On December 1st, both species of murrelets were present at White Rock west beach; five Ancient Murrelets and a single Marbled Murrelet. The lingering Short-billed Dowitcher and Lesser Yellowlegs at Blackie Spit carried over into December. I saw them on the 2nd and both were AMAT birds. Just as I was packing up that morning, the far carrying call of a Long-billed Curlew caught me by surprise and I looked up to see one flying towards the spit, where it landed and stayed for the next few days. This curlew had been present for weeks in Blaine, just across the border from the SemiPen, however its sudden appearance on the SemiPen represented an unexpected late addition to my year list. The Red Knots started visiting Blackie Spit again around mid-month, and along with the Willets and the occasional Western Sandpiper mixed in with the Dunlin comprised a good mix of winter shorebirds.
Long-billed Curlew at Blackie Spit (Dec 2, 2024)
Liquid sunshine became the norm for much of December, hampering my attempts to squeeze out any remaining year birds. Yet there were still realistic possibilities. I scoped the White Rock waterfront for Common Murre, sifted through the gulls at the Campbell River estuary for Western Gull, and visited Nicomekl Portage Park to sort through the blackbirds en route to their nighttime roost for Rusty Blackbird, but all to no avail. The White Rock Christmas Count on December 28 did not produce any unexpected goodies and it seemed my year list would fizzle out at 212.
December 31st brought a welcome break from the rain, and I decided that it was only fitting to spend the last day of the year birding on the SemiPen. This wasn’t going to be strategic birding; I didn’t have any specific targets in mind and didn’t expect to see anything. I started off at Blackie Spit, where the Long-billed Curlew had returned from Blaine, but otherwise it was the usual cast in attendance. I carried on to Elgin Heritage Park. A large flock of yellowlegs was gathered at their high-tide roost in a side-bay of the Nicomekl River and as I scanned them, I was amazed to spot a Ruff. I couldn't have asked for a better conclusion to my big year! Well, I guess I could have - something like a Eurasian Skylark, Rustic Bunting, or Song Thrush - but a self-found SemiPen first record on the very last day of the year was plenty fine!
Ruff at Elgin Heritage Park (Dec 31, 2024)
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