Oct. 1/05 - PARTY BIRD I just happened to be in Victoria for my Uncle's 50th wedding anniversary party, and Clover Point was only a few minutes away. It was Saturday and normally the worst time as the place would be over-run by walkers, joggers, kite-flyers, dogs, pigeons, and gulls, but it was the right time of year for Horned Larks, Lapland Longspurs, Western Meadowlarks, Marbled Godwits, and even a Red Knot. As predicted, the crowd was there, but there was still a lot of open space. I checked along the water's edge then the grassy areas - nothing. I decided to double-check and voila! There it was, my first Horned Lark. As for the party, it was a BLAST - a wonderful reunion with relatives and friends. The Horned lark was munching grass and seeds on the east side of Clover Point just where Chris Saunders reported the day before. Oct. 5/05 - A HOLE-IN-ONE AND A NEW BIRD How often can you get a hole-in-one and see a new bird on the same day? Well, that's what I did today. At about 8:15 AM on the 2nd hole at Fairwinds, I knocked in my 175 foot tee-shot then at 2:00 PM, I saw my first Eared Grebe in a small fresh-water pond on Rascal Lane! I tried for the triple header with a lottery ticket, but that was a dip. On Oct. 3, I spotted a grebe with a Greater Scaup and a Hooded Merganser at Rascal Lane. I didn't have binoculars and just assumed it was a Horned Grebe. But, the next evening, Ted Yardley reported an Eared Grebe at Viaduct Flats. An Eared Grebe in fesh water? That really caught my attention. I'd never seen an Eared Grebe and never expected to see one in fresh water. I just couldn't wait to take a second look at Rascal Lane the next day. After my hole-in-one and round of golf, I headed to Rascal Lane. I was disappointed to see only the Greater Scaup. I watched for 10 minutes and was about to leave when I spotted some ripples under the over-hanging willows. It was the grebe - the EARED GREBE! STRANGE COMPANIONS - You never know these days who's hanging out with who. For the first 4 days, it was the Greater Scaup with the Eared Grebe. On the 5th day, it was the Northern Pintail. Oct. 7/05 - A SUNNY DAY I love it when I see the sun and blue skies in the morning. It usually means a little photography. Today was one of those fine days. My first stop was Kaye Road to see if the Eared Grebe was still around. It was and I returned later to take the photos you see above. After that it was off to CHA CHA'S for comforting coffee, then Admiral's Lagoon. It was high tide and the little island was standing room only for a bunch of gulls, Black Turnstones, Black-bellied Plovers, and 1 Sanderling. Looking down the beach, I could see some activity in the washed up seaweed. It was a bunch of Greater Yellowlegs and Black Turnstones. There were 8 Greater Yellowlegs and they were too busy feeding to worry about me. There was no problem getting a picture of a Yellowleg. Most of the Black Turnstones were feeding except for this pair that was enjoying the sun. The food was good and even the Sanderling flew over to join the party. My last stop was Deep Bay. Baynes Sound was alive with Scoters and other seabirds as usual. There were no gulls on the gull roost, but there were a few friendly Surf Birds. NANAIMO - BACKYARD WILDBIRD & NATURE STORE SAVE-ON FOODS (WOODGROVE) SAVE-ON FOODS (COUNTRY CLUB) CHAPTERS FALCONER BOOKS COLE'S PORT ALBERNI - CLOCKTOWER GALLERY COURTENAY - GRAHAM'S JEWELLERS SIDNEY - VICTORIAN BIRD HOUSE COMOX - BLUE HERON BOOKS BOWSER - LIGHTHOUSE GIFTS DEEP BAY - SAANICH - WILD BIRDS UNLIMITED VICTORIA - BOLEN'S BOOKS MUNRO'S CAMPBELL RIVER - CAMPBELL RIVER MUSEUM DUNCAN - VOLUME 1 BOOKSTORE CHEMAINUS - LITTLE SHOP OF NOVELS LADYSMITH - SALAMANDER BOOKS (FRASER & NAYLOR) NANOOSE - SCHOONER COVE MARINA SOOKE - SOOKE HARBOUR HOUSE
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