Date: 10 March 2025
Time 11:00—13:00 PDT
Tide at the beginning of count: 8.6 feet
Tide at the close of count: 8.8 feet
Turning tide
Weather: overcast, breezy, calm to rippled sea
Herring spawn underway. Gillnetters off Rathtrevor, the mouth of the Englishman River, Parksville Bay, and French Creek Marina. Rafts of sea lions throughout observation area.
Participants: Bonnie Mullin, Dennis & Brenda Horwood, Marion Lea Jamieson, Marilyn Bilsbarrow, Liz Bredberg, Sandy & Dan Gray, Liz & Jim Thorne, Marianne Goffman, Dave Erickson
Total brant counted: 81
Zone 1: North area:
Qualicum Beach—Judges Row
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
Total brant counted in area: 0
Other birds observed: Common Loon 3, Northern Pintail 35, Bald Eagle 3*, Bufflehead 37, American Crow 3, Oystercatchers 6, Horned Grebe 10, Common Goldeneye 78, American Wigeon 300, Common Merganser 3, White winged scoter 44, Mallard 6, Scaup sp 2, gulls 500+ (a whole bunch +++)
*1 with fish
Zone 2: Central area: French Creek Marina to Whitree overlook
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.
Seacrest Road
Whitree overlook
Total brant counted in area: 72
12 on beach at bottom of Johnstone Rd mixed in with gulls
60 in flight, northbound
Lots of roe and milt on beach and in shore
Other birds observed: gulls on shore 1000, kingfisher (nearshore), mallards 37, flock of crows, American wigeons 140, white-winged scoters 50, , gull sps 1000, bufflehead 39, wige yellowlegs 4, kildeer 1, dunlin 12, bald eagle 3 1 carrying branch in flight
Zone 3: South area:
Rathtrevor Beach
Mariner Way
Parksville Community Park
Doehle Road stairs
Many pedestrians watching and photographing herring fishery. One man with 2 dogs on the beach at community park.
Total brant counted in area: 9 flying over PV Community Park
Other birds observed:
Rathtrevor: over 4000 gulls in shallows, along the waterline and offshore. 2 rafts of 550+scoters into NW Bay, mostly surf scoters
Mariner Way: 2500+ gulls, crowded wigeon at the mouth of the Englishman River
PV Community Park: over 6000 gulls, 980 dunlin, black bellied plover, scattered American wigeon
Doehle Road stairs: 2 rafts of divers, about 600 surf scoters, scaup, goldeneye, bufflehead, many gulls.
Also seen: bufflehead, goldeneyes, horned grebe, western grebe, common mergansers, at least 32 bald eagles
Photo credit: Jim Thorne