Birding in BC Community

I was trying to photograph a White-breasted Nuthatch and this guy showed up! Here's a close-up of a Red Crossbill ... Knox Mountain Park, Kelowna, BC (right near the caretaker's cottage).

BillGyles wrote: ↑Oct 06 7:18 pm Norther Shoveler pair at Buttertubs Marsh, 2021-10-06.

I forgot the video.

Surf Scoters at Blue Heron Beach, near Ladysmith, Vancouver Island. I have not seen more than about 20 in a flock yet this season.

Black Oystercatcher, Blue Heron Beach. Mystery grebe at the beginning.

Golden Crowned Sparrow.
I met this GCSP on the way back from a walk to the end of Jack Point. I usually see cormorants and eagles there, but not today, so this was a treat.

Good captures Bill! Reminds me to go through my footage to see if I can add to the list. Have the camera each time I head out into the field but target birds not staying put for a decent capture. Lots of leaf, stick and blurry blob birds!

Cheers,

Red Necked Grebe. Blue Heron Beach, 8 Oct. This juvenile RNGr did not spend much time on the surface. It looks around before diving but does not seem to be looking into the water. Perhaps it is checking for gulls that would try to steal a catch. Just 50 meters or so away some gulls were diving onto Harlequin ducks as they surfaced. Blue Heron Beach is very busy with birds this year. Perhaps I am just paying more attention.

Slavonian/ Horned Grebes. I cut out lots of footage of me trying to find the grebes surfacing after they dive. When one grebe dives the other one always follows. I have seen that this is the case for groups of Harlequin ducks also. I wonder if this cooperative or competitive behaviour?

Short-eared Owl


Hard to spot in Victoria as few winter here and there are so many places they can hang out. We were fortunate to stumble across this short-eared owl and it was unexpected. Initally it was soaring high above (where you find raptures aloft) and continued to soar out of sight. Later in appearred out of know-where and flew right past us and it did a hunting run over the flooded field before it again flew away out of sight. Really cool to see.

Black Turnstones.
We spent 2 days at Qualicum Beach and saw more birds than I have seen before. The Black Turnstones were settling in for the night, then some flew off to feed on a nearby seaweed patch. I think the larger grey birds are Grey/ Black-Bellied Plovers. There are various gulls present which I am trying to identify. I think I see California and Mew gulls.

Grey/ Black-Bellied Plover.
Columbia Beach, Oct 20.
I don't know why this plover is in such a hurry to get to that piece of seaweed.

Bonapart's Gulls. Little Qualicum Estuary, Oct 19.
I could not get any closer because I was on the wrong side of the river. In the second half I focused on the birds in the water. Too far away to see anything clearly, but I was impressed by how many Common Mergansers there were.

Mew/ Short-Billed Gull
Filmed at Columbia Beach, Oct 18. I wasn't quite sure it was a Mew gull while I was filming. Looking through my footage from the trip I also found a Ring-Billed Gull that I did not notice in the crowd at the Little Qualicum Estuary. One for the life list. Unfortunately the video is quite short and a bit blurry. I am finding that taking videos is very useful in learning how to identify in the field. Thanks for starting this challenge, Kevin.

Red Breasted Mergansers.
There was nothing new at Blue Heron Beach so I drove a mile or so to Robert's Memorial Park where I was rewarded with a flock of Red Breasted Mergansers, a Pigeon Guillemot, a Double Crested Cormorant and a pair of Horned Grebes. I think I will be going back. I am not sure that the flying mergansers and the swimming mergansers are the same flock, but it is likely as they were only 10 minutes and 200 m apart.

Pigeon Guillemot
Roberts Memorial Park, Yellowpoint. This appears to be a juvenile as the legs and feet are not bright red.