Barred Owl Bonanza

Hi Everyone,

Just thought that I had better get another entry into the blog before you thought I had forgotten you. Well, spring is well under way and many of the birds that had been south for the winter have returned. We had a great run with the Bluebirds out at Piper's Lagoon this year with the two males that hang around for almost three weeks! They haven't been seen for quite a while and have probably headed north for breeding.

Along with all of the birds coming back has been the start of the nesting season. Many birds have already fledged their first broods and have started on a second brood already. Must have been quite a challenge what with the slow start to the warmer weather. The large forest Owls such as the Great Horned and Barred Owl have finished their nesting and are now either hunting as individuals or are hunting with their newly fledged young in tow. Lots of Barred Owls in particular. At least I seem to be running into them where ever I go lately.

The activity at Cottle Lake has picked up a bit and I was scoping out a Western Tanager there the other day. Kind of hard to see all the birds now what with the heavy leaf cover but if you are patient you can get the odd glimpse of a real gem. The Tanagers are still hawking bugs at the tops of the maple trees so it will be a bit of time before they come down where we can get a good shot of them. Usually by mid June when the green caterpillars come out in the alder trees and they are busy feeding their young is the best time. You can see them at nearly eye level and on the odd occasion right down on the ground. Hopefully by my next post I will have some good close up photos of them.
Take care and thanks for tuning in,

Steve

Blue Skies Bluebird

Hi Everybody,
Up to about three or four days ago I was freezing my butt off and it felt more like mid winter instead of getting later in the spring. But just yesterday and today the weather has taken a dramatic change for the better. It seems a funny thing but along with the blue skies have come the Bluebirds. To be more specific Mountain Bluebirds. They seem to show up in the strangest places. I have one question. If they are supposed to be "Mountain Bluebirds" how come we see them almost exclusively by the ocean?

Up until yesterday I had never seen a Mountain Bluebird first hand and only dreamed of getting one in front of my lens. I had heard reports of them only to follow up by making the trip to where they were seen and then be disappointed. That all changed when I took my family to Piper's Lagoon for a walk in the warm spring sun. I didn't take the camera because I couldn't see dragging it along just to photograph the same local birds that I had made part of my picture collection many times over. You should have seen me high tail it back to the car when I caught a glimpse of this guy. Chances are that he is just a transient on his way up north and is resting here temporarily until he gets himself fattened up for the rest of his journey.

It's quite hard to describe the beauty of one of these birds but I think that the best part is the variety of their shades of blue. Depending on the angle of light the bird can take on all kinds of different blues from something near a robin's egg blue to nearly a dark indigo and every shade in between - really amazing! Another astonishing thing was how tame he seemed to be. Even the Towhees were more spooked about people than he was.

Still looking forward to the other exotic birds such as the Black Headed Gross Beaks ,Western Tanagers and of course the Orioles. If the Bluebirds are any indication it should be a great season coming up for these kind of birds.

Take care until next time,

Steve

Spring has Sprung

Hello again,
Well, it's been quite busy the past couple of weeks what with new birds returning to the area and the herring run going on. Got a few great pictures of Stellar Sea Lions this year with herring in their mouth etc. at Neck Point Park. Lots of sea birds joining in on the festivities as well with everything from Surf Scoters to Eagles. I haven't been down to get pictures of the large rafts of ducks yet but I was quite active last week when all of the Sea Lions were most plentiful. Here is a picture of some of them resting after a large feed of fish.

I have also been visiting Buttertubs Marsh more frequently in the attempt to get better pictures of some of the spring time birds such as Yellow Rump Warblers. They can be hard to find at first but once you know what you are looking for you can see them all over the place. The Yellow Rumps tend to look dark against the white of the sky so I can see how people could mistake them for chikadees or bushtits. Once you are initiated however it is quite easy to pick them out as their call tends to give them away before you even see them.

Can't wait for that time of year that is coming up soon where the Western Tanagers and Black Headed Gros Beaks return. They tend to give a real splash of color after all of that brown and drab that we come to get used to in the winter around here.

Take care until next time,

Steve

A Change of Scenery

Hi there,
Once again it's been a while since I made an entry into the blog. I didn't want to seem too repetitious as most of my photography entailed going to Nanaimo River Estuary in a vain attempt to get good pictures of the Short-Eared Owls.

It got to be a bit of a circus there for a while with lots of photographers from all over the island coming to try their luck with these elusive little fellows. On several occaisions I ran into people using lures to entice the owls or sometimes tempt the Northern Shrikes to come a bit closer. Not exactly my cup of tea as the birds have to try hard only to end up catching a leather pouch or immitation mouse rather than the real thing. Eventually the owls got smart and now hunt mainly at night. During the day they roost in one of several hiding places throughout the estuary. Needless to say I haven't been getting the shots of them like at the beginning of the season. Time to take a break and go elsewhere.



It is pretty bleak and dark these days at Buttertubs Marsh but if you are lucky you can find the odd "diamond in the rough". I did just that last week when I was able to get quite close to a drake Hooded Merganser. These guys normally swim in the opposite direction when approched for photography. He was forced to fish in the last open water in the marsh near the storm drain under the large oak trees at the front corner of the marsh. All of the water foul and their major food source (small minnows), seemed to be compressed into a twenty foot open patch of water just off of the path. This made for some great shots as they seemed more intent on their meal rather than being bothered by someone taking their picture.


Also this past week I have tried going up island to Deep Bay for some shots of the water foul and shore birds there. Out on the point is a great place as the Cormorants and Sand Pipers are constantly flying by. Of course there are the regulars such as the Buffle Head and Golden Eye ducks too. My favorite of all of the birds there has to be the Longtail Duck. They seem so unusual with their black and pink bills and puppy dog faces not to mention their wonderful long sweeping tails. It can be a bit of a challenge to get good pictures because they don't always come in close but it is a nice change. It's always better to visit Deep Bay in good weather as the wind and rain can really whistle around the point and get you soaked and cold in no time. My best shots of Longtails are on a sunny day when all of their colors really stand out in contrast with the blue of the water there.

Take care and happy birding,

Steve

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