Mayne Island Conservancy Society

Latest BC News from Bird Studies Canada

Call for Volunteers: Shorebird Surveys, Coastal BC

22 March 2013 – Bird Studies Canada and Simon Fraser University are collaborating on a hemispheric-wide effort to study potential causes of declines of Western Sandpipers. Because they use many distinct migratory sites in the Salish Sea region, British Columbia is in the unique situation of supporting a large proportion of the Western Sandpiper population each year. This study aims to census about 20 sites in the Salish Sea and Vancouver Island, and northern Puget Sound Region. To cover this number of sites simultaneously, we are seeking help from volunteer birders.

If you’re skilled at shorebird identification and accurately estimating flock sizes (or are willing to learn estimation skills), please consider volunteering. A time commitment of three to four hours on April 28, and during two to three days on the weekends of July 19 and August 16, is required. Training will be available. The survey sites will focus on the following areas: Metro Vancouver, Victoria/Capital Region, Tofino, and Eastern Vancouver Island. If you’re interested in participating or learning more, please email David Hope (dhope@sfu.ca) or Karen Barry (bcprograms@birdscanada.org) with the subject line “WESA Survey,” and state which area you’d be willing to survey.

New Sightings for Mayne Island

• If you see or hear a "new arrival" in the coming Spring do let us know. You could phone Michael at 5745, or better yet, use the on-line form below. Photos can be attached to an email message sent to info@conservancyonmayne.com

Unusual or Rare Sightings

April 12, Alice Harris reports hearing a Western Screech Owl off Bowsprit - close to the "Level 3 Habitat" zone indicated on our Species Home Range maps.

January 31, Michael Dunn saw a Snowy Owl in the Glen Echo Road area. This is a very rare occurrence and the first he's observed in his 21 years on Mayne.

January 13 and 14, 2013 a Western Screech Owl, a bird species at risk, has been heard calling (there may be two) around Gallagher Bay and Purcell Roads.

January 12-14, 2013 a large flock of up to 1200 Surf Scoters has been seen along the Strait of Georgia side of Mayne Island feeding between Active Pass and Campbell Point. This is the largest single flock recorded for Mayne in the last 15 years at least.

December 31, 2012 An adult Golden Eagle observed over and around Reef Bay moving toward Edith Point. This is likely a first record for Mayne and this is not a very common observation for our area.

December 17, 2012 A pair of Yellow-shafted Flickers at Gallagher Bay Road and Purcell Road. While considered to be the same species as the Red-shafted Flicker (both classed as the Northern Flicker), it is still a striking bird to see.

December 15, 2012 Ringed-neck Duck sighted Windover Farm and Spotted Sandpiper at pond off Fernhill Road.

*   For complete listing of 2011-2012 sightings & arrivals visit our Sightings Archive

Christmas Bird Count 2012

The numbers for Mayne's Christmas Bird Count on December 15, 2012 were 71 species which represented 6,488 birds, a very good result considering the very strong winds and rain for the day. The grand total for our count area (Penders, Saturna and Mayne) was 83 species and 13,486 birds.

The full report is now posted below.

Birding Refresher Course had Good Results

A wonderful break from the cloud, wind and rain, Sunday, December 2, 2012 proved to be a beautiful sunny day for ten bird enthusiasts. The birds, too seemed to be rejoicing in the brighter day judging from the numbers and diversity of species seen. The outing was hosted by the Mayne Island Conservancy under the wing (pun intended) of Michael Dunn. It was to give people a chance to improve their field observation skills as well as practice techniques for counting large flocks. Over the course of about 3 hours, the group visited Miners Bay park and bay, Georgina Point, Merryman Road and Village Bay at the boat ramp. In all, 36 species were observed representing about 850 individuals. The highlight was seeing two Anna’s Hummingbirds in Miners Bay Park. A partial list of birds sighted and numbers follows. Note that this is not a complete listing of total numbers encountered.

