Jan. 12, 2009 - A Varied Happy New Year to You
The second week of January and there's still snow on the ground. There hasn't been any of that west coast one-upmanship about golf and blooms this winter although I noticed someone golfing on Victoria Golf Course last week. It has been a difficult time for the birds as most of their habitat has been frozen and/or covered with snow. The one salvation around my yard were the giant arbutus trees laden with bright red berries. The berries are all gone now but they provided a lot of required nourishment during three week deep freeze and snow. Every day during the cold spell the trees were alive with Robins, Varied Thrush, and a few other species. I imagined the frozen berries must have been similar to the frozen Arctic Char eggs ("kwok") that the Eskimo children ate like candy. Meanwhile, it was often a three or four times-a-day chore to keep the feeder area free of snow and the feeders full of seed. I know my efforts were appreciated by regular visitors like the Dark-eyed Juncos, Spotted Towhees, Fox Sparrows, Song Sparrows, Golden-crowned Sparrows, Purple Finches, Chestnut-backed Chickadees, Red-breasted Nuthatches, Steller's Jays, Varied Thrush, Northern Flickers, Downy Woodpeckers, Hairy Woodpeckers, Pileated Woodpeckers, a couple of rabbits, and a few deer. Occasional visitors included a Pine Siskin, Bewick's Wren and an unwelcome Starling.
One of the wariest birds are the Varied Thrush. I see them all the time foraging on the ground under the trees or high in the arbutus, but rarely up close. There were a couple that had enough courage to come to the feeders, but they certainly took their time to make sure the coast was clear. One of my feeders is 3 m from the kitchen window so I did enjoy some very close up views, but they were not photogaphable as they were always in the shade.
Sunshine has almost been non-existent for the past two weeks which is my excuse for the lack of photos in this Journal. Photo opportunities were few and far between. On Jan. 2 the sun did peek out just after lunch, so I decided it was time to try to find a Hermit or Varied Thrush to photograph. I knew the sun would be shining on a patch of wild rose thickets and mixed willow, alder, choke-cherry, and fir trees at the end of my property. I had seen a Hermit Thrush there during the past two winters. Today there was no Hermit Thrush, but there were Golden-crowned Sparrows, Juncos, and Spotted Towhees scratching on the bare ground, and in the furthest alder, there were two Varied Thrush. They were too far and too obscured by branches for a photo so I decided to wait which is exactly what they were doing. They were waiting for me to leave, and I was waiting to see if they would come a little closer. I wondered why we were at an impasse until I noticed a nearby choke cherry tree with a few bright red cherries. Eventually, they couldn't resist the cherries. It was a mutually satisfying situation. They got the cherries, and I got a few photos.
The Varied Thrush is arguably one of our most attractive regular winter song birds, but it is extremely shy. It spends a lot of time in the darkness of the forest floor, but it also has an appetite for fruit like the west coast crabapple.
The Varied Thrush are common winter residents in our area which is close to sea level. By mid-spring they disappear to their breeding grounds. I've seen them with their young up Mt. Washington during the summer, but I think the occasional pair does stay around as twice in six years I've seen fledglings in my yard.
I mentioned that the Varied Thrush spends most of its time foraging on the forest floor. The exception is when they are dining on arbutus berries, choke cherries, crabapples, or some other fruit.
This was my lucky day as the sun came out for a couple of hours, there was still fruit on some of the trees in my yard, and there were a lot of Varied Thrush around.
Two days later I walked by this very spot and there was a bird to be seen or heard. There were also no choke cherries on the trees. I'm glad I did my Varied Thrush photo shoot two days ago while there was still fruit in the trees.
I also had a medical appointment the same day and made my usual stop to watch the scoters at Qualicum. The flock had almost doubled from about 30 Black Scoters to a mixed flock of about 60. The Black Scoter flock was very skittish the few times I stopped previously. The mixed flock seem to be a little more accommodating, but I didn't have time to try for some close-ups.
On the way home I stopped at French Creek. There was a large flock of Dunlin foraging at the tide line in the little bay. I thought there would be a chance of a sanderling amongst the 300 Dunlin, but if there was, I couldn't find it.
The Dunlin were all business as they marched in step foraging along the beach.
Greetings from the King - I don't think I photographed the King last year, but he was in the house (French Creek) when I drove by on Jan. 7. It was another cloudy day, but did I mention I was short of photos for a Journal? I hate pictures against a cloudy sky, but sometimes you have no choice.
It was high tide at French Creek which is the best time to catch the King. He was so intent on fishing that he didn't seem to mind my presence. He dove a couple of times but didn't come up with anything I could see.
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There's sun in the forecast, but I won't count the rays until I feel them.
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