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title photo: Trumpeter Swans at Cowichan Bay
Losing It
Jan. 16/13 - Birding is half intuition and half skill. All the great birders have both. With diminished auditory and visual capacity, I rely mostly on intuition, and it had served me well for almost a decade. But all things must come to an end. For the past year I thought the birds were eluding me, but I have now come to the realization that something else was eluding me - my intuition. I'll give you two examples. On Jan. 1 the bright blue sky was beckoning for Boundary Bay. My intuition said go for it. Visions of Short-eared Owls, Harrier Hawks, and Snowy Owls swirled in my mind. The calm waters glistened in the sun as the 10:30 ferry skimmed across the strait. A huge pod of Dophins greeted us near Bowen Island as if to condone my trip. I was full of optimism while cruising across Lion's Gate half expecting to see the Little Gull that was frequenting Ambleside during the week. But, somewhere around Oak and 41st someone turned the lights out. The blue sky was replaced by an ominous curtain of gray mist. Hoping there would be an occasional break in the fog I continued on, but Boundary Bay was socked in. The Harriers and Shorteareds were everywhere appearing mystically like spirits out of haze. I half-heartedly took a few record shots but knew it was hopeless.
The only good news was that I had time to catch the 3:00 at Horsehoe Bay, but again my intuition failed me. I had the choice of taking the downtown route or Denman Street. I chose Denman. I didn't realize that it was Polar Bear Day. Traffic ground to an excrutiating halt at 2:00 pm while thousands of lunatic bathers streamed towards the figid waters of English Bay. By 2:15 I had gone 3 blocks. The CKWX traffic report announced that the ferry was 95% full. I finally made it to Georgia by 2:30 only to hear that the ferry was now full. When I bought my ticket at 2:40 the agent said I probably had to wait for the 5:00 pm ferry. I sat in the long line-up contemplating fish 'n chips at Trolls when the ferry docked at 2:50. Our lineup started moving at 3:00. I expected to be stopped at the lower level when the ferry was full. I held my breath as I reached the lower level. The cars were still being waved on. I finally took a breath when I parked on the main deck of the ferry. I looked behind me. There were still at least 20 empty spots as we sailed away. Finally something went rigt for me, but if my intuition were working, I would have stayed home to start with.
The second situation was just as bad. I had two meetings in Victoria on Jan. 11. My last meeting ended at 2:30. I had the choice of looking for the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker at Foul Bay Road or checking for a Swamp Sparrow at Viaduct Flats. I chose the Swamp Sparrow which was a no-show. When I got home I checked the website and cursed when I saw that the Yellow-bellied was seen and photographed at 3:30, precisely when I could have been there. My intuition had failed again. So, once again I have little to offer. This morning I contemplated twitching the mega-rarity Red-flanked Blue Tail in New Westminster, but since I had blown one of my trips 10 days earlier, I decided not to. My intuition told me to work on my new book instead.
It's always a treat to see the male Green-winged Teals and a challenge to get a good photo. The textures and colours are truly amazing, and I'm still waiting for the ideal situation for the perfect photo. San Malo is a good place to find them at high tide.
The only problem at San Malo is that I'm often looking down at the birds. That is never a good angle for taking pictures.
During the snow in December, Dave Finn alerted me to a pair of Gadwalls in one of the ponds at Fairwinds. In all the years I've been birding, I'd never seen Gadwalls there.
I finally got around to checking for the Gadwalls two weeks later after the next snowfall. To my surprise the Gadwalls were still there, but there were six instead of two.
Oh yes, back to my infamous trip to Boundary Bay. The Dolphins were amazing near Bowen Island, but here's where I had a premonition of things to come. I got two clicks out of the camera, and then it died. That has never happened before. I checked the battery before I left home and thought I had at least a hundred shots left.
You just can't correct fog. Fog is just natural noise. The individual droplets of fog simply block out individual pixels on the sensor. This House Finch was as close as I wanted, but there was no chance of a good photo.
