As sure as the days are growing shorter and colder, our birds of summer have gradually disappeared to their balmy winter retreats. All that remains are a few stragglers like the Orange-crowned Warbler I encountered last week at Madrona on the way to Parksville. The exception are flocks of Yellow-rumped Warblers which are still abundant like the groups I saw today at Bowen Park in Nanaimo. It is the right time to watch for migrating songbirds that stop briefly on their way south. White-throated Sparrows have been reported by Chris at Swan Lake in Victoria for the past two weeks; Derrick has had one at his feeder in Duncan for the past 8 days; and I was surprised to catch a glimpse of one today at Craig Bay. Lapland Longspurs have also been reported regularly down Victoria way, but I haven't seen or heard of any north of Victoria yet. The first Tropical Kingbird of the fall was reported by Adrian in Tofino. Adrian also had a Western Kingbird for a few days.

Meanwhile, there has been a steady influx of winter residents. Kinglets seem to be everywhere, and I was again frustrated by both the Ruby-crowned and Golden-crowned as they eluded my camera today. My best shot was a blurry effort at 1/20th of a second at dusk today. The haunting chimes of the elusive Varied Thrush have been emanating from my surrounding forest for the past 3 weeks, and Steller Jays are appearing regularly. Golden-crowned Sparrows are plentiful and today I saw my first 2 Fox Sparrows of the fall.

On the water, the winter complement of ducks is steadily increasing. Scoters, Green-winged Teal, and Northern Pintails have been prominent for weeks. The occasional Long-tailed has been reported, and I saw my first local Greater Scaup and Red-breasted Merganser today. For the past week at Fairwinds I have been enjoying Northern Shovelers, which is a new species for the golf course.

Other recent interesting sightings include a Cattle Egret around Cowichan, a flock of Whimbrels at the Englishman estuary, and a flock of Greater White-fronted Geese at Springford's farm. So far there hasn't been anything as exciting as Ralph Hocken's Northern Wheatear in Oct. 2005, but Oct. isn't over yet. As well, it was last Oct. when I saw the Gray-crowned Rosy Finch, Clay-coloured Sparrow, and Blue Jay and just missed on the Northern Parula.

Oct. 10 - A Shoveler Surprise - As usual I was paying more attention to the birds than my golf at Fairwinds when a large-billed duck in the 18th pond caught my attention. I knew immediately that it was a Northern Shoveler, the first I've ever seen at Fairwinds since I started golfing there in 1988. Mind you, it wasn't until 2003 before I started paying attention to the ducks, but I think I would have noticed it because of its uniqueness. However, it's a moot point. Of course, as soon as the round was over I grabbed my camera and got a few pictures.