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birding journal
about the birds we see
on Haida Gwaii
Peter Hamel and Margo Hearne have birded the islands since 1982.
We keep detailed records of what we see.
We've named this blog after Fergus who was our best birding doggy. He died in spring.
We still miss him as he always found the trail home when we got lost.
We will add notes on birds seen on Haida Gwaii from time to time, but by way of introduction, we wrote the first bar-graph "Checklist of Birds of Haida Gwaii" in 2002. The checklist was designed by Masset artist Janet Baker.
More species could be added to the list since then. Order a copy through our email address hecatebird@gmail.com ($4)
Margo also published the first book on the nesting songbirds of the islands "Small Birds Cling to Bare Branches - Nesting Songbirds of Haida Gwaii" with delightful, original illustrations by island artist Janetta Pirt.
Many rare birds showed up on island in 2010. Peter found and identified a Prothonotary Warbler outside his office in Masset in September; Margo photographed it. Peter found and identified a Black-throated Blue Warber in Sandspit in November; Margo photographed it. We work together.
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| 'Tis the season to feed the hungry |
The big excitement this spring was finding a Eurasian (Common) Crane in Delkatla Wildlife Sanctuary in Masset. Our birding friend Martin Williams and his friend Dalbert Davis caught a glimpse of it on the way to work at 7.30 am Sunday July 3 2011. It was a grey, murky, overcast day with some intermittent drizzle and they hadn't time to stop. It was a bit far off, but when they drove home around 4 pm it was still there.
Martin rushed into our house to say there was a different crane in the Sanctuary, so we grabbed cameras, binocs and scopes and raced out. It had left the area he first saw it, so we drove down Cemetery Road and walked into the marsh to find it feeding quietly with two Sandhill cranes beside a small creek surrounded by tall grass, which is why we hadn't seen it from where Martin had originally spotted it along Tow Hill Road. For such a large bird it was amazing that it couldn't be seen. It did a lot of preening and fed constantly. As we moved closer to it, it moved away as the last thing we wanted to do was flush it out of Delkatla. We kept our distance and watched it feed. Will post photo later.