At ten meters there was no hope of getting a decent shot of the Marsh Wren even it was posing for me.
California dreaming - Bob D. called me on Jan. 2 to report a funny eagle at Wall Beach. It was funny because it was wearing a name tag like a Walmart greeter. Bob's eagle was a juvenile Bald Eagle named K 21. You can't see the K because it is above the 21 and under the feathers. K-21 was raised on Catalina Island in California. What's it doing here? Probably waiting for the herring run in about six or seven weeks.
Jan. 2 was a sunny day, and I did check a few of my favorite spots. At French Creek I spotted a male Common Merganser coming in for a landing.
I still think it's one of the most difficult birds to photograph. I was lucky just to get it in reasonable focus let alone get the exposure correct.
Another perfect two-point landing. Those big webbed feet are good for more than swimming.
Waiting for the Peregrine - When I was golfing on Dec. 30 I hit my drive towards the pond on the 18th hole. When I got there I was surprised to see a peregrine plucking a wigeon right next to my ball. Of course, I didn't have a camera in my car like I usually do. I went back a few days later and waited for the Peregrine, but all I saw were wigeons.
The wigeons were quite predictable. Every once in awhile a few would fly onto the grass. I entertained myself by working on a few flight shots.
On Jan.3 I decided to escape the fog in Nanoose Bay by making a poster delivery to Cowichan Bay. A few years ago I used to get regular requests for posters. All I had was my giant 64"x34" which cost me $150. I actually sold two and donated one to Swan Lake. I finally got it shrunk to 32x17 which was a decent size, and made them available for $32 including lamination. That's when Murphy's Law kicked in and the orders dried up. I managed to sell 2 in 4 years. I didn't hesitate when I got the call from Ron and Denyse for two posters and a book in Cowichan Bay. After my delivery I stopped at Cowichan Bay which was very peaceful and calm with very few birds. The only one in range was a Common Goldeneye.
Art Mann Park was also perfect for photography, but the Mallards and coots were less tan inspiring. A couple of Buffleheads briefly came into range for a couple of shots. A Double-crested Cormorant cruised in jus before I left. I was tempted to turn around just in case the cormorant grabbed a big catfish, but my intuition told me to head home.
Jan. 10 - I had time to stop at Swan Lake before my meeting on Jan 10. I was hoping for some Anna's Hummingbirds, but they buzzed about with no interest in posing. My consolation was a pair of Hooded Mergansers. The males always seem to put on a show. This one is pretending to be a giraffe.
I waited for the pair to turn their heads slightly so their bills would catch the light, but that didn't happen.
There was no problem when they were separated. Here's a pose I want to get with nice blue water or sky in the background. It isn't the most dynamic pose, but look at the nice round head and crest. It's not as easy as you think.
When in Rome do what the Romans do. My meetings were out in Saanich so I joined the Romans at Maber Flats. The shallow pond was perfect for Shoveler Ducks.
A Change of Focus
As mentioned in my last journal, my plans for 2013 include a book on butterflies. Since then I have been overwhelmed by the enthusiasm and support offered by all the major experts in the butterfly community. Cris Guppy replied immediately to offer his enthusiatic support and since then, Norbert Kondla and Jon Shepard have also offered to help any way they can. The big news is that that our own island expert entomologist, James Miskelly, is joining me as a co-author and will be constructing distribution maps, assisting with the photography, and vetting the write-ups.
On the technical side of the production, I have my new ISBN number and a quote for the printing cost from Friesens. Tentatively, I'm aiming for October printing and November release. My decision to only publish a 1,000 copies hasn't changed so it's essential for anyone who wants a copy to pre-order by emailing me. I'm hoping to sell all books directly which means they might not be available in the stores. So far I have orders from as far as Minnesota.
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Bird Poster
My poster is on display at: Victoria - Swan Lake Nature House. (Note: This poster has been produced in a more manageable size and is now available for $20 unlaminated and $32 laminated.)
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PUBLICATIONS
