Apr. 25/05 - The summery sunny weather continued for another day, and I couldn't resist taking another look at the Horned Grebes at Brickyard if they were still around. There was just a light ripple on the water - lots of Marbled Murrulets, but no sign of Horned Grebes. Was I right yesterday about them being ready to leave? I waited to see if any of the Murrulets would come close to shore. One came fairly close, but most stayed out a long ways. My only other visitor was a long-haired Double-crested Cormorant that landed nearby, then left quickly when it spotted me.

NO LOOK-ALIKES - It seems that every Murrulet looks different - probably in different stages of molt or do they each have unique patterns?

BEST HAIRDO - So what if the Double-crested Cormorant was the only bird I saw with a hairdo? It was still pretty cooool!

OMNIPRESENT - Has anyone ever done a census of Rufous Hummers? They seem to be everywhere including Dolphin Lake.

SHOWTME - REDWING STYLE - The Dolphin Lake Redwing Blackbird is always a primetime performer. Yes, it's doing the Dolphin Lake pole dance!

Apr. 26/05 - With tax time weighing on my mind, I decided to procrastinate a few more hours with a little morning birding. I wanted to check a few Horned Grebe haunts to see if they had indeed left town. I also wanted to see if the Kaye Road Olive-sided had arrived back from Chile. Well, there wasn't a a Horned Grebe in sight from Nanoose to Parksville. The mating ritual I saw on Sunday wasn't a mating ritual. It was a farewell dance! And, to make it zero for 2, the Olive-sided wasn't around either. I know, I should have stayed home and worked on my taxes, but it wasn't all for naught. There were a few other birds around.

BUNNY HOP - Just to get a hop on my photo day, I clicked a few frames of this little Sooke Bunny at Rathtrevor. What's that got to do with birds you ask? Remember that everything is inter-related. The Sooke Bunny population continues to expand exponentially, and that should benefit the owls.

ONE DAY BEHIND - With Chris reporting Blue-winged Teal in Victoria yesterday, I knew we wouldn't be far behind. There were still a few Green-winged Teal at San Malo and amongst them and a few peeps was a Blue-winged Teal.

COUNTRY COUSINS - I'm sure the Blue-winged Teal appreciated a few Green-wings to keep it company. It's no fun grovelling by yourself.

PEEPING TIME - With the 1000's of peeps across the water at Boundary Bay, I knew there would be a few over here. There were about 30 Westerns and Leasts and 3 black-bellied Dunlin at San Malo. There were none at French Creek or Admiral's.

RASCAL LANE - On the way down Kaye Road, I thought I would stop at Rascal Lane to see if there were any "Spotties" or Solitary Sandpipers around. There were 2 pair of Buffleheads in the pond, but that was it. Disappointed, I was just about to leave when the gentle whirr of a sewing machine caught my ear. It was my first Chipping Sparrow of the year, and we had a good visit for about 20 minutes.

MASCOT - You won't believe this, but it's true. When I was at San Malo, a Greater Yellowlegs flew in announcing itself with a fairly musical call. Later, when I was doing the drive-through at Parksville Beach, what should I hear and see? The Yellowlegs flying in directly from San Malo. I must admit I didn't see him a French Creek or Admiral's, but after I bid farewell to the Chipping Sparrow at Rascal, guess who I heard and saw? The exact, same Yellowlegs! How do I know? Long, upcurved bill, long yellowlegs - looks like positive I.D. to me. Hey, twice is a coincidence, but three times? You can't dispute that, can you? Anyway, now it's tax time - time to support the sponsorship program...