The Power of Negative Thinking

Aug. 4/09 - If after the first ten tries you don't succeed, give up. It's time to quit and move on. Last year I had given up on the Tattler. Just ask my wife how many times we walked the Ogden Point breakwater over the past few years looking for the mythical bird. Wandering Tattlers are quite scarce on Vancouver Island, but you can be sure that there will be some migration stopover sightings at Ogden Point during the early spring and late summer. In fact, Mary Robichaud had reported two there about a week ago. I just happened to be in town for a couple of days so I decided to take a morning walk on the breakwater to enjoy the crisp ocean air and maybe find a Rhinoceros Auklet, Pigeon Guillemot, Caspian Tern, or unusual gull. No, don't even mention the Tattler. I was definitely not looking for that #@$%&*# shorebird. Like the Three-toed Woodpecker, it was on my "not on my photo-wish-list list." Since I wasn't looking for it, I would never be disappointed if I didn't see it. Call it "defensive pessimism" or whatever you like, but it's not a bad way of approaching birding specifically and life in general. It saves a lot of disappointment.

If just by chance the Tattler materialized, it would be a bonus - a pleasant surprise like a hole-in-one in golf or winning the lottery. And so it was on this cool, crisp, sunny morn - a bonus, a surprise, not one but two hole-in-ones as two oversized sandpipers flew in to the rocks just in front of me about half way out the breakwater. They reminded me of the Spotted Sandpiper the way they were bouncing their rumps up and down while they walked along the slippery boulders foraging for crabs and anything else that was edible. Despite the view from the top, the morning sun was still on the rocks, the Tattlers were cooperative, and the tourists were few. That made my day, and it was still morning. Thanks to negative thinking I had a bonus bird, and the Tattler is no longer on my "not on my photo-wish-list list."

The Wandering Tattler is a medium-sized shorebird with short yellow legs. The breeding plumaged adults are plain gray on top and with heavily streaked undersides. Juveniles have plain white undersides.

After a summer breeding season by mountain streams in Alaska and Yukon the Tattlers migrate south along the rocky shorelines of the Pacific Coast. Most of them proceed south and winter along the Californian and Mexican coastline.

Insects, crustaceans, and worms form the bulk of their diets. Small crabs are a favorite snack along the Ogden Point breakwater.

Care must be taken not to capture a crab that is too big.

The crab is manipulated until it is incapacitated.

Can you imagine what would happen if the crab were too big?

That little crab was just an appetizer. A few more would be a good lunch.

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Aug. 4 - Whiffin Spit continued to be a good spot for shorebirds. There were about 300 peeps feeding in the seaweed as well as several Semipalmated Plovers and one Greater Yellowlegs. There was stil agood mix of adult and juveniles. later on it will be mainly juveniles. Brightly plumaged juvenile Least Sandpipers were quite easy to pick out.

Whiffin is an excellent location for peep photography in the afternoon and early evening. The sun is at your back and most people stay on the walking trails so you are rarely bothered except by the occasional dog. If you take a position near the feeding peeps, they'll generally work their way right to you.

Here's a freshly plumaged juvenile Western. Notice the semipalmated foot.

The juvenile Western can have a fairly short bill which sometimes causes confusion with the Semipalmated Sandpipers.

Aug. 5 - It's been a long time since I visited Buttertubs Marsh, but it's always worth checking. It was quiet today with only a few Yellow Warblers and other common species like Wood Ducks and Pied-billed Grebes. I ran into two families of Common Yellowthroat which I always enjoy photographing. The adults were shy but one of the juveniles was curious to see who was pishing.

The juvenile caught me off-guard when it popped up right in front of me. I had to gently back up until I could get my lens to focus.

Fortunately the bird was cooperative and posed for a few shots before rejoining its family.

It must be the time for families of Bushtits to join up. Over the past week I've seen several good-sized flocks pass by.

Aug. 6 - A Vireo Good Morning - I was visiting a friend north of Qualicum when I noticed some bird action in a small grove of alders. When I went over to check, I was pleased to see a good number of Warbling Vireos. The only other species was a few Chestnut-backed Chickadees.

The Vireos were busy foraging for insects and spiders. It didn't seem to be a fallout of migrants. Could it be the amalgamation of several family units like the Bushtits?

