Incredibly, we awoke this morning to snow on the ground and snow in the air.
I grumbled for a few minutes, put on another pair of socks, and set out to meet the group for another day’s birding in urban Vancouver. We started at sunrise at Vanier Park, where the little pond did its work for us: the drake Eurasian Wigeon was on the water, probably reluctant to graze on snow-covered lawns, and a marvelously tiny Cackling Goose, no doubt the one present for some days now, was floating among the Mallards.
Our first big surprise, though, came before we even got to the edge of the water. The caterwauling of Northwestern Crows barely drew my attention; they seem to cry wolf every morning on the English Bay shoreline, and long minutes of staring into the treetops has never produced so much as a glimpse of anything other than more crows. Happily, we paused to look at the flock anyway as it came out from behind the trees, and this time they actually had something: a Short-eared Owl was flying away as fast as it could, but it was no match for the speed and skill of the crows, which struck the owl half a dozen times as we watched the mob and its victim fly ever higher and ever farther out over the water.
Warmed by excitement, we got back in the vehicles and headed west to Jericho Park.
Just as we arrived, the skies brightened and the snow stopped; all we had to worry about were the great gloppy chunks of wet snow falling from the branches, several of which scored direct hits on each of us as the morning went on.
Even when the early sun made a valiant effort to break out, the ponds and woods were fairly quiet. We found a single female Eurasian Wigeon among the Mallards and American Wigeons, and Varied Thrushes and American Goldfinches paused for excellent views in the treetops. The real fun, though, was on, and over, English Bay.
Big flocks of Surf and White-winged Scoters shared the bay with decent numbers of Common and Red-throated Loons and a few Horned and Western Grebes. Red-breasted Mergansers, newly arrived, are molting into their bright basic plumage, and you can’t complain about a day when you see almost (almost) as many Common as Barrow’s Goldeneye.
The day’s best bird, and the day’s worst bird, came while I was scoping out beyond the middle of the bay. Pelagic Cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Horned Grebe, Mew Gull … Ancient Murrelet! The bird was distant and active, and I got to see it twice for a total of two or three seconds–and that was two or three seconds more than anyone else in the group got, transforming a great sighting into a frustrating experience. Maybe Monday, when we’re riding the ferry to Active Pass and Swartz Bay. Maybe. Fingers, toes, eyes crossed!
We tarried and scanned, but finally had to give up and move farther out the bay. Acadia Beach was nude of sunbathers, but very birdy where the snow had melted on the grass. A flock of at least eleven Varied Thrushes was with us the entire time, and a male Downy Woodpecker doubled the trip’s picid tally so far.
My wellies had kept my feet dry and bitter cold, so I was happy when early afternoon came and we headed back into Kitsilano for lunch. I think we’ll all sleep tonight with dreams of alcids in our heads–and awake in the morning looking forward to Westham Island and the wonders of Reifel.
