May 30/11 - Hello! Sorry for neglecting the birds. Did I ever mention that I'm working on a book on Denman & Hornby NATURE? Now you know what else has been keeping me busy. It's been quite a challenge expanding my scope to include items like wildflowers and now butterflies. Commuting to Denman and Hornby, finding wildflowers and butterflies to photograph, research, design, layout, etc. ... I think I've bitten off more than I can chew, but I'm giving it my best shot and hoping for a pre-Christmas publication date. It's been tedious but quite fascinating learning about red maids, poverty clover, sand verbenas, Propertius Duskywings, Western Pine Elfins, and all those wonderful things I never knew existed.

What about the birds? They're being neglected a bit but not forgotten. This morning as I was making my coffee and watching the birds at the feeders I wondered when my Black-headed Grosbeaks would show up. A few seconds later a pair of Black-headed Grosbeaks landed on the feeder! I don't know if they nest around here but I've seen them for about 5 years in a row now. I was surprised to see the pair together as in the past I only saw one at a time.

A second incident involved my Pileated Woodpeckers. While working outside I heard them calling frantically from the neighboring forest. As I walked down to see what was happening, a Red-tailed Hawk flew out of the forest with the Pileated's in hot pursuit. The Red-tailed landed in an arbutus, but the Pileated's kept strafing it until it left. I didn't see the hawk carrying any victim so I hope there wasn't any predation. I rarely see any Red-tailed's around here so I was extra-surprised at its presence.

It's been so long since I presented at the Tofino Shorebird Festival on May 7 that I thought I had already posted my report. Thinking back, I had posted a summary to the BCVIBIRDS Yahoo group and also drafted part of a newspaper article, but all I did here was upload the photos. By the way, if you've never attended the festival, put it on your bucket list. The shorebirds alone are worth it, but there is also a full schedule of events - trips, activities, and presentations. This was the 14th year of the festival, and the committee deserves kudos for their continuing efforts in conservation and environmental education. You never know what interesting shorebirds will show up. This year there was (and still is) a Great Egret as well as a Cattle Egret and American Avocet to spice up the regular line up of peeps, Whimbrels, and Red Knots.

May 6 - The day before the festival I stopped at French Creek for a last look at the Bonaparte Gulls. There were only about 20 left, and they looked handsome in their solid black hoods. The Bonies were foraging at the water's edge with a flock of shorebirds.

The shorebirds included a number on Dunlin in breeding plumage.

This was the first least Sandpiper for me this spring.

A passing eagle flushed all the birds. As usual, their aerial ballet was an awesome spectacle. Notice the synchronization - darn, there's one Dunlin out of sync at the back of the line. I was surprised to see the bonies joining in and completely in synch.

All right let's all bank the other way. The little Dunlin still hasn't caught on.

On the way back to my car there were many Savannah Sparrows foraging on the rocks and in the weeds by the fenceline.

It wasn't difficult to get a few shots.

May 7 - Just before leaving for Tofino my resident Orange-crowned showed up on the apple tree. I couldn't resist my first photo op this year. It wasn't very cooperative, but I did get one shot before it flew.

I arrived in Tofino around 12:30 pm and after a leisurely and delicious lunch (wild salmon with green nettle sauce)at Sobo's, I checked in to Clayquot Orca Lodge and meandered down to the mudflats. On the way I was intrigued by an Orange-crowned Warbler foraging in the salmonberry bushes.

I thought it was foraging, but it had a sweet tooth and was just sipping nectar like the hummingbirds.

A few minutes later the festival's bird of honor, the Great Egret, flew in and proceeded to dine on the local cuisine.

I waited patiently for over an hour as the Great Egret slowed foraged towards me.

But, unfortunately, a group of birders emerged from the trail and off went the egret. I'll have to wait another day for the perfect photo.

Eventually, a Greater Yellowlegs headed my way and scored a good catch complete with salad in the shallow water near the shoreline.

It took a bit of juggling and manipulation to shake off the seaweed, but the yellowlegs made it look easy.

As they say, "To the victor goes the spoils." That should fill the tummy for a little while.

It was getting close to high tide and clusters of peeps were roosting at the water's edge for their afternoon siesta. Unfortunately, I was in the wrong spot to get shots of the Whimbrels and Red Knots, but I could see birders across the way who were in perfect position.

