By Margo Hearne
It was a cruel wind that swept across the open intertidal in the late afternoon. The birds were away down the beach and we had to go where they were, but only for a while. There was a risk we would freeze solid out there and become just another pile of rock for the birds to land on.
But help was at hand. A friendly cup of coffee, a late afternoon muffin before the woodstove and we thawed out nicely. Tlell is quite a place. There’s a fantastic river that sweeps through it, trails through the woods, and surging ocean that tears away the highway during big storms. Like most of the lowlands, the farmlands are at risk from rising waters. If a time traveller from 200 years ago happened to drop by, the place would be unrecognizable, yet we take it as we find it now and believe it was ever thus.
So to the birds. Out on the windy beach, the 34 Black-bellied Plovers kept moving farther out and the Dunlin wouldn’t stay put. We only counted 11, but there were many more among the rocks that we just couldn’t get our sights on. We knew they were there, the occasional head popped up, but it was difficult to estimate exactly how many. Fifty Mew Gulls and 48 Glaucous-winged Gulls rose into the wind and only one Sanderling appeared, a tiny white thing skittering across the icy beach.
In the interior flatlands we found 27 Golden-crowned Kinglets, not in the upper canopy where they should be, but down on the frosty grass feeding on freshly frozen bugs. So intent were they on their own private activities that they ignored our presence and came within a foot of our feet. They are lovely little birds. The owner of Toad Farm, who hadn’t noticed them before, wanted to know what they were, for although they are a constant winter resident, kinglets are rarely seen feeding on the ground. Varied Thrushes came out into the cold as well. We had a high count of 45 as their mellow “twiiirp” echoed around us.
Of particular note was a Hermit Thrush that fed beside a track adjacent to the Strait. Again, our presence did not faze it. It kept on its busy way, feeding low in the hoar-frosted grass. Hermits nest here in summer but they are a rare winter visitor. Our friend’s dog flushed a Sooty Grouse by the river. It’s been such a long time since we’ve seen one in winter that it didn’t make our updated, printed CBC checklist. As the wind rose so did the sea, which made it difficult to observe the ducks out there. Only 105 Common Goldeneyes, 11 Common Loons, 8 Pacific Loons and 4 Red-throated Loons. And, back on a fencepost, a Cooper’s Hawk, the first-ever CBC record for Haida Gwaii.
Total species: 47. Total individuals: 1,197.