Donna and I started 2013 off with a pre-dawn run up to Comox to see if we could add the Citrine Wagtail to the 2013 list. We hiked out to the regular spot, and stood around for about an hour wondering where the bird, and the other birders, had gotten to.
Standing on a wet, muddy road in near freezing temperatures on a dull January morning is not without it's benefits though, especially when one is on the Courtenay estuary. We had five Tundra Swans fly over, amongst the hundreds of Trumpeters going this way and that. The calls of so many Trumpeter Swans gathered in one spot was wonderful in and of itself. We were also able to study the myriad plumage differences amongst 1st winter Thayer's Gulls, as there were about 100 feeding in the partially flooded field where the wagtail should have been. Other gulls, mostly Mew Gulls, numbered about 1500. American Wigeons were abundant in the fields as well, with about 2000 sharing the fields with at least 11 Eurasian Wigeons and a scattering of Mallards and Northern Pintail. Keeping a close on this winged buffet, was a very dangerous looking adult Peale's Peregrine Falcon, and 25 or more Bald Eagles. In the hedgerows, Fox, Song, Golden-crowned and White-crowned Sparrows kept us occupied trying to spy something different. Evening Grosbeaks called from the distance, and small flocks continually flew overhead, along with clouds of Pine Siskins and the occasional small flock of Purple Finches. But no wagtail.
Eventually, a little after 09:00, Ed from Quadra walked out and shared the news that the wagtail had moved about two fields over, and there was already a crowd of birders there looking at it. Apparently, it pays to check the internet chat groups or have friends in the loop. But such is life, being a Luddite and a social outcast. We thanked Ed, and rushed over to see it.
The Citrine Wagtail was easy to find, as it was about 60 meters in front of a half-dozen birders sporting various vintages of optics, typical western Canadian winter clothing, and some well earned New Years Day hangovers. The bird was now in a spot that I used to bird now and then, and as happy as I was to see it, I was also reminded of all the great birds I had seen at this site previously, and how much fun I had birding here with friends and family in the past. Friends and family that I have not seen in a very long time. But that was a long time ago. Before the dark times...before the Empire.
New Years day often brings such thoughts to the fore, and 2013 maybe more so than in the past. Never have I felt such dread at the direction things seem to be headed, and rarely have I felt so alone in times as confusing as these. But at the same time, never have I felt that change was so close, and that better times are waiting for us, if we would just push a little harder to catch up to them. If a little grey bird from Asia can survive a winter alone on the Courtenay Estuary, our obstacles should be easily overcome.
Happy New Year friends. May 2013 be entirely different than 2012.
For some time now, I have suspected that the numbers of Turkey Vultures migrating through Metchosin and East Sooke Park each Autumn are probably greater than the total breeding population on Vancouver Island. So where are these other Turkey Vultures coming from? We know that some of them are coming from the southern and northern Gulf Islands, and a few migrate across Johnstone Strait onto Northern Vancouver Island. But what about the large breeding population on the Sunshine Coast? Is it is possible that these birds somehow make their way across the Salish Sea onto Vancouver Island somehow? The distance across much of the Salish Sea is even greater than that across Jaun de Fuca Strait, and would seem to be a barrier to any of the migratory raptors that do travel well across water. Some recent observations from Moorecroft Regional Park in Nanoose, has made me wonder if perhaps the Salish Sea isn't the barrier it was previously believed to be.
On September 27th, 2011, we were doing some sea-watching from Vesper Point, in Moorecroft Regional Park. At app. 12:40, a kettle of 14 Turkey Vultures were spotted, fairly high, and north of Gerald Island. These birds were flapping hard, and seemed to be loosing altitude fairly quickly. When they reached Gerald Island, they began soaring again, and quickly gained some altitude, before soaring ashore over First Bay in Moorecroft, and then continuing on towards Nanoose Hill. About 15 minutes later, another kettle of 17 Turkey Vultures appeared app. two kilometres to the northwest, very high up and soaring towards Gerald Island. They also began catching thermals as soon as they reached Gerald Island, and it didn't take them long to reach the Moorecroft shoreline. Interestingly, this kettle also contained a Cooper's Hawk and an American Kestrel. Although I had little time today to perform active monitoring, I did notice three Turkey Vultures soaring ashore from the direction of Gerald Island.
So where are these birds coming from? The total breeding population on Gerald Island this year appeared to be one pair, and the adults and young left the island back in late August and spent several weeks in Moorecroft before going elsewhere. I would imagine that the total breeding population of the two Ballenas Islands is similar, and it is possible that they made their way onto Vancouver Island previously anyway. I can only think of two explanations. These birds are flying directly across from the Sunshine Coast (app. 28 kms) or from Lasqueti Island (app. 10 kms). I would think that direct crossing from the Sunshine Coast is unlikely. It is simply too far. Lasqueti Island is certainly within the range of a migrating Turkey Vulture though. And there are certainly more than 30 pairs of Turkey Vultures nesting on Lasqueti. How do I know this? Because for years I have counted them as they migrated from Lasqueti across to Parksville, usually coming ashore near the Englishman River Estuary, a distance of about 17 kms. The problem is, I see Turkey Vultures migrating across there every year. Why would they suddenly begin migrating in the other direction?
I am beginning to wonder if the Turkey Vultures we have seen over the past two days are not actually from the Sunshine Coast, and are using Texada Island as a migratory Stepping Stone. Looking at a map, it becomes obvious that if Turkey Vultures do migrate between the Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island, this is likley the route that thyey take. Using Google Earth, I made the following calculations;
Smuggler Cove (north of Sechelt) to Thormanby Island = 1.5 kms
Thormanby Island to Texada Island = 3.5 kms
Texada Island to West Ballenas Island = 12 kms
West Ballenas to Gerald Island = 3 kms
Gerald Island to Moorecroft Regional Park = 1 km
All of this seems entirely possible for a migrating Turkey Vulture to accomplish. Now, with only about a week left in the migratory period, I need to do a lot more monitoring to see if this is indeed the case. Exactly the type of mystery that fascinates me.
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