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June 1, 2006  100 In 100 Mile I was going to suggest that May is a crazy month but perhaps that isn't true. May makes birders a little crazy but the month itself is as sane as any other date on the calendar. May also strongly effects birds. It causes a flurry of nest building, singing, frenetic dashing, chasing, and popping up in strange places. To avoid exclusion from May mania, I also step up my frantic pace and often go out several times a day to record the birds in various spots around town. Part of the reason for my increasing number of bird quests is I'm getting in practice for an approaching Baillie Birdathon. I like to set a personal goal of recording over 100 bird species in a single day. In order to reach my goal I need to know where the bird species are hiding and field work is the only way to gather the required information. I usually choose to do the Baillie Birdathon on a Sunday because traffic and general noise are reduced in most areas where I hope to find the key birds. As the day approaches I have a good core of birds on which to build my list and all I have to do is hope for bird-friendly weather. Last Sunday morning (the day I chose) was foggy. I decided this was a good omen because foggy mornings usually turn into sunny days. Taking no chances though, I wanted to see how the first sightings unfolded before committing to the challenge. I drove to town. First I would go to Centennial Park where I could tally the American Dipper (I found it earlier this week nesting in the face of the falls, and feeding nestlings.) The Winter Wren was another park regular I hoped to hear during my walk to the falls. Unfortunately the park gate was closed and I was all too easily deterred. I needed a coffee before facing more setbacks, so I headed for a coffee take-out, but stopped to record a Violet-green Swallow in a back alley. Shortly thereafter, I stepped from my van with coffee in hand, and peered into heavy fog at 100 Mile Marsh. I heard the Black Terns call then they suddenly appeared. In their midst was a pale bird slightly larger than the dark Terns. I knew immediately that it was a Common Tern so I dropped everything in a heap on the lawn and tried to get my scope set up while keeping an eye on the fast flying flock. Unfortunately they were lost in the dense mist before I got another look. I had never seen that bird in the Cariboo before. In fact, I hadn't seen the bird at all for nearly 40 years. This seemed like an auspicious start to a birding day. Despite the frantic start I sat down on a bench and tallied all the Swallows as the co-operatively flew past me. I also counted the usual waterfowl found on the marsh. It was a good beginning. The Mountain Bluebird sat on his traditional post near the rodeo grounds while I set out for the barren grounds of the new playing field (earlier in the week I had heard a Townsend's, a MacGillivray's Warbler, and a Swainson's Thrush there.) Though it was dead silent and a fog lay all around, I heard none of the sought after birds. Only a Golden-crowned Kinglet and a Lincoln's Sparrow disturbed the morning quiet. I walked back to the van and heard birds overhead. Suddenly three white Terns appeared out of the fog but quickly disappeared. I was glad to see them. It confirmed that my earlier sighting wasn't a fog-induced phantasm. The new Sewer lagoon was to be my next stop. I backed up to the fence and sighted a bird that I'd seen earlier in the week. A Double-crested Cormorant stood tall and somewhat regally above the swirling sewage water. Through the scope I gathered in a bag full of other waterfowl including a male Wood Duck, Redhead, Gadwall, Blue-winged Teal and both Golden-eyes. I also counted a Bald Eagle that was perched in the dead poplars. In past years I'd had some luck getting Surf and White-winged Scoters at a few lakes north of town, but this year there were only the usual duck specks - ones that I'd already counted. I turned back toward town and slowly drove through the industrial area on Exeter Road. Through the open window of the van came the hoped for strains of a "sometimes-hard-to-tally-at-this-time-of-year" White-crowned Sparrow. Soon after I added the Clay-coloured and Vesper Sparrows in a nearby mill yard. Scanning a flooded field I got a Wilson's Phalarope, but not the hoped-for Northern Pintail that I saw on an earlier visit. That duck was the only no-show of all the 16 regular species of local waterfowl. I stopped at home to count the birds on my list, 75 so far, and the morning was still young. Returning to town and swinging through the park netted me the Dipper and the Winter Wren. With other birds along the way I reached 83 by 10:30. Quite acceptable, but after 85 the going gets tough. The next bunch of birds would require some strategy. A trip to the west of Horse Lake was in order if for nothing else the nesting Osprey. As luck would have it other birds also showed including a pair of Black Swifts, a bird that eludes me some years, and a pair of Sandhill Cranes. By 2 PM my list stood at 95. Now the strategy was going to have to proceed bird by bird. I stood outside in the yard and hoped to see the Grey Jays pass through. Twenty minutes later they sailed by. I stalled at 97 and toyed with the idea of stopping at 99. I knew the hermit Thrush would be in the back yard in the late evening, but I needed one more bird to reach that mark. Another trip to town was necessary. I stopped at the Sawmill Bridge spanning Bridge Creek and silently cursed the recent removal of all the snags that in past years provided perches for Merlins. Suddenly, a Merlin appeared from low in the trees and flew across the road. I was at 98. I continued on to the marsh where I earlier expected to find a Cinnamon Teal, and there he was, right where he should have been. I went home sure that I was guaranteed my 100 if the Hermit Thrush sang as it had done on every previous May evening. I didn't have to wait for that bird though, (it did eventually sing.) A Downy Woodpecker male stopped at the water dish and yelled over its shoulder "I'm number 100!" It had been a long and enjoyable day. To e-mail Tom CLICK HERE To look at previous column "CLICK HERE |
