Nov. 24/08 - Bird History in Courtenay
On November 18 Comox wildlife expert, Jukka Jatunnen, spotted and photographed a strange gull at the Courtenay River Estuary. It was a medium-sized gull with a very dark gray mantle, yellow legs, and thin yellow bill that was punctuated with a bright red tip. There was no doubt about it. Jukka had just documented the first confirmed Black-tailed Gull in Britsh Columbia. There have been two other anectdotal reports, but neither had been substantiated by any evidence. The only other confirmed reports on the west coast of North America have been one in Washington and California, respectively.
News of Jukka's exciting discovery and exceptional photos quickly circulated on the Internet and the next day a stampede of birders converged on Courtenay. Birders from all over the Island and the mainland scoured the estuary all day to no avail. The bird was AWOL. Unfortunately or fortunately, Chris Stevens of Parksville was too young to drive, and no one had offered him a ride. To console his frustration he wandered down to Parksville Park to visit the local gull flock. He almost dropped his drawers when he spotted a medium-sized gull with a dark gray mantle, yellow legs, and a thin yellow bill with a red tip. Incredibly, the Black-tailed Gull had flown down to Parksville to check out the Oceanside hospitality! Chris tried to alert the birders by phone and Internet, but no one responded. For the next two days a legion of birders combed the waterfront from Parksville Park to the Englishman Estuary. There were two isolated sightings, but for most birders, the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity ended in frustration.
Miraculously, on Nov. 22 just when everyone had written the gull off, Guy Monty received a phone call from Jukka. Jukka was at Kye Bay in Comox, staring at the Black-tailed Gull. The next day Guy and Rich Mooney headed another expedition to Courtenay, and eventually they discovered the gull near the east end of the Airpark, exactly where it was first sighted! Scores of birders from all over the Island and the mainland were treated to excellent views of the bird, and many more photographs were taken.
As it happened, Sunday was my golf day and like George Clulow and his cool buddies from Burnaby, I had to put my faith on Monday to see the gull. The blue sky in the morning was a good sign, and so was the medium-low tide. I pulled in to the Airpark at 9:15 AM. I was happy to see a lone birder scoping out at a flock of gulls on the mudflats. I was even happier when Mike Bentley pointed to the Black-tailed Gull. I enjoyed my first distant views of the gull through my lens, but it was too far away for photos. Eventually, Mike and I were able to approach the gull from the sunny waterside without flushing the birds. In fact, we actually herded the flock closer to shore where we were joined by George Brad and Artie from Tofino. Shortly after George, Carlo, and the other laggards from Burnaby materialized, and there were smiles all around as everyone had prime views of the bird. Rick Hilton even stopped by on behalf of the local Chamber of Commerce to welcome the out-of-towners. The twitch was a huge success for all of us, and I think the mainlanders were able to catch the 12:30 ferry back to Vancouver.
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A Gull's-Eyed View of Events ...
On November 18, 2008 a strange and adventurous gull landed on the Courtenay River Estuary. None of the local gulls recognized the newcomer. They had never seen a gull with a black tail and a red tip at the end of its bill.
The gull was uneasy at first as it was far from the north-east Asian coast and in a new country. It wasn't sure if it would be welcomed or treated as an intruder.
The gull was prepared as it brought a special leaf which was the international symbol of peace and love. When the leaf was offered to the local gull flock, it was readily accepted. Unlike humans, gulls do no discriminate.
The Glaucous-winged Greeting Gull immediately welcomed the Black-tailed to the Comox Valley on behalf of the Chamber of Commerce, and invited it to stay as long as it wanted.
The Black-tailed Gull was relieved and happy to be accepted by its Canadian cousins.
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'Tis the Fowl Season
Now that the fall migration is over, it's time to enjoy our winter birds. Most Island Christmas Bird Counts will yield about a 100 species, but the most visible and accessible will be the ducks. For those who are into bird photography, the secret is to find locations where the birds will come close to shore. As I have mentioned many times, the best place for scoters is Qualicum Beach at high tide. It is probably the best spot on the Island for all the scoters, including the elusive Black Scoter. Qualicum can also be great for Harlequins, both goldeneyes, and scaup - especially during and following the herring spawn. Another excellent spot is Goose Spit where you can park right next to the water at high tide. It's often a great spot for Surf Scoters, White-winged Scoters, American Wigeons, Eurasian Wigeons, Buffleheads, Lesser Scaup, Greater Scaup, Mallards, and Northern Pintails. I don't have to remind you that the best place for Long-taileds is Deep Bay. If you like shooting ducks in a pond, the best spots are King's Pond, Beacon Hill Park, and Esquimalt Lagoon. Make sure you take a bag of feed and you'll have Wood Ducks, scaups, Ringed-necks, and others crawling in your lap. I'm sure there are many other great spots that I haven't mentioned, and there's probably many that I haven't even discovered. The following photos have been posted to whet your appetite. (i.e. - too busy to do captions)
Nov. 18 - Duck Shoot at Goose Spit - I had an hour left to kill before my presentation to the Orca Probus Club in Comox. I couldn't think of a better spot than Goose Spit (since I was unaware of the Black-tailed at the Airpark). Whenit's high tide you can park right next to the water where ducks often forage. As usual, there were a lot of people around which always interferes with the photography. On more than one occasion the ducks were spooked just as I was ready to shoot. Eventually, I was able to get a fairly close shot of a male Surf Scoter.
The Surf Scoters were diving fo clams, but they weren't very successful as I didn't see any juggling going on.
Among a group of American Wigeons was my first Eurasian Wigeon of the fall.
I would see my second Eurasian at French Creek a couple of days later. The Fairwinds Eurasian still wasn't in as of Nov. 30.
As usual, the American Wigeons are abundant everywhere.
On my way home I stopped at Deep Bay. The only bird to come close was a female Red-breasted Merganser.
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Hello and goodbye again from the Deep Bay Bald Eagle
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