Title photo - Harlequins at Qualicum Beach

April 13, 2010 - Transition Time

Here today, gone tomorrow... On April 9th I spent two hours at the mouth of the Englishman River enjoying the splendid view of thousands of ducks as the massive flotillas of divers and dabblers cruised in formation to harvest the helpless crops of herring larvae. It is difficult to imagine that there could be up to 6 million herring eggs per square meter and many off those are now in its larval form. It is what the ducks have been waiting for. Herring larvae is the most vulnerable stage of the herrings life as it is completely at the mercy of the currents, tides, and predators. For many ducks it is the last meal before they start their migrations to their nesting grounds, and as I write many are well on their way. I did a quick check yesterday from Parksville to Qualicum, and all I found were a few straggling American Wigeons.

Meanwhile, the influx of summer residents is steadily increasing. My first Orange-crowned Warbler greeted me as I left the house on Sat. morning to go to the Brant Festival Woodcarvers Show where I was one of the guest artist-photographers. Yellow-rumped warblers have been in my yard for three weeks; the first few Cassin's Vireos have been calling from the tall trees; my Rufous Hummingbirds are now drinking close to three cups a day; Jon Carter reported one of the first Mountain Bluebirds of the spring about a week ago; this morning my Violet-green Swallows might have returned as three of them swirled around my yard for about ten minutes; and my seed feeder consumption has dipped by 50% as many of my yard birds have headed for their nesting grounds.

If you guessed that I'll be featuring my hummers in this journal, you're correct. I'll also have a few parting shots of the ducks and some photos of the more common local breeding birds that I often neglect like the good old American Robin. Hope you enjoy the photos.

Apr. 1 - Large numbers of robins have been stopping on my lawn lately, but the ones today caught my attention. There were about two dozen and they all had dark orange chests.

I thought they might have been a bunch of old bachelors that hung out together, but then a few other possibilities occured to me. One was diet. Apparently Western tanagers owe their colour to diet. What if this bunch of robins all fed on a particular berry for the winter? So many questions ...

I think I'll just stick with my original thought. It's not uncommon for adults of a species to migrate together.

April 1 - A few of my hummers have been here for about two weeks now. I think the bulk of them arrive by mid-April.

There's always a few males around, but only one seems to be dominant.

Harry was the first male to take command. Harry has no green on his back and he has a nick on his bill. He decided to guard the feeder today which was my signal to put up another one.

Apr. 8 - Dipping in on the Dippers

I've been meaning to check in on the Dippers since March 23 when the chum fry started their migration to the sea. I finally caught up with the Dippers and the chum today, and I wasn't disappointed. Caddis fly larvae was still on the Dipper's menu.

After a few body slams on the water, the stone shell is removed and dinner is served. Looks tasty doesn't it?

Fish seems to be high on everybody's food list these days, and that includes the Dipper's.

Right now it's easy pickin's as the chum tentatively make their way to the sea.

After the Dipper had a chum for lunch, it collected one for the nestlings.

No sense making two trips when one can deliver two meals at a time.

Apr. 8 - Last visit with the Harlequins.

The Harlequins at Qualicum always provide me with many days of pleasure during the winter, and I wanted one last visit before they head for their nesting grounds.

Early morning is the best time because they love to sit on the rocks to preen and rest.

I'm not sure this duck was spooked or it just decided to go for a swim.

Meanwhile, another Harlequin flew in to join the morning siesta.

It won't be long before this pair is building a nest near some creek on some mountain.

Apr. 9 - I spent the morning at the mouth of the Englishman enjoying the large flocks of ducks as well as the Brant. Brant flocks were flying by regularly, some heading east while others headed west.

I'm not sure if the same Brant were going back and forth or different flocks trading positions.

Regardless, it's always a pleasure to see them in flight. It won't be long before they head north.

There were also a lot of ducks in the air as they seemed to be trading places as well. American Wigeons seemed to fly a little closer to shore providing better photo opportunities.

I saw several Eurasians yesterday, but today it was just the Americans.

There were many more Barrow's Goldeneyes on hand today.

Herring wasn't the only thing in mind for this pair.

I don't mean to be voyeuristic, but it's always fascinating to observe the mating rituals of the ducks.

It seems rather brutal to be pulling the lady's hair during conception, but it seems to be a part of the process.

I hope these two male Greater Scaup aren't a couple.

It's hard to believe, but this is the first shot I've ever taken of a female Northern Pintail in flight. I've definitely been guilty of focussing on the males.

Part of the scene today was the regular passage of Bonaparte's Gulls. It was easy to hear them coming with their raspy calls.

Back on dry land the academy award-winning Killdeer at the PNW Raptor Centre was busy decoying people and dogs away from the nest site in the middle of the parking lot.

Apr. 11 - Here's Henry! There's been a changing of the guard at my feeders. Henry looks fierce doesn't he?

I'm not sure if Harry has moved on or he has taken a secondary role since Henry arrived.

Remember that Harry had nicks on either side of his bill. Henry's bill is unmarked. I haven't posted a backside photo, but Henry has a lot of green on his back.

I've mentioned before that the best time to photograph the male Rufous is when he is guarding a feeder. He will sit for hours. If you are patient and lucky enough, you can get shots of him preening and stretching.

I didn't have time today so I had to be content with a few glistening gorget photos.

Apr. 12 - The Bulrush Trick

Thanks to Anne Nightingale I always pick a few bulrushes for the female hummers. I stick them in a bucket of sand and the hummers seem to appreciate it very much. I wonder what they would use if the bulrushes weren't available?

Here's a good load for the nest. Coincidently, on my travels today I saw a Chickadee and Bushtit gathering bulrush fluff today.

I keep watching for a hummer with a low-level nest, but so far all of them have headed high into the surounding firs.

I have a lot of difficulty photographing the coloured neck feathers of the female without the shadow of the bill getting in the way.

Wow! Doesn't the back of the female hummer look spectacular?

One last bulrush shot ...

My currant bush is very poor this year. A lot of branches have died and the blossums are very small. It hasn't been a great attraction for the hummers.

I had to wait quite awhile for a hummer to visit.

I had to be quick to get a few shots before the hummer took off.

There wasn't enough nectar to keep the hummer interested. It headed back to the feeder.

It's been a long time since I've photographed a Bewick's.

The best time to catch the Bewick's is when it's engrossed in song.

While it's singing you can always get a little closer.

Here's a few shots to finish the journal - a Chestnut-backed Chickadee, a female and male Red-winged Blackbirds, a Red-breasted Nuthatch, and Reddy, my yard squirrel.

**************************************************************************************

**************************************************************************************

Bird Poster

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


**************************************************************************************




PUBLICATIONS




VOLUME I & II BOOKS AVAILABLE AT


PARKSVILLE & QUALICUM - MULBERRYBUSH BOOKSTORES

NANAIMO - SAVE-ON FOODS (WOODGROVE),
SAVE-ON FOODS (COUNTRY CLUB), CHAPTERS, FALCONER BOOKS

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



[RETURN TO CONTENTS PAGE]


Comments, questions, or book orders?



[Contact Mike]