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May 8 - Sunday morning. The weather was perfect. I was down at the mudflats by 6:30 am to enjoy the beauty of the morning sunrise through the many islands silhouetted in the glassy calm waters. I regretted not having my regular lens with me. 300 - 800 mm isn't very good for scenry. By 7:00 I was over at Chesterman and had the whole beach to myself. Did you ever hear the joke about the guy who got arrested for blowing bubbles? I can't tell it here. These bubbles were on Chesterman Beach. I thought they would reflect a rainbow, but I guess the angle of the light wasn't quite right.

There weren't any large flocks of shorebirds on Chesterman, but there were many small flocks scattered everywhere. Dunlin were one of the more common shorebirds.

As usual they were non-stop foraging for worms and other creatures in the sand.

The most common shorebird on the beach was the Semipalmated Plover.

They are the most predictable as they run a few steps then stop and look - then forage or move on.

I only saw a few Sanderlings, but they were the most difficult to photograph.

They would run 6 to 10 meters between every forage.

They were also a little bigger than the plovers and peeps and moved a lot quicker.

I expected to see a few Western Sandpipers and I wasn't disappointed.

Like the Sanderlings, the westerns were fairly difficult to photograph. I tried to stay ahead of them, but it was a chore trying to keep up with their little legs.

Normally they would peck at some minute insect and scurry on. The best chance was when they had to stop and wrestle something like a stubborn worm.

There' something good under there.

Back to the races. It was a good workout for me to keep up the birds.

The big miss - On my way out of Tofino I stopped at Incinerator Rock and spotted 2 large shorebirds on the beach. I quickly parked, paid my ticket, and headed out with my camera. The birds looked like they were heading around the outside of the rock. I ran as fast as I could to surprise them on the other side. I got to a good positon then waited, and waited, and waited. I was perplexed. Where did they go. I slowly walked around to the other side watching the beach but there was nothing. The I looked up. The Whimbrels were staring me in the face about 5 meters away. As soon as I put my tripod down they flew and landed on the beach. All I got was a distant shot before they headed for the mudflats.

Unfortunately, I didn't have time to enjoy the rest of the day in Tofino, but I thoroughly enjoyed my brief visit to one of the most beautiful places on our Island. The scenery of Kennedy Lake, the mudflats, and Chesterman's was breath-taking; as usual, the shorebirds were magnificent; it was a privilege to be part of the shorebird festival; and it was a pleasure to be hosted by Monique at the Clayquot-Orca Lodge and bird refuge.

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Bird Poster

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

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PUBLICATIONS

VOLUME I & II BOOKS AVAILABLE AT

PARKSVILLE & QUALICUM - MULBERRYBUSH BOOKSTORES

NANAIMO - SAVE-ON FOODS (WOODGROVE),
SAVE-ON FOODS (COUNTRY CLUB), CHAPTERS, NANAIMO MAP & CHARTS

PORT ALBERNI - CLOCKTOWER GALLERY

COURTENAY - GRAHAM'S JEWELLERS

SIDNEY - VICTORIAN BIRD HOUSE, TANNER'S BOOKSTORE

COMOX - BLUE HERON BOOKS

BOWSER - LIGHTHOUSE GIFTS

DEEP BAY - SHIP & SHORE

SAANICH - WILD BIRDS UNLIMITED

VICTORIA - BOLEN BOOKS, MUNRO'S, CROWN PUBLICATIONS, IVY'S

CAMPBELL RIVER - SAVE-ON FOODS, COHO BOOKS, CAMPBELL RIVER MUSEUM

DUNCAN - VOLUME 1 BOOKSTORE

CHEMAINUS - WILLOW"S WILD BIRD STORE

LADYSMITH - SALAMANDER BOOKS

NANOOSE - SCHOONER COVE MARINA

LAKE COWICHAN - GALLOPING MOON GALLERY

TOFINO - BOTANICAL GARDENS

QUADRA ISLAND - EXPLORE & BOOK BONANZA

LANGFORD - WILD BIRD CENTER

SOOKE - READING ROOM BOOKSTORE

SOOKE - MUSEUM

Port Hardy - MUSEUM

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