Big Year kick-off in Victoria, British Columbia

Dec 31, 2015

I gave Dave the Hobson’s Choice of where to start 2016. His options: Akron Ohio (Kelp Gull), South Texas (Northern Jacana, Crimson-collared Grosbeak, Golden-crowned Warbler), Fort Lauderdale (Western Spindalis), SW Arizona (Streak-backed Oriole, Rufous-backed Robin), or Victoria BC (Redwing). We have been married over 35 years and known each other most of our lives. I needed him along to start 2016. Even though we will be separated most days, 2016 will be a shared journey.

Dave chose British Columbia. I worked until 11 pm the night before we left, on call until midnight but finishing up projects and answering phone calls. Dave set the alarm for 3:30 am. We arrived in Seattle on 12/30, a cold but rare clear day on which you could see Mt Ranier. We did the touristy visit to the Space Needle with the caws of crows echoing from the trees at the base. Washington was state #50 on my state list.

Mount Ranier from the Space Needle

Although I had flown into Seattle on connecting flights to Alaska, it was my first real visit. We rode a ferry across Puget Sound, and I couldn’t stay inside. Any boat ride is a pelagic. With our bodies still on Eastern time we woke up early on New Year’s Eve and visited Olympic National Park before sunrise. No owls but this was park #39 on our National Park list.

Sunrise in Olympia National Park with Dave

We rode a ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria BC, and the number of birds on the ride was astounding. I anticipated adding these to my year list the following day. We drove straight to the vacant lot that a Redwing had been reported. Even though it would not count on my year list for 2016 that day, it was a life bird and I had to add it to my list in case it departed before the following day. Several people were present, staring at a row of dense holly for the Redwing to magically appear. It was clear and cold for Victoria, but a welcome break from weeks of rain.

It is probably strange for most people to envision a trip to this beautiful locale, only to stand in a cold vacant lot, uncomfortable in a neighborhood as you try not to look at the surrounding homes and invade the privacy of the residents. It is much easier to bird in parks and fields where your presence is not an imposition. We spent much of the day there, Dave sitting in the car reading a book he received for Christmas until the Redwing showed itself briefly and flew across the street. This was at around 3:30 pm, and I had walked a short distance away checking trees down the road. The bird flew over a home adjacent to the vacant lot across the street, where I followed the locals up a path and onto a small street. The bird was seen shortly after in a berry packed holly tree, but was amazingly difficult to see even though it was not distant. I think the bird was amused by the strange contortions we birders made to get a barely accommodating view. Although we were close in distance, the bird was well hidden, and sat in one spot munching berries. I got diagnostic shots of various parts of the bird’s anatomy, but none worthy of framing.

Dave consulted Yelp! for our New Year’s Eve celebration. We changed clothes, and headed to the most highly rated spot only to find it was closed. The next was also closed, with a sign that it was a national Canadian Holiday. We gave up and ate dinner at Denny’s. The waitress was harried and apologetic, working her second shift of the day. My soup was cold and Dave’s salad contained barely any chicken. But we were enjoying the adventure, and I was anticipating my first rarity of the new year. We left and managed to stay awake until midnight (well, midnight Eastern time).

Jan 1, 2016

Victoria, British Columbia neighborhood on New Years Day morning.

My first bird of the year was Glaucous-winged Gull, flying from the road to the roof of our hotel before sunrise. Excellent. There were early rising Northwestern Crow on the wires, arguing with the Glaucous-winged and Mew Gulls over what turned out to be a dead gull on the road.  I was the first birder to arrive at the Redwing location, observing only a Bald Eagle in a distant tree. I was joined by a small group from BC shortly after. It was another crisp cold morning in Victoria BC. Anna’s Hummingbird flitted from the feeders, and a Red-shafted Northern Flicker flashed his wings. Amusing stories were being told by the engaging BC birders, and I was giggling then laughing along while hoping that the neighbors couldn’t hear us on this early New Year’s morning. A Fox Sparrow in the holly grabbed the attention of the group. Dark-eyed Juncos and Spotted Towhees fed in the yard nearby. Ruby-crowned Kinglets fluttered in trees, and American Robins flew in and disappeared into the dense holly, feeding on the berries. It was 11:30 before a different looking thrush flew up from the holly, and landed out of sight. We moved to the side of the lot, and we were rewarded with a wonderful view of the Redwing sitting on a branch in the sunshine. Dave had been reading in the car but saw our attention on this bird, and looked through his bins for a view of the rarity. Dave jokes that he boasts the "biggest ABA list of someone who doesn’t care".

