Duckling and Gosling Sightings??

[longshot]

Hey Guys,

Hope you are all enjoying your summer so far. The weather has certainly improved! I have seen many ducklings and goslings down at the bog in Royal Oak lately with my little bro. The geese are gettin' bigger! I havent had a chance to check out the marshes on the outskirts of Victoria yet, as my work keeps me indoors 5 days a week (... and on my spare 2 days I usually work on my old lil' truck... SUPERCHARGER HERE WE COME!! :mrgreen:)

Tomorrow morning I am heading up island to do some shooting with ye ol' Nikon. I will report back with some pictures if I find any younglings.

How about you guys?? Any pics of the upcoming birds?? This off season withdrawl is really taking its toll on me!! :)

Cheers, Longshot jr.

[Dano]

The boys down in the woodroom at the mill told me a hen mallard had set up a nest on top of the waste conveyer wall. I thought it was a little late for a nest but brought in my camera to check it out. Seems she set up there mid-june when the woodroom was down for a week, it must have been a bit of a shock when they started back up!
I'll have to remember to see what happened whan I go back to work monday, hopefully she got them out ok (has to pass a conveyer and a lot of blackberries on the 50 yard trip to the fraser as well as a couple 15-20ft drops!).

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa264/Canso_Dan/mallard3.jpg

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa264/Canso_Dan/mallard4.jpg

Lots of geese on both the fraser and pitt rivers.
Dan

[MB_Boy]

There was a family of geese in Miner's Bay on Mayne and the young ones already had their adultish looking plumage. I thought it was early....but you sure wouldn't see 2 large geese.....and about 8 smaller ones piddling around together a year later.

I guess I have just never really taken notice how long it takes them to get their adult feathers.

[Sako 75]

Lots of mallard ducklings around my area, I have yet to see a gadwall hen with ducklings this year. There usually one or two gadwall family around.

[longshot]

Taken me a while to get this posted, but I did head up to the bay a few days ago. Its really wierd to see so much green plant life, as in the hunting season its all yellow and looks like a war zone!

I dont know if you can see them well, but there is about 50 geese sitting on the little spit.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/SSCN3122.JPG

They seem to be hunkered down in the pic, which I think is because there is a HUGE @$$ Golden Eagle sitting on a log about 400 yards away from where I was standing.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/SSCN3123.JPG

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/RSCN3124.JPG

And here is a pic of part of the marsh... just to think the green will be gone and it will all be yellow come fall.

http://www.huntingbc.ca/photos/data/500/SSCN3125.JPG

Sorry the pics suck... I had to use my old camera as my new one had a dead battery.


-Longshot jr.

[Dano]

The boys down in the woodroom at the mill told me a hen mallard had set up a nest on top of the waste conveyer wall. I thought it was a little late for a nest but brought in my camera to check it out. Seems she set up there mid-june when the woodroom was down for a week, it must have been a bit of a shock when they started back up!
I'll have to remember to see what happened whan I go back to work monday, hopefully she got them out ok (has to pass a conveyer and a lot of blackberries on the 50 yard trip to the fraser as well as a couple 15-20ft drops!).

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa264/Canso_Dan/mallard3.jpg

http://i197.photobucket.com/albums/aa264/Canso_Dan/mallard4.jpg

Lots of geese on both the fraser and pitt rivers.
Dan

I checked this morning, she hatched out 8 and the guys have seen them swimming around the Fraser near Poplar Island.
Hopefully the eagles have moved on, they usually pick off the young ducks and geese. I've seen 2 eagles swoop down on a mallard with a large brood a few years ago. She had about a dozen duclings but last time I saw her she had 4........

Good to see a successful late nest!
Dan

[longshot]

Good find there Dan! I remember last year one weekend my family and I took a trip on our boat to some of the gulf islands, and at the gas station on our way out, there were 3 sets of geese in nests on top of the foating gas dock. Funny part is if you walk around the dock, the parents would stick there head over the side of the roof and watch your every step! Too funny of a sight!

Longshot jr.