Tweeters,
I knew there would be a problem finding the wagtail when I saw smoke rising from the field where the bird had been seen in the past. The farmer was burning his slash piles and someone was using a piece of heavy equipment to consolidate two piles into one and move stuff around so it could burn better. From what I was told, the farmer started burning the piles last night after the wind shifted.

I stayed about 90 meters past the cable and watched the nearby areas in the field that have standing water, and I also birded the field to the east before the rain got heavier. (I forgot to mention that it was quite cold and windy today - quite a change from yesterday.) I didn't find the wagtail during almost 4 hours of birding there. I did, however, have a Merlin pass quite close to me, and then move over and back along the brush/tree line along the ditch.

The weather tomorrow looks more promising, so I'm going to stay one more day up here. It's likely that the slash piles will still be burning tomorrow, but I have some hope left that the wagtail might yet visit.

Note: I scanned the field across from the wildlife viewing stand at the estuary with no success there. But lots of ducks, mostly mallards, were in the waters of the estuary and the river.

Tomorrow I may also try for a Yellow-billed Loon in the waters north of Comox. Apparently several (I heard a quite a few) have been seen there. Details are on eBird.

May all your birds be identified,
Denis DeSilvis
avnacrs4birds at outlook.com

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