• Miners Bay Park and Bay

  Pacific Loon – 42	Common Goldeneye – 2	Double-crested Cormorant – 8	Pelagic Cormorant – 2
  Bufflehead – 8	Bald Eagle – 4	Golden-crowned Kinglet – 14	House Sparrow – 6
  Song Sparrow – 3	Fox Sparrow – 1	Red-breasted Merganser – 4	Anna’s Hummingbird – 2
  Unidentified Gulls – 42	Spotted Towhee – 4

• Georgina Point

  Bald Eagle – 5	Bonaparte’s Gull – 15	Pacific Loon – 100+	Common Murre – 40
  Pigeon Guillemot – 4	Barrow’s Goldeneye – 26	Unidentified Gulls - 120	House Sparrow – 6
  Song Sparrow – 3	Fox Sparrow – 1	Red-breasted Merganser – 4

• Merryman Road

  Pine Siskin - ~350	Pacific Wren – 3	American Robin – 4	Northern Flicker – 3
  Red-shafted/Yellow-shafted Flicker hybrid – 1	Red Crossbill- 2	Song Sparrow – 1	Golden-crowned Kinglet – 4
  Dark-eyed Junco – 1	Bald Eagle – 2	Common Raven – 2	Red-breasted Nuthatch – 1
  Northwestern Crow – 3

• Village Bay

  Belted Kingfisher – 1	Bufflehead – 8	American Wigeon – 9	Glaucous-winged Gull – 4
  Mew Gull – 25	California Gull – 1	Double-crested Cormorant – 12	Pelagic Cormorant – 2
  Thayer’s Gull - 4	Common Merganser - 4

Christmas Bird Count Weather a Challenge

On December 15, 2012, Mayne Island birders awoke to rain, high winds and reduced visibility for their annual Christmas Bird Count. Undaunted, 31 people spent all or part of their day searching the forests, fields and waters of Mayne island to contribute to this annual North American ritual. At the post count gathering everyone commented on the low numbers they had tallied, citing the weather conditions as a major factor for the disappointing results. Despite this general feeling, the total numbers for this year’s count were surprisingly good. The Mayne Island total species count was 71 species, which is our average over the last five years, but below our highest (in recent history) of 80 (2004). The number of individual birds recorded was a different story. In all, we recorded 6,488 birds for the day. This is well above our average of 4,525 over the last five years and only slightly below our highest number recorded at 7,890 (again in 2004).

Within our count area, which we share with Saturna and the Penders, the total species count was 83, which is higher than last year’s total (81) but below the average of around 89 species. The total individuals tallied were 13,436, which is the average over the last 3 years.

Of course, the real story is within these totals. Even with the high winds, small flocking birds were abundant and in fact, dominated the high number spots. These included Pine Siskin (887), Dark-eyed Junco (810), Chestnut-backed Chickadee (395) and Golden-crowned Kinglet (329), which is just over 37% of all the birds seen. The marine waters were also a surprise in terms of numbers observed particularly within the sheltered bays and waterways around Mayne. Species sighted included Brandt’s Cormorant (701), an all-time Mayne Island count high, Surf Scoter (584), unidentified gull species (457), Barrow’s Golden-eye (356), Bufflehead (176), unidentified cormorant species (129) and Pacific Loon (128). These species represented about 39% of the total numbers.

Notable species for this year included two count records - Anna’s Hummingbird (21) overwintering populations continue to increase since our first winter record in 2004. Surfbird (101) numbers, despite the high tides and wind waves, were a count record high. Our ‘count bird’ (a species determined by consensus of the counters to be the best or rarest of the year’s count) was a Spotted Sandpiper seen on the shores of a freshwater pond. Other notables include Ring-necked Duck (1), Western and Red-necked grebe (5 and 2, respectively), Killdeer (4), Rhinoceros Auklet (2) and Savannah Sparrow (8).

