A late walk to the point yesterday resulted in have some nice looks at a Merlin.
For two days now we have been visited by a large number of Black-capped Chickadees and Red-breasted Nuthatches.
This chickadee kept an eye on me while others came and went.
One of the Red-breasted Nuthatches at the suet feeder. At one point we had six nuthatches and ten chickadees. It was quite a feeding frenzy.
A Sharp-shinned Hawk perched at the point was a signal of things to come. I wish that I had been able to get some photos of the early morning Common Loon flight, but didn’t.
Trailing arbutus is finally blooming at the point, which is always a good sign that the days are sunnier and getting warmer.
Soon after we were back at the captain the Broad-winged flight started. West winds were pushing the hawks between us and the bay. But a lot of them were crossing right in front of me.
Some of the broad-wings actually swooped low overhead.
As is typical of most day there was a small number of Bald Eagles. But the highlight of the day for a change wasn’t a common bird.
A dark-morph Swainson’s Hawk caught me by surprise but I finally managed to snap a photo of the third of the season. This dark bird was definitely different from the earlier light-morph birds.
More tomorrow…
Michael's Place 