Beamer" flash unit to get some more detail in the adults plumage at lower ISO levels and hopefully higher shutter speeds.

While waiting for the adults to return to the nest I could hear other bird activity all around me. Twice today I heard a Western Tanager go by. Although I did not see him I could tell he was around by his distinctive call. Also, after heading towards the car I spent about ten minutes chasing a Black Headed Grosbeak to no availe as just as I would zero in on him he would realize that I was watching him and take off.

Stay tuned for further postings!!!

Neck Point and Buttertubs this week

Hi there,
Sorry to have missed so much time between posts. I went out this week to both Neck Point Park and Buttertubs Marsh. Lots of interesting bird activities going on in both locations.

In Neck Point many of the warmer season birds have started to return. There are several types of warblers including the two species of Yellow Rumps both Audubon and Myrtle. There also seems to be a lot of Orange Crowned Warblers in the alder trees. In the new section of the park there is also quite a bit of activity from the American Gold Finches. The male birds are all in their mating colors now with bright yellow bodies and the tell tale black spot on their forehead. I ran accross a Robin's nest not more than five feet off of the ground with three chicks in it just ready to jump out. The mother Robin was busy of course delivering beak fulls of fresh earth worms. I also encountered an interesting little Fly Catcher (Pacific Slope Flycatcher I think?), near sunset beach.

The Woodpecker activity seems to have tapered off for now with just the odd call being heard from a stray Red Shafted Flicker here and there. I checked out the Pileated Woodpeckers nest but it has been silent and seems deserted with no signs of activity for several days now.



Buttertubs Marsh is also quite active with the return of many of the usual spring birds. I got my first pictures of this years Common Yellow Throated Warblers and got some fleeting glimpses of Yellow Warblers as they bounced around in the Hawthorne trees. I heard a shrill cry from the middle of the marsh and saw that an Osprey had landed on the tower. It kept dissapearing and reappearing as I traveled around the trail at the edge of the marsh. Leaving temporarily to hunt and then returning to rest on the tower.

First Barred Owl of the spring season

Today I managed to get an image of a Barred Owl in Linley Valley here in Nanaimo. I knew he was there right away when I entered the woods due to the smaller birds such as Robins and Humming Birds making a commotion. I had to ford that little stream in the alder grove to get to where all the action was. Smaller birds such as woodpeckers, robins, and tanagers find the owl quite a threat especially around nesting time and you can often find one from several hundred feet away when the mobbing starts. It can take a bit of practice but after a while you get to know the difference between these sounds and just territorial chirping and song.

Guess I should appologize for the poor photo. I didn't have time to re-compose the shot before he flushed. I had my teleconverter on my lens so all that fit in the picture was his head and shoulders. Nice to know that they are still around and that the season for finding them easier is upon us.

Fifth Try Unsuccessful for Blue Birds

Hi,
Today marks my fifth attempt to see a Mountain Bluebird at the Nanaimo river estuary. I have scoured the entire estuary several times with no positive results since the beginning of April. There have been multiple sightings reported on the rare bird alert for Nanaimo but still nothing to be seen on each of my outings.

Lots of White Crowned (pictured to the right), and Savannah Sparrows in their mating colors singing everywhere. Some Common Mergansers in the river and a huge flock of what appeared to be Greater White Fronted Geese. Although I could not get close enough to them for a good ID they had a strange whistling call almost like a wood duck. Not the loud raucous honk of the Canada Geese. They also had the tell tale grey color and the prominent black and white rings on their tails.

First Blog Post - Neck Point Pileated Woodpeckers

Hi there,
I'm leaving the house a bit late today. It is off to Neck Point again and possibly Buttertubs Marsh to try to catch some of the new spring arrivals. I will post again if there are any favorable results.

Back home again at 4:30PM. Not much shaking at Neck Point today. I went to check on the Pileated Woodpecker's nest. The other day there was an entire class of students and their teacher playing a game of hide and seek directly under the tree that the nest is in. I realize that it's a public park but I feared for the worst as regards the Pileats sticking around after all the noise and commotion. Much to my relief the female stuck her head out to check me out while I was setting up my tripod. The picture to the left is actually the male Pileated Woodpecker. It was taken over a week ago. Can't wait until the young arrive and I can get some shots of the feeding frenzie.

Lots of the other usual types of birds around like Brown Tree Creepers, Starlings, Robins, and the odd Downy and Hairy Woodpecker as well. No exotics yet like the Black Headed Grosbeak or Western Tanager. Guess we won't start seeing them in any number until May.