Date: 28 April 2025
Time: 9:05-10:30
Tide at the beginning of count: 9.9 feet
Tide at the close of count: 5.25 feet
Falling tide
Weather: cloudy, wind rising, increasing rainfall, choppy sea
Participants: Sandra Gray, Dan Gray, Dave Erickson, Liz Thorne, Jim Thorne, Linda Horsepool, Susan Knoerr, Toni Wyckoff, Bonnie Mullin, Jane Osborne, Liz Bredberg
Total brant counted: 125
Zone 1: North area:
- Qualicum Beach—Tourist Info (Beach Creek), and the gazebo viewing stand.
- Foot of Kincaid Rd. beach access
- East end of Surfside Drive, Offshore view
- West end of Surfside Dr. and mouth of Little Qualicum River
Total brant counted in area: 0
Other birds observed: 52 Pacific loons, 3 horned grebe, scoters, 82 common mergansers hunting, 2 black oystercatchers, 12 pelagic cormorant, 2 harlequin ducks, 3 great blue heron, 23 eagles, 300 gulls, 2 yellowlegs, 1 killdeer, red-winged and brewer’s blackbirds, 12 dunlin, Eurasian collard doves
Zone 2: Central area:
- French Creek Marina—east side view offshore and towards Parksville, view the creek mouth from the west side
- Columbia Beach, 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: 37 common loons, 18 cormorant sp., 19 eagles, 2 red neck grebes, 16 common mergansers, 30 Bonapartes gulls, 50 gull sp., 1 Pacific loon, 2 oyster catcher, 1 pigeon guillermot, 100 scoter sp includes white-winged scoters, 2 common murrelets, 1 horned grebe, 200 gull sp, 4 crows
Zone 3: South area:
- Rathtrevor Beach, Brant Point
- 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: 125
Other birds observed: 8 bald eagles, crow, white-crowned sparrow, 2 common mergansers, 1 black-headed grosbeak, 2 black oystercatcher, 8 American wigeons, cormorant sp., 2 great-blue herons, killdeer, gulls including glaucous-winged gulls.
Photo courtesy of Debbie McAmmond