We had one count week bird, the Yellow-shafted Flicker, which is no longer considered a separate species from the Red-shafted Flicker but collectively called the Northern Flicker - a pity. The yellow-shafted form is a striking bird with a bright red “moustache” (black for the red-shafted form) and spot on the back of the head. Its distinct yellow coloured wing and tail feather shafts are very visible when it is seen in flight. A pair were seen on December 17 and recorded.

Thanks to all the counters for this year, which was a count high and all the property owners who allowed access to their properties.

15-Dec-2012 COMPLETED CHECK LIST
SPECIES	TOTAL
Canada Goose	175
Trumpeter Swan
Eurasian Wigeon
American Wigeon	70
Mallard	22
Ring-necked Duck	1
Lesser Scaup
scaup sp.
Harlequin Duck	7
Surf Scoter	584	Chestnut-backed Chickadee
White-winged Scoter	5
Black Scoter
Long-tailed Duck
Bufflehead	176
Common Goldeneye	5
Barrow's Goldeneye	356
Hooded Merganser	16
Common Merganser	34
Red-breasted Merganser	7
Goldeneye sp.	155
Merganser sp.	24
Sooty Grouse		Red-breasted Nuthatch
California Quail
Red-throated Loon	4
Pacific Loon	128
Common Loon
loon sp.
Pied-billed Grebe
Horned Grebe	5
Red-necked Grebe	2
Western Grebe	5
Brandt's Cormorant	701
Double-crested Cormorant	48	Pine Siskin
Pelagic Cormorant	17
cormorant sp.	129
Great Blue Heron	1
Bald Eagle
Adult	22
Immature	3
Sharp-shinned Hawk	1
Cooper's Hawk	1	Barrow's Goldeneyes
Red-tailed Hawk	2
Peregrine Falcon
Virginia Rail
Coot
Killdeer	4
Black Oystercatcher	6
Spotted Sandpiper	1
Black Turnstone	15
Surfbird	101
Wilson's Snipe
Bonaparte's Gull	30	Brandt's and Pelagic Cormorants
Mew Gull	62
Ring-billed Gull
Thayer's Gull	7
Western Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull	35
Glaucous w x Western hybrid
Black-legged Kittiwake
gull sp.	457
California Gull
Common Murre	10
Pigeon Guillemot	4	Black Oystercatchers with Surfbirds and Black Turnstones
Marbled Murrelet	6
Rhinocerous Auklet	2
Alcid sp.	3
Rock Pigeon	35
Band-tailed Pigeon
Great Horned Owl
Northern Saw-whet Owl
Barred Owl		Pileated Woodpecker
Anna's Hummingbird	21
Belted Kingfisher	2
Red-breasted Sapsucker	1
Downy Woodpecker	9
Hairy Woodpecker	3
Northern (red-shafted) Flicker	17
Northern (yellow-shafted) Flicker Count week Dec 17/12	2
Pileated Woodpecker	5
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker Juvenile		Mew Gull
Hutton's Vireo	1
Northwestern Crow	73
Common Raven	62
Chestnut-backed Chickadee	395
Bushtit
Red-breasted Nuthatch	145
Brown Creeper	8
Bewick's Wren	5
Pacific Wren (Winter)	44
Golden-crowned Kinglet	329
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Hermit Thrush
American Robin	75
Varied Thrush	24
European Starling	51
Cedar Waxwing
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Spotted Towhee	81
Savannah Sparrow	8
Fox Sparrow	18	Western Tanager
Song Sparrow	18
White-crowned Sparrow	19
Golden-crowned Sparrow	8
Dark-eyed (Oregon) Junco	810
Dark-eyed (Slate-colored) Junco
Red-winged Blackbird
Purple Finch	17
House Finch	14
Red Crossbill	36
Pine Siskin	887
House Sparrow	3
Chipping Sparrow
Number of Species:	71
Number of Individuals:	6488 + 1 count week	American Goldfinch

Sidebar Photos by Michael Dunn, Tom Hobley, Andrew McPhee & Mike Hoebel as per "tooltips" with each illustration.

