The wagtail was not seen on Sunday. The last sighting was by Dave Ingram Thursday afternoon. Since then it has rained and snowed in Courtenay, BC. The field is flooded, the road is flooded, and snow has covered the bare dirt from which the bird was feeding on worms. Dave has agreed to let me know right away if the wagtail returns as the weather and field conditions improve. If he tells me the bird has returned, I'll immediately post to Tweeters, as I jump in my car and head north again!

Just as a reminder, the trip is not taken lightly. You'll put around 430 miles on your car if you leave from Seattle. The Tsawwassen-Nanaimo ferry is $65 (Canadian) each way for car and driver. It's a two hour crossing. You can expect to pay about $60-$80 for a motel room.

If you still want to try for this mega-rarity, you can join BCVIBIRDS at yahoogroups.com to monitor the posts of Vancouver Island birders. Go to this link to apply to the group: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BCVIBIRDS/

I apologize if I am repeating information already posted, but I know that we sometimes gloss over information when we are not able to use it. With folks off for the holidays, I assume there are some who now would be interested in ticking this bird if it sticks around.

Season's Greetings,

Carol Riddell