Deep Bay Diversion

Jan. 9/11 - Yesterday I had 3 hours to bird in the morning. The sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The mercury was still a few degrees above zero, and there was no wind chill. It would be a good time for photography if the birds weren't in hibernation. My destination was Deep Bay hoping for a visit with one of my favorite ducks, the Long-taileds.

On my way I was looking for a good vantage point for a picture of the snow-covered peaks of Mt. Arrowsmith. I decided on Blower Road in Parksville which I nearly missed because of black ice. Good thing I was going very slowly or I could have ended up in someone's yard. The mountain views weren't super, but there was a hedgerow in the sunshine beside the road. It was fairly busy with birds thawing out in the morning sun - Juncos, Towhees, Golden-crowned Sparrows, Song Sparrows, House Finches, and California Quail ... I took a quick shot of a House Finch (above) and a Golden-crowned Sparrow (below) then proceeded cautiously towards Deep Bay.

I saw several Golden-crowned Sparrows huddling in the grass and warming up in the morning sunshine.

I made my usual stop at French Creek, but it was high tide and all of the ducks were at the far shore of the creek which was about 80 m away. There was no sign of King, my resident male Belted Kingfisher. High tide is usually when he perches on the creekside crabapple tree. My next stop was Qualicum to check the gull roost, but I didn't see any newcomers. Just after the Shady Rest restaurant I spotted one of the the Shady Bald Eagles on a cedar tree a 100 m short of the usual fir tree roost. That called for a few pics so I pulled over, propped the camera on the roof of the car a took 10 shots. I could have waited 10 minutes for the clouds to clear but I didn't want to waste too much time.

The cedar tree proved to be a more interesting perch than the fir tree. Next time I'll wait for the blue sky.

When I arrived art Deep Bay Spit I was pleased to see there were no other cars parked there. As I walked out to the end of the sandy spit, I was delighted to see about 20 Long-taileds in the vicinty. Some were as close as 15 m. I slowly set up my tripod and camera and waited for the ducks to grow accustomed to my presence. It didn't take long.

Within a few minutes the ducks settled down and some of them proceeded with their grooming. I was surprised at the attention they gave to their long tails.

A few of the Long-taileds were still uneasy with my presence and they eyed me suspiciously as they cruised by.

For the most part, most of the ducks seemed to be relaxed.

Some of the males were more concerned about other males who came close to their mates. The tossing of the head seemed to be a common display to warn intruders.

There were no physical confrontations. The intruding males acknowledged the friendly warning and moved on.

The females were in the minority, and they all seemed to be paired up.

Notice the light blue background. That's the reflection of the sky. Most of the previous photos had reflections of the mountains in the background.

The dark blue background is the reflection of the closest mountains which were darker because they were in the shadows.

Shots of diving ducks never seem to look good, but I did like the glisteneing trail of pearls off the end of the tail.

We all have a preferred angle for our photos. This is my favorite angle for most ducks. Let's call it the 10 o'clock angle.

Once in a while the Long-taileds offer a close flight shot, but today wasn't the day. All I got were postage stamps (i.e. major crop).

How's this for bird intelligence? This is how the Long-taileds give the peace sign!

An interesting thing happened while I wasn't paying attention. A thin layer of sea ice drifted in and crowded the Long-taileds from their diving site. That forced them to fly out towards Denman Island.

There goes the last pair. Time to watch for other birds.

After I finished with the Long-taileds, I looked for some other targets. It didn't take long before a male Red-breasted Merganser joined the party.

The merganser didn't stay long. It cruised towards me then decided to leave.

I didn't expect the sudden flight but managed a few shots as it sped by me.

I think the incoming sea ice prompted the few Buffleheads to leave as well.

Meanwhile, a lone Horned Grebe was enjoying a feeding area right in front of me.

Unlike the more wary Red-breasted Grebes, the Horned Grebe showed no sign of fear as it dove repeatedly about 8 m from me.

I mentioned previously that I'm not fond of diving shots. Even if the head were visible, it still wouldn't look good.

My grebe moved offshore, but when I was just leaving, another grebe flew about 40 m offshore. I was surprised that the picture wasn't just a blur.

That was my last shot of the day. I'm glad I made the effort to visit the Long-taileds. I thoroughly enjoyed my brief visit. I made it home by 12:15, and paid the price by cutting and hauling firewood for four hours. The next day it snowed.

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Bird Poster

My poster is on display at: Victoria - Swan Lake Nature House

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