Cedar Waxwings are always a favorite subject. I wondered why they were so late in eating the berries. My best guess is ice wine. Maybe they had to wait until the beries had fermented a bit? What's your theory?

I chose the San Malo trail for several reasons. First, I hadn't been there for a long time. Second, it's a pretty good habitat for birds. And third, it's fairly open and bright for photography. The first bird to welcome me was a friendly Spotted Towhee.

Purple Finches were the most common bird.

They were too busy with the crab apples to worry about me.

The finches were all females and juveniles. I wondered where the guys were.

I wasn't surprised to see a couple of Fox Sparrows pop up. I seem to be finding them everywhere.

They were also enjoying the crab apples.

This one had just finished lunch and was enjoying the sun.

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I decided to take a few Dunlin shots when a white bird trotted by. It was a Sanderling! It stopped for a few seconds to probe the sand for food.

It was on the move most of the time so all I got were a few feeding shots.

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Jan. 10 - It was raining, but I had to run a chore in Parksville. That meant I could take a quick look at the park and check out the seabirds. I didn't expect the field to be full of shorebirds, but it was. They were mostly Dunlin, but there were also a lot of Black-bellied Plovers.

I parked the car just ahead of where the birds were heading. Sure enough, several Plovers came my way.

It was fun to watch them run a few steps then stop and look. If the found something, they would bend over and grab it. Otherwise, they ran a few more steps.

Eventually a few Dunlin ventured near.

They were much quicker. In fact, almost non-stop. When they weren't running, their heads were bobbing furiously up and down like the bobbin on a sewing machine.

A few of them discovered a puddle and decided to take a bath even though it was raining.

I wondered if this was the same flock I saw at French Creek 2 days ago. After scanning the whole field, I finally saw the Sanderling. (I'm assuming it was the same bird I saw yesterday as French Creek is just across the bay.)

It took almost an hour, but I finally was able to park close enough for a photo. My quick stop took 2 hours. At first I thought that the birds were there because there were no people or dogs, but then the light came on. It was because of the rain. The rain brings up the worms and other tasty critters.

On my way out of the park, I glanced at the empty playground. Well, it was empty of the usual kids, but there were a few geese standing around. One of them was a Cackling Goose.

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Jan. 11 - No Excuses Required - I had planned to do some birding today and the weatherman had cooperated.

My first stop was the Craig Bay pond. I had seen a Pied-billed Grebe there earlier in the week. There was no grebe today, but the female Ring-necked Duck was close by.

A quick look at French Creek wasn't productive, but I ran into a flock of Pine Siskins on Despard Road in Parksville.

I hadn't had any close looks at the Siskins all winter so it was worth a stop.

The Siskins were busy feeding on the cedar and alder trees.

Just before home, I decided to stop at Nanoose Edibles to look for the Mountain Bluebirds. They have been around the blueberry field ever since Dec. 10/07. They were in the tall firs beyond the field and not in any mood for photos. I had to settle for a perky Bewick's Wren instead.

While I was there and the sun was oh so warm, I decided to do a farm walk. I ran into a pair of Ruby-crowned Kinglets on a back trail.

The female didn't mind foraging in front of me, but the male was too shy to get into the sunshine.

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