Thursday 8 December 2016

Last-minute Gifts

After a lovely breakfast at Le Petit Chou, in Nanaimo, we saw a hawk in a tree. We quickly pointed our binoculars skywards and identified it as a Cooper's hawk. While we were staring at this beautiful bird, a passer-by read the universal language (bird in tree + people with binoculars = birders) and gave us a helpful tip about a mountain bluebird at Pipers Lagoon in Nanaimo.
We didn't have much to do that day, but we knew what we were going to do now! A mountain bluebird is a rare surprise on Vancouver Island and I was thrilled to find it before the calendar turns to 2017 and Big Year ends. The clock is ticking and I would very much appreciate help finding Ancient Murrelets and owls. And any other birds that aren't on my list, of course. (See link)
http://birdymcbirdface.blogspot.ca/2016/04/2016-list-of-birds.html
Ancient Murrelets! We spent the whole two-hour ferry ride from Duke Point to Tsawassen, sitting outside in the freezing rain looking for the little buggers, with no luck.


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5 comments:

  1. Claire8 December 2016 at 21:44

    What a find !!! So excited for you Toby ! x

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  2. Melissa Hafting9 December 2016 at 10:44

    Good job Toby wishing you lots of birds in December to finish off your amazing big year!

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  3. Unknown9 December 2016 at 20:27

    Show me how you took that photo! Please. Good writing too.

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  4. Unknown9 December 2016 at 20:28

    Oops! You'd better show me how to comment on your posts. It's your neighbour, Kathleen.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Unknown1 January 2017 at 09:38

    Toby, it was great to hear your end-of-the-Big-Year interview on CBC's North by Northwest on December 31st! You are very entertaining. You're also a great "educator". You have so much to share. Thank you for sharing your Big Year with the public. All the Best and many, many bird sightings in 2017!

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