To view a complete recap of the count for our local zone (the Penders, Mayne & Saturna) by Island, Zone and Species click here

The 2011 report & the Completed Check List from the 2011 count can be viewed here

Sunday Ramble

Birding outing held on Sunday September 16 focused on what you might see in your own backyard and neighbourhood. We started at the Gallagher Bay Road residence of Michael Dunn and did a casual walk to Piggott and Gallagher bays, hoping to spot the Spotted Sandpiper. We did not unfortunately but along the way, we did see 20 species of birds. There were 10 participants. The total list was:

Turkey Vulture	Spotted Towhee	Song Sparrow
Pine Siskin	Red-breasted Nuthatch	Osprey
Cooper's Hawk	Common Raven	Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Brown Creeper	Winter Wren	Red Crossbill
Northern Flicker	Hairy Woodpecker	Great Blue Heron
Belted Kingfisher	Ruby-crowned Kinglet	Canada Goose
American Robin	Mew Gull

2012 Baillie Birdathon Report

Michael Dunn writes:

Goldfinches and Cowbirds rule!

As intended, I began my annual “all-you-can-see” one-day bird quest on the morning of May 17, 2012. This was later in the month than I had wished knowing that the overwintering stragglers were likely gone by now. Nonetheless, the morning was bright and sunny which makes for great conditions to spot and hear birds. My early morning leg, as usual, was around my property and neighbourhood. Within an hour I had seen or heard 29 species – from deciduous forest to conifer forest to mixed habitat generalists – which included a Yellow-rumped Warbler and Cassin’s Vireo in the first group, a Townsend’s Warbler and both a Varied Thrush and Swainson’s Thrush from the second group, and a Pacific Slope Flycatcher and American Goldfinch of the last group. In this area too, I was heartened to have an active Cooper’s Hawk nest (this is the fifth year a pair has nested here) and observe good numbers of Barn Swallows (now considered at risk in southwestern BC), Cliff Swallows near completion of their unique clay gourd nest structures and Violet-green Swallows. The usual nesting pairs of Song Sparrows, Spotted Towhees and American Robins were also about as was the aggressively territorial Rufous Hummingbird male ‘guarding’ my vegetable garden space since arriving in late March. To my chagrin, Brown-headed Cowbirds were here as well.

Needless to say I was feeling pretty optimistic that I would break that threshold of 75 species that is the highest number ever attained by a one-day count on Mayne. My ultimate goal is, and has always been, to break 80 species, which by my assessment of probabilities is very likely. So, after being inspired by the book and movie about the Big Year Count (which for those of you who do not know is a somewhat competitive race among some extreme birders to compile the most species within North America over a year), I decided to be more strategic about where I went to look. I selected nine areas that I expected would produce the highest number of uncommon species. The plan was to do these first and then fill in with the more common species from general areas of the island and marine waters. I also planned to do a specialized search for owls in the evening.

So with a plan in place and 29 species in the bag so to speak , I set out and over the next four hours tallied an additional 35 species which is not the pace I had hoped for. Even though my plan was sound, some of the sites I chose to focus on did not produce the results I had anticipated particularly the prime marine sites. The lingering migrants and over wintering species, which were there only a week before, had gone to their breeding grounds. The ones remaining were primarily non-breeding second and third year gulls, which are notoriously hard to identify. It is here that I spent a considerable amount of time to confirm the species I was seeing. The bright side was that I did see some of our less common species including a Yellow Warbler, Wilson’s Warbler, Brewer’s Blackbird, Chipping Sparrow and a Lincoln Sparrow. One Surf Scoter and Black Oystercatcher at least brightened up my marine tally. Surprisingly, I saw no cormorant species on this day. I noted that at almost every stop I made away from the shorelines, I saw American Goldfinches and heard or saw Brown-headed Cowbirds. Both were everywhere.

