Title photo - Prairie Warbler with a small insect at Tofino.

Adrian's Warbler

On the morning of Sept. 28 Adrian Dorst was still half asleep in his Tofino apartment when the movement of a small bird in a nearby maple caught his attention. The instincts of a veteran birder told him it was some kind of warbler, perhaps even a rare one. Fortunately, the warbler persisted only a few feet from Adrian's window, and he was able to identify it as a Prairie Warbler - possibly an adult female. With camera in hand he obtained some excellent photos which may be the first photo-documentation of a Prairie Warbler on Vancouver Island. There have been a few hypothetical reports in the past, but nothing with 100% certainty. Prior to 2001 the Birds of B.C. only has two reports for B.C., and neither were on V.I. Adrian immediately reported his findings to the V.I. Yahoo newsgroup, BCVIBIRDS. He was out of town the next day, but when he returned, he saw and reported the warbler again on Sept. 30.

Oct. 2 - My plan was to go to Tofino on Oct. 2. The Weather Network predicted clear skies, Adrian assured me that the warbler would still be in the house, and my dear wife was conducive to the idea of lunch in Tofino. The drive over was pleasant and uneventful. With no traffic to contend with and much improved road conditions, we were at Adrian's apartment building by 10:45 am. Checking the maple and surrounding trees only yielded a handful of Chestnut-backed Chickadees, a pair of Steller's Jays, a few House Finches, Yellow and Orange-crowned Warblers, and a Eurasian Collared Dove, but I was still hopeful.

Just after 11:00 Adrian and Ralph arrived. They had been checking out another warbler report in town. My spirits rose when Adrian told me that the warbler had been there earlier in the morning. After exchanging pleasantries and watching for the warbler for ten minutes, Ralph left and Adrian disappeared in his apartment. Within a few minutes Adrian was back, pointing to the warbler. I soon spotted it in the maple foraging for insects and seeds. It was a beautiful sight, colour-coordinating wonderfully with the crimson leaves of the maple. I saw it grabbing a few insects, and just as Ralph mentioned, it seemed to feed on some seeds as well.

It was difficult to photograph as it always seemed to be behind a leaf or branch, but occasionally it popped out into the open. The first time it showed up I managed about 20 shots, but none of them were clear. Fortunately, the bird returned regularly. It would forage for about 10 minutes, disappear for about 15 minutes, then show up again.

The time in between warbler appearances gave me a good chance to visit with Adrian. Although we have seen each other on several occasions and exchanged emails, we have never had the opportunity to talk face-to-face. I knew he was a highly respected and oft-published nature photographer, and that he was working on a manuscript for a book. I was pleasantly surprised to hear that his book Meditiations on the Wild West Coast had just been published by Harbour Publishing. Each one of Adrian's thoughtful, sensuous, and provocative photos is accompanied by equally thoughtful and provocative quotations by some of the great thinkers in our world. Look for it at your nearest bookstore.

The frequent returns of the warbler gave us some great looks in the full sun. Guy and Donna Monty had a good looks and photos of the warbler the day before and wondered if it might be an immature male. Based on Guy's photos, Derrick Maarven surmised that the dark markings were more in line with an adult male. My photos are in the full sun and the markings seem pale and similar to the the adult female diagram in Sibley's. However, as I have never seen this species before, I will gladly yield to anyone who is familiar with the species.

I could have stayed all day photographing the splendid little bird, but it was time for lunch and then a beach stroll on Chesterman's. Lunch was a delicious bowl of mango-coconut soup at Sobo's. It was tasty, but at $9 a bowl, I'll eat at the Common Loaf next time.

In between warbler visits I had spotted a Savannah Sparrow foraging in the grass. It would take a few quick steps and grab an insect in the grass and occasionally jump up and catch one in the air.

Adrian mentioned that the usual flocks fo Savannahs hadn't arrived yet but were due pretty soon. His words were prophetic as we saw about 50 on our Chesterman walk.

Although I never got a clear shot of the Savannah, it did look very handsome in the muted background of the fallen crimson maple leaves.

The Chesterman walk is always part of our Pacific Rim visit. It's usually busier than the National Park beaches, but it's free unlike the National Park where it costs about $20 to park. Today it wasn't too busy with only a few walkers, dogs, and surfers. Birds were scarce with only a few gulls scavenging the rotting carcasses of the deadly Humboldt squid. There were only a few squid on the beach and none of them were fresh as they were pretty rancid and missing their tentacles. The most common bird was the Savannah Sparrow. There were scores of them foraging on the seaweed left behind by the high tide. Some were even eating the seaweed. The only shorebird around was a lonely Baird's Sandpiper.

The Baird's was in the company of a couple of gulls as it quietly foraged in a shallow pond left behind by the high tide.

I had always wondered how the sandpipers found their prey under the sand. Obviously, it's by feel as they can do it with their eyes closed.

The Baird's was my last picture of the day. I regretted not bringing a smaller lens to do some land and seascape photography, but c'est la guerre. That's always the way it is. Normally, there would be more birds to look for, but it's always prudent to drive home while it's still light out. Anyway, it was "mission accomplished." I got the Prairie Warbler. Once again, Thanks, Adrian, for finding, reporting, and detaining the very special little bird.

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