JOURNAL 44 - THE NOVICE BIRDER

Sept. 3/04

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In the past week I made 2 photo safaris - Tofino and Victoria with virtually nothing worth showing. In Tofino I had a distant shot of a Meadowlark just for the record and a distant flight shot of some Western Sandpipers which I will show you just for fun. On the Victoria trip there was nothing interesting except maybe the wounded Trumpeter in Cowichan which I posted on the Yahoo Vanisland site. Back at home (mid-island), a trip to Cassidy (Aug. 30) produced a few worthwhile photos including a distant shot of the endangered Island Vesper Sparrow. A second trip (Sept. 2) resulted in several presentable photos including the Wilson's Warbler and the Common Nighthawk. Now if there were only a way to attract more rarities to our stomping grounds ...


WESTWARD HO! - Multiply this frame by 20 and you'll have an idea of the size of the Western Sandpiper flock we encountered on Chesterman's Beach (Tofino) on Aug. 27. Actually, the flock was resting on the beach until its siesta was rudely interrupted by a Peregrine Falcon.

DINING ON THE FINEST - The favorite food of the American Goldfinch is the thistle seed. (Apr. 30/04 - Cassidy)

ROOM IN THE BROOM - You have to go through at least 20 Savannah Sparrows before you find a Vesper at the Cassidy Airport. (Apr. 30/04 - Cassidy)

ON THE BRINK - The Island Subspecies of the Vesper has been reduced to about 5 or 6 pairs.

YELLOW FELLOW - I always associate a red head with the Western Tanager, but I shouldn't forget that the other half of the population is mostly yellow and green. (Sept. 2/04 - Nile Creek)

NILE CREEK FALLOUT - The trees were buzzing with yellow today when I stopped at Nile Creek. Some of them just happened to be Wilson's Warblers which was a new bird for me. (Sept. 2/04)

ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER - The Orange-crowned was the 3rd species of yellow bird my camera found at Nile Creek. I wonder if there were other yellow species present. (Sept. 2/04)

ARROWSMITH BIRD - There always seems to be birds around the bushes near Arrowsmith Golf Course. Today's feature was the Hammond Flycatcher.

SLEEPING ON THE JOB? - I guess when you work the night shift like the Common Nighthawk, it's okay to sleep during the day. Although its eyes were open in this picture, it didn't take long for them to close again. According to Sibley's, the rufous adult is infrequent and found mostly in the southeast. Do you agree or disagree?(Sept. 2/04 - Kaye Road) -


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