Some days you can walk the Iona south Jetty to the end and back, and although you’re almost in the middle of the sea, just like one of the ducks – the other birds keep their distance. And I haven’t yielded yet to some birds’ demand that I should carry a scope.
Only a few Surf Scoters, Horned Grebes and Red-breasted Mergansers were close by. Snow Buntings, Lapland Longspurs? I should have seen them right on the jetty with me! They were saving their grace for more experienced birders.
Things picked up once I descended the jetty. A Northern Shrike skewered the birdless gloom, closely followed by a magnificent Western Meadowlark. Both species were in the immediate vicinity of the single building at the center of Iona Island Regional Park.
I went to the ponds. There I was dazzled by the shear number of Northern Shovelers, males now in breeding plumage. When I returned from the ponds I was granted a second look at Shrike and Meadowlark, this time finding that there were at least four Western Meadowlarks around. The Meadowlarks made soft calls. The Shrike was singing a little; always perching on conspicuous branch tips in order not to miss a photo opportunity. He was my 150th bird.