Redwing (Code 4)

American Robin

The next stop was an attempt for a Skylark. This bird is a code 3 because it is only found in a small area in British Columbia. I had received good tips on locating the bird, but was warned that it was not found at the usual spots during the recent Christmas Bird Count. In December and January this species can be difficult, because they are not singing and tend to flock to different areas. I was advised the only way to see this bird in January would be to walk the bulb fields and flush. Despite this advice I first stopped at the airport locations where it is typically seen most often. The sun came out and warmed the air, and I jumped from the car when I head a large group of Western Meadowlarks vocalizing. If they were singing, then maybe I would get lucky. I scanned the fields for Skylark with no luck. I photographed a few nearby birds, and saw a flock of Pine Siskins land in a tree by the road. A Great Blue Heron and Red-tailed Hawk seemed to be patrolling the airport, and a Bewick’s Wren emerged from a shrub across the street. We moved on to a bulb field nearby that was recommended, the edges of a small pond full of White-crowned and Golden-crowned Sparrow, and Song Sparrow. Bufflehead, Mallard and Ring-necked Duck were floating in the pond. As we circled the pond, I scanned with my scope, then moved forward. Suddenly a large bird flew from the hill directly in front of us. It was a Short-eared Owl! It flew away quickly and could be seen in the distance being harassed by raven.

Short-eared Owl

Spotted Towhee

Ring-necked Duck

A sharp-shinned hawk barreled past us as we circled back to the car. A group of House Finch flew into the field. We finally drove to the spot recommended, which had the only recent sighting on eBird. I walked the edge of the field but only added Canada Goose. It was a good end to the day as we stopped in a local park to watch as a Pileated Woodpecker landed on a telephone pole, then proceed to the edge of the lake were Coot and Common Merganser along with gulls. We watched the sunset, and I had a modest list of 32 species.

Jan 2

The following morning, we returned to the recommended spot with the most recent eBird sighting. I hoped the early morning might encourage a bit of song and flight from the Skylark, but if they were present I would need to walk the bulb fields. I was told birders had permission to enter this property, so I tentatively walked the area with seemingly no birds present. It took an extensive walk to finally see a few birds fly – and I had hit the jackpot! The Eurasian Skylark was a new bird for my ABA list!!! Also added was Savannah Sparrow, Eurasian Collared Dove and Killdeer.

Eurasian Skylark (code 3)

Now that I had the targets, I could try for local birds that I would not see near home in Ohio.  We returned to the coast to find Harlequin Duck, Surf Scoters, Pacific Loon, Double-crested and Pelagic Cormorants in the water and Black Turnstone, Black Oystercatcher, and Dunlin on the rocks. A Western Gull was lounging in the parking lot but most of the gulls including a Thayer’s flew before I could record them with a documentation shot. They were trying to avoid a little boy flying an out-of-control kite. The dilemma of seeing but not photographing hit. Should I count? Should I keep 2 lists? I expected to see a Thayer's Gull during the year, but what if this was the only one I would see, or what if I wasn't able to get a shot of any that I saw? The other issue was that most of my photos so far were documentation shots only. Nothing I would hang on my wall. Two days into the year and I had to decide. We changed our reservation to an earlier ferry that would leave for Vancouver before sunset so I could look for birds. After seeing so many species on the ferry from Port Angeles to Victoria, I was a bit disappointed to only add Common Murre and Pacific Loon. The disappointment was greatly overshadowed by the stunning landscape. The ride was breathtaking and when the sun set, my British Columbia list was up to 49 species. I left Canada very satisfied with a life bird and new ABA bird. I had also met some very engaging BC birders.