Finding Brant

Think I am having a bit of a brain freeze today, or maybe it is just water logged from all the rain we've had the last couple of days. Today is supposed to be the first day of Spring - couldn't prove it by me! Anyway, I seem to have managed to upload all these pictures in the reverse order of how I wanted them, so you will just have to bear with me.

We went looking for Brant this day last year, and obviously, we found them. At Qualicum Beach there is a viewing platform that has a sign on that says it is a Brant viewing site - we never actually saw any Brant from that spot. We found that to find the Brant, we had to find the beach, easier said than done as most of the beaches are lined with houses, but if you just sort of point your vehicle towards the water and start driving along streets, you find that there are areas that have beach access and spots for a car or two to park, so this is what we did. It isn't very comfortable walking on beaches that are in essense someones front yard, but beaches do belong to everyone.

The above picture shows a flock of Brant in flight.

The above photo shows the amount of activity in the water with Brant and Gulls.

We were surprised to see these Bonaparte Gulls. I've seen Bonapartes up north and in Alberta, during breeding season and hadn't associated them with Vancouver Island.

The above shot shows Bonaparte and Mew Gulls - I think the Herring roe is the great attraction.

Brant riding the waves.

Riding the waves some more.

An overview of the amount of activity at the beach - look at all the birds in the background. There were Bald Eagles among them, although I don't think they show up in this photo.

Another general view of the busy beach.