King's for a Day

On Jan. 5 the phone rang. It was my friend, Barry Kerr. He had discovered a deceased Great Horned Owl in his back yard. There was no apparent sign of trauma or foul play, and it was in good condition. I offered to store it in my freezer and find it a home. It took one phone call.) On Jan.7 I had the pleasure of escorting the Great Horned Owl to Victoria. As you can imagine during the drive, the conversation was rather one-sided. The Great Horned didn't give a hoot for anything I said. In fact, it was in no condition to give a hoot about anything. However, the good news was that it was going on to a new life as an educational specimen for the Royal B.C. Museum. Meanwhile, I got the last hoot. The trip gave me an opportunity to do some photography at King's Pond. My target bird was the uncommon Rusty Blackbird that had been reported by Victoria birders. Just in case it was a no-show there would always be an abundance of ducks to keep me entertained. The common species there included the flamboyant Wood Ducks, the curious Northern Shovelers, the friendly Mallards, the wily Wigeons, the serious Scaups, and the bouncy Buffleheads. Besides the waterfowl, there are usually numerous winter songbirds like Fox Sparrows, Golden-crowned Sparrows, Anna's Hummingbirds, and Bewick's Wrens.

I arrived at King's just before 10:30 AM and looked around for the Rusty. It was very quiet with no signs of any blackbirds. The usual Double-crested Cormorant was resting by the fence. It swam off as I approached while a hoard of Mallards waddled towards me expecting a treat. I wasn't disappointed. It was a pleasant morning with filtered sun and decent conditions for photography. I spotted some Northern Shovelers close by. A few females were filter-feeding while a bunch of males were sleeping a short ways off.

I wasn't sure how the filter-feeding worked, but I imagine the water enters the front of the bill and runs out through the side filters. The filters in turn trap the food which is channeled down the gullet. If anyone knows how it really works, please let me know.

This is the common filter-feeding position. The duck simply cruises around with its bill half submerged.

Here's the male shoveler also in the filter-feeding position.

One of the sleeping Shovelers finally got a wake-up call and proceeded with its morning preparations. I was surprised how long it took to get mobile. It even made my wife look fast.

Okay, I'm ready. Let's get shoveling.

Where's the best place to start?

At first the Wood Ducks were absent, but eventually a pair emerged from the drooping alders around the pond.

The Woodies are always a treat to see.

There is no doubt who's the prettiest duck of all.

Since my 2 hours at King's Pond was all the birding the weatherman was projecting for the next week, I thought I better catch a few of the other locals like the Ring-necked.

The Ring-necked is always a difficult challenge because of the contrasting colours. It's difficult not to blow out the white and still capture the purplish tint on the black.

No problem with the female Ring-necked.

The female American Wigeon is also an easy subject.

I did mention there were a lot of songbirds. I didn't spend any time looking for them, but a few like the Golden-crowned and Fox Sparrows insisted on being photographed.

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Bye Bye Blackbird

After my duck session I scanned the trees for blackbirds. I was in luck. There were about a dozen birds in the tall trees behind the tee box of the golf course. I aimed my camera and started scoping the birds. The first 4 were female Brewer's. The 5th was different. It had white eyes and a mottled black and white chest. From my viewpoint I couldn't see any rust, but I knew it was the Rusty. They were too far away for anything but a few record shots.

I was excited to see the Rusty. It was a first for me and not a bird one generally sees on Vancouver Island. 99.99% of their dwindling population would be in the southeast quadrant of the United States at this time of the year. Apparently their populations have declined drastically in the past 50 years. The IUCN estimates 85% - 98.5% decline and lists it as a "vulnerable" species. Despite the fact that over 70% of the birds nest in Canada's boreal forest, it is considered a bird of no concern in Canada. I bet you aren't surprised - neither am I. Clarification: The Rusty is considered a bird of concern by COSEWIC, but isn't protected under the migratory Bird Act. It is lumped together as blackbirds which are considered pests and may be exterminated.

I waited patiently hoping they would fly down to the pond to look for food. Ten minutes later they flew down to some smaller trees next to the pond.

I could now see the rufous colouring on its crown and back. The name "Rusty" was very appropriate.

I had come prepared for this moment. I put down my camera and pulled out a bag of seed from my back pack. Unfortunately, we were right next to the walking trail. The blackbirds came down to feed, but they were flushed every 30 seconds by walkers and dogs.

Despite the regular interuptions, I eventually got some great record shots of the bird.

Now that I had a few pictures, I could relax and enjoy the bird a little more. I wondered if it were the same one that had been seen at Swan Lake a month or two earlier. Was it the same as the pig farm Rusty? What's it doing on Vancouver Island anyway? Lots of questions but no answers.

The Rusty certainly made my day. I know it's unrealistic, but sometimes when I get the photo I wonder if it might be the last Rusty we'll ever see.

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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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