Date: 21 April 2025
Time: 1:00-2:45
Tide at the beginning of count: 5.09 feet
Tide at the close of count: 9 feet
rising tide
Weather: clear, calm, slight chop on sea
Participants: Susan Knoerr, Linda Horspool, Bonnie Mullin, Tom Whitfield, Toni Wyckoff, Catharine Watson, Liz & Jim Thorne, Sandy & Dan Gray, Dave Erickson, Meghan MacIsaac, Jane Osborne, Helen Davidson, Liz Bredberg
Total brant counted: 0
Zone 1: North area:
- Tourist Info (Beach Creek), and the gazebo viewing stand.
- Foot of Kincaid Rd. beach access
- East end of Surfside Drive, Offshore view
- Little Qualicum Estuary, west end of Surfside Dr. and mouth of Little Qualicum River
1 pedestrian with dog (photo)
Total brant counted in area: 0
Other birds observed: 4 buffleheads, Pacific loon, 5 oystercatchers, wigeons, mallards, 4 common mergansers, 9 red-breasted mergansers, gulls, short-billed gulls, 2 great blue herons (1 in flight), robins, goldfinch, white-crowned sparrow, 2 red crossbills (male & female), pelagic cormorant, 14 harlequin ducks, crows, brewers blackbirds, pine siskins, red-winged blackbirds, 13 black-bellied plovers, 16 buffleheads, widgeons, mallards, Bonapartes gulls, 1 greater yellowlegs, 2 killdeer (mating)
Zone 2: Central area:
- French Creek Marina—east side view offshore and towards Parksville, view the creek mouth from the west side
- Admiral Tryon Blvd. east; view offshore, and French Creek River mouth
- Admiral Tryon West, beach access to tidal pools
- Foot of Johnstone Rd.
- Foot of Butterball, off Pintail & Yambury Rd.
- West end of Seacrest Place (Apenes), off Eaglecrest Dr. at Pintail Dr
Total brant counted in area: 0
Other birds observed: 7 cormorant sp, 2 loon sp, 50 Bonaparte’s gulls, 100 gull sp., 12 mallards, 100 wigeons, 2 Great Blue Heron, 56 gull sp, 3 killdeer, 7 oystercatchers, 11 buffleheads, 73 black-bellied plovers, 12 glaucous-winged gulls, 6 crows,70 gull sp., 1 crow, 2 bald eagles
2 dogs off-leash
Zone 3: South area:
- Rathtrevor Beach, Brant Point, Craig Bay, may need to walk to the right along the bay
- West end of Mariner Way—view offshore and to river mouth, may need to walk to river
- Parksville Bay, Parksville Community Park—from the Labyrinth view offshore, sandbars, and west shore of PVBay
Total brant counted: 0
Other birds observed: Bonapartes’ gulls, red-breasted mergansers, mixed raft of divers (mostly scoters), 5 black oystercatchers, buffleheads, wigeons, mallards, 11 black-bellied plovers, 96 dunlin, northern pintail, mixed gulls (mostly Bonaparte’s)
4 dogs on beach (photos)
Photo courtesy of Angie Ooms