I was surprised to see some of them foraging right next to me as they are generally wary of photographers.

I thought the shape of the lores of this vireo might qualify for a Philadelphia, but it just shows how good my imagination is. I think there has to be more yellow on the chest to be a Philadelphia. Dick Cannings was kind enough to email me from the Toronto airport to say that these were all probably young Warbling Vireos.

Nice eyebrows - just like Grouch Marx.

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First Visit to Holden Creek

Aug. 9/09 - Holden Creek is the Duke Point side of the Nanaimo River Estuary. It has been my favorite shorebirding location since I started birding. Although the shallow ponds are slowly disappearing because of vegetation growth, it still has the best shorebird potential on the Mid-Island. Because of a combination of factors like weather, tides, and time, I hadn't been able to make my first visit until today. As usual the mosquitoes were many, and I was grateful that I had remembered to bring my bottle of OFF. There was no problem with access as it was low tide, but I was disappointed after seeing only one peep through the first field. The second field was slightly better. I spotted my first Lesser Yellowlegs of the summer with three Least Sandpipers. Peering over to the third field I saw Mike Ashbee on his belly with his camera pointing at some Dowitchers and other shorebirds. There seemed to be quite a few shorebirds in that field, but I didn't want to disturb Mike so I continued to check around the second field. Despite the low numbers of shorebirds and the usual plague of mosquites, I wasn't disappointed. I did get a few pictures, and it was nostalgic to revisit a familiar site and flashback to a few exciting moments like the Stilts, American Gold-Plover, and the Buff-breasted.

While salicornia or pickle weed may serve a useful function for bio-filtration and duck food, it is slowly eliminating the habitat for shorebirds like the Lesser Yellowlegs that feed in the shallow ponds.

The Lesser Yellowlegs is considerably smaller than the Greater Yellowlegs and has a short, straight bill. Before my short visit done I had seen about six Lessers.

Overall, my experience is that the Lesser Yellowlegs are much more approachable than the Greater.

We all need to stretch and so does the Lesser Yellowlegs.

Just as I was about to leave a small group of Least Sandpipers flew in with a distinctly larger shorebird. There was no mistaking the buffy tones of the Baird's Sandpiper.

The clean, neatly trimmed feathers indicate that this is a juvenile bird.

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Little Leps

To most people the smallest butterfly is the Cabbage Butterfly, but there are a host of many species that are only about the size of a quarter. Once you start paying attention, you'll notice that they are quite common and very attractive.

The Mylitta Crescent is as colourful and pretty as any butterfly.

I've seen them in several locations in Nanoose, and they are common along the southeast coast of Vancouver Island from Parksville to Victoria.

There are two different generations of Mylittas. The first is in April and May and the second is in July and August.

Another small but pretty butterfly is the Woodland Skipper.

The Woodland Skippers are the most abundant of the skippers in southeast B.C., and there is only one generation. They usually appear from late July until to the first frost.

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Bird Droppings

Rich Mooney reported a large number of shorebirds at Holden Creek on Aug. 8 which, hopefully, is a precursor to an abundant shorebird season.

Dave and Adele Routledge's shorebird report on Aug. 7 from Oyster Bay included a juvenile American Golden-Plover. On Aug. 9 Art Martell added an adult Pacfic Golden-Plover at the same location.

Solitary Sightings - Besides the MacIntyre Reservoir Solitary Sandpiper, Jeremy Gatten reported one at Rithet's Bog on Aug. 7, and Scott Gilmore reported one at Copley Park in Lantzville. Scott's 3 year old daughter, Sable, informed me that it was a new tick for her list!

Al Hack in Parksville sent me a photo of the Pacific-slope Flycatcher that is nesting on his roll-up window awning. Looks like a comfortable location.

The Green Herons at Courtenay Airpark obviously had another successful nest. Someone dining at the Old House was surprised to see a juvenile land right outside the window on the leaf of one of those giant rhubarb-like plants. He had his camera and posted a great picture and report on the birdingbc website.

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Bird Poster

My posters are on display at: Victoria - Swan Lake Nature House; Nanoose Bay - Credit Union; Courtenay - Graham's Jewellers

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PUBLICATIONS

VOLUME I & II BOOKS AVAILABLE AT

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