peregrine falcon

peregrine falcon, originally uploaded by robinnestridge.

in the gale force winds

robinnestridge's photostream

robinnestridge's photostream on Flickr.

In search of the first Satin Flower of the year

looking towards victoria from the top of Mt macdonald

the trail leads from the right to the left and back over the same route

Today we hiked up the steep slope of Mt Macdonald and then explored the hills connected to the mountain on the south side. For the most part it was promising to be  a nice sunny day, a few high wispy clouds but not enough to block the sunshine. By the time we got to the top of Macdonald about 1000 feet above the car the wind had picked up and was blowing quite briskly from the north. No Vultures or eagles yet, maybe to early in the morning for them to be soaring around in the wind. A Red-tailed hawk was circling to the south of the summit however.

Fox Sparrow

On the way down the other side of the summit we came across a commotion of bird scoldings. Juncoes and fox sparrows, even an Anna's Hummingbird got into the action. We searched around the area for some time but came up with no answer to why. Maybe we just couldn't see the saw whet owl or cooper's hawk that they could.

Looking south from the second hilltop

We then made our way down to the access road way before crossing it and heading up another steep trail to the top of the next hill. The CRD has carved another road in the area inorder to have access to the radio and telephone towers on top of Mt Macdonald. They did cover up the old roadway however with alot of debry to rehab the landscape.

one of the valleys to cross to connect to the other hill tops

After climbing up to the last hilltop I brought out my scope and started to search for the Golden Eagles that, if they are nesting in nearby nest tree this year, should be in the vicinity. But no luck, couldnt see into the nest but no birds were perusing the area at all. So they may be using another unknown nest this year. arrgh
Have I mentioned how windy it was. Man, it was a cold wind, more like January than the first day of srping, by the time I was finished with the telescope my hands were pretty much icicles, and time to get moving to warm up. My hiking companion  looked quite comfortable huddled out of the wind  soaking up the sunshine. 

Mt Braden and Golden Eagle territory

I decided the most likely spot for the Satin Flower was down on a south facing outcrop, since none have been seen yet today. And I had pretty much given up hope of seeing any in bloom since the plants were only a couple of inches above the moss so far.
 We headed down the ridge line to the far end of the Mt Macdonald hilltop chain. From the very south tip of the hill we could see a 180  degree view of the south tip of vancouver island.with not a house or road in sight.

Finally on the very south tip, as far as I was going to search was One Lonely  Satin Flower in full bloom. a 2 mile trek up and down, more up than down, to find one silly little flower. In a few weeks these hills will be covered in them. Now back up and over and down two miles to the car, ouch.

skirt mtn towards finlayson

unnamed waterfall above Prospector trail, Goldstream provincial Park.

old logging on Skirt mtn, Goldstream Provincial Park,

Prospector Trail, Goldstream provincial Park,

Unnamed Falls above Prospector Trail, Goldstream Provincial Park

iceland ish gull,

iceland ish gull,, originally uploaded by robinnestridge.

a rare bird here in Victoria, still hanging around for the winter

Pygmy Owls galore

A hike through the Goldstream Group campground and straight up Skirt Mtn to the top today.

Lots of Robins in the campground fields looking for worms as well as several Flickers calling back and forth. a Sapsucker called flying from tree to tree. Part way up the hill I could hear the toot toot of  one or two Pygmy Owls, I can never tell exactly where they call from, they seem to move around. An other 300 feet up the slope there, at the top on a snag, was an Owl sitting quietly at the very tip of  the tree.

 This bird sat there for about 25 minutes until a junco called down below and it got quite interested in that.
It dropped down the snag to get a closer look.

It missed its chance apparently and went up and sat in another tree before disappearing before my eyes.
   On the way down there was a Pygmy calling ahead of me as I descended the steep terrain. It seemed to stay ahead of me, or it was a different bird, I believe it was a different bird, as well there was another calling back at the campground. Lots of Robins around the fields, so I assume they are following the migration

mt wells

mt wells, originally uploaded by robinnestridge.

a photo the regional district is using for a publication