My ultimate goal of surpassing 80 species by end of day was slipping and I still had not observed some expected species that I have usually seen in every other year. The benefit of doing a more strategic plan meant that I was generally more efficient with the time it took to do all the pre-selected sites. I had more time to do random stops. This paid off in that I spotted three woodpecker species, a Belted Kingfisher (though not near the water but inland likely near a nesting burrow) and a Killdeer along the shore. The bird of the day was seeing a Western Wood Peewee at the top of a snag.

Last year, I had noted that if I stayed put in one place long enough the birds come to you. So once again I sat out in the garden with my tea in the late afternoon to look and listen. It is here that I finally heard a Red-breasted Nuthatch having heard none all day. I was also rewarded with seeing a pair of Western Tanager males, a pair of Cedar Waxwings and both a Hairy Woodpecker and Northern Flicker. A Willow Flycatcher topped the show.

Later in the evening, I went to several pre-selected sites to see if I could pick up some owl species. I spent a couple of hours trying to call in our known resident owl species, but to no avail this year.

My 2012 total of 71 species of birds is down from last year’s but still there were some very good sightings.

My personal highlights besides those previously described were hearing the first Olive-sided Flycatcher’s distinct “quick, three beers” call and the wonderful and ethereal call of the first Swainson’s Thrush of the year.

The Baillie Birdathon is a national activity done across Canada throughout the month of May. The Birdathon raises much needed funds for bird research across Canada. As well, a portion of the funds raised by the individual participants is returned to a local organization designated by them. If you wish to pledge to my birdathon efforts you can do so by going to my birdathon website or by cheque. You can choose to do a flat rate or a by species amount. Make cheques payable to Bird Studies Canada, Baillie Birdathon. My personal website is at the following address: http://www.gifttool.com/athon/MyFundraisingPage?ID=1914&AID=1845&PID=260486

Knowing Winter Birds on Miners Bay

Knowledge from 2010 Helped in 2011!

And this what they were looking at

Birders' Ramble - Walkabout 2011

Barred Owl does her Exorcist Trick

Copy us your photos for this Birder's Gallery with details of what is shown and a mention of the name of the photographer to be credited - we'll put up a selection every now & then. Send an e-mail with attachment to info@conservancyonmayne.com

The Purple Martin Stewardship Program

In 2011 The Mayne Island Conservancy Society (MICS) invited your financial participation in saving the Purple Martin Stewardship Program.

The Western Purple Martin, our largest swallow, a short ten years ago, was almost gone from our region. Today, due to the efforts of the Georgia Basin Ecological Assessment and Restoration Society, Purple Martins are back! The Society is a group of volunteers who are dedicated to Purple Martin recovery. In 2009, the BC Purple Martin Stewardship and Recovery Program (coordinated by the Georgia Basin Ecological Assessment and Restoration Society) found itself in a financial shortfall for the summer season, as an expected $10,000 Summer Jobs Grant has been denied. As a result they launched an appeal for assistance. Michael Dunn wrote:

"Western Purple Martin's almost disappeared from the south coast of British Columbia due to losses to their preferred breeding habitat (cavities in trees) as well as, competition from introduced bird species such as starlings and house sparrows. The Western Purple Martin Stewardship program was launched to try to restore and increase the breeding populations of these magnificent birds. For Mayne Island this was in 2005 with establishment of artificial nest boxes in Miners Bay and Bennett Bay. Since these have been installed, martins have been breeding successfully at both sites. The Miners Bay population is within the designated Active Pass Important Bird Area."

With this in mind MICS made a contribution from the IBA Project and our supporters donated via the Conservancy or directly to the Western Purple Martin Foundation. Full story from 2010 here....

As a result Charlene Lee (Administrator - Western Purple Martin Foundation) wrote: