In the past few days, I've seen the return of the Buffleheads, Eurasian Wigeons and Long-tailed Ducks. The Barrow's and Common Goldeneyes and Greater and Lesser Scaups should be coming soon.
OCT. 27/05 - I had a feeling that today would be a good day for the Longtails to make their annual return to Deep Bay. Maybe it was just wishful thinking. Last year they were back by Oct. 23. There were no Longtails today, but fortunately, there was a consolation bird: a Trumpeter Swan. Meet Bill, the Trumpeter's bill ... not much one can say except that the photo was taken at Deep Bay. There were 2 Trumpeters accompanying a large flock of Canada-barnyard hybrid geese. White-winged Scoters and other ducks flew by regularly. HOME AGAIN - I saw my first Eurasian Wigeon of the fall at Buttertubs on Oct. 22. I saw the Fairwinds Eurasian the next day. Assuming that it is the same Eurasian that calls Fairwinds home every year, is it possible that it spends its summers in Siberia and winters here? Oct. 28/05 - In between rain squalls, I dashed down to Fairwinds for a picture of the Eurasian. Not only did the rain stop, but the sun peeked through for a few minutes. I got my pictures before the next squall. OCT. 29/05 - DEEP BAY AGAIN If at first you don't succeed ... The weatherman changed his mind and offered us a sunny reprieve from the predicted monsoons. I took that as an omen to try again for the Deep Bay Longtails. Baynes Sound was a sheet of glass as we slowly breathed in the idyllic beauty of the snow-dusted mountains reflecting in the icy blue waters. A lone Red-necked Grebe taxied slowly by etching the only imperfection on the surface of the water. But, as much as I was enjoying the beauty of the vista, I was also disappointed not to see the Longtails. I could hear the gentle call of Longtails in the distance towards Denman Island, but the Deep Bay flock was AWOL. I was beginning to worry about the Longtails when a commotion distracted me. A seal broke the water triumphantly waving a captured salmon in the air before submerging. Within seconds a flock of gulls arrived anticipating sharing the catch. The seal surfaced without the fish and laughed at the gulls. The seal taunted the gulls and proceeded to swallow the salmon - bottoms up! Conditions were perfect for practicing flight shots. My first subjects were a pair of Surf Scoters. A male Surf Scoter followed even closer to shore than the first pair. Not to be left out, a male Harlequin decided to get into the picture. A flock of Buffleheads swam towards me but reversed direction when they saw me. LONGTAILS INCOMING! - Finally, 4 Longtails flew by the spit. Hopefully, it was part of the Deep Bay flock on a reconnaisance flight. 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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