Info
Esquimalt Lagoon
is always open and is free of charge. Be sure to bring the appropriate clothing as the lagoon is directly exposed to winter storms.
If you plan to feed the ducks please use a well balanced natural bird seed mix.
Although the lagoon itself ends, continue a bit further straight along the Ocean Boulevard. There are houses at the end of the lagoon. Be alert to the buzz of Rufous Hummingbirds coming in to the garden flowers and feeders and watch the hedges for Bewick's Wrens. Abutting the parking lot on the Strait side at this end of the lagoon are some patches of blackberry brambles and also a small copse of mixed alder, maple and pin cherry. A Palm Warbler was located here in early spring a few years ago so be alert to the unusual. Downy or Hairy Woodpeckers and Northern Flicker are possibilities in the trees as are Orange-crowned and Yellow Warblers, Chestnut-backed Chickadees, vireos, and Pacific-slope Flycatchers.
If you return eastward on the Strait side of the road you should be able to find, in season, Common Loon, Pacific Loon, Red-throated Loon, Pelagic Cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Red-necked Grebe, Western Grebe (large flocks over winter off the spit), Common Murre, Marbelled Murrelet, Pigeon Guillemot, Rhinoceros Auklet, Red-throated Merganser, Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Bufflehead, Barrow's Goldeneye, scaup, Oldsquaw, Brant and various gulls. Near this end of the lagoon the two shorelines converge quite closely. In these more sheltered waters check again for waterfowl and Belted Kingfisher. The shrubby trees on both sides of the water should be checked for Brewer's and Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed Cowbird, House Sparrow, House Finch, Purple Finch, Song Sparrow, Bewick's Wren and American Robin. Watch over the water for Barn Swallow, Violet-green Swallow and Northern Rough-winged Swallow as they swoop by for insects.
Having returned to your vehicle your next decision is whether to go back up to Fort Rodd and enjoy your coffee and sandwiches at the picnic tables there or to head to Witty's Lagoon for a wholly different birding experience. The decision is yours -- enjoy!
Bird Types and population counts
Bird Name | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | 1995 | Total - 10 yr |
Total | 3727 | 5119 | 3659 | 2960 | 2260 | 4648 | 3817 | 4947 | 5502 | 6234 | 42873 |
#species (including Unidentified) | 82 | 72 | 66 | 70 | 60 | 82 | 80 | 75 | 82 | 91 | 119 |
Red-throated Loon | 1 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 27 | 41 | ||||
Pacific Loon | 19 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 6 | 48 | |||
Common Loon | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 8 | 25 | ||
Yellow-billed Loon | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
Pied-billed Grebe | 16 | 3 | 10 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 5 | 10 | 58 |
Horned Grebe | 1 | 10 | 15 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 3 | 23 | 84 | ||
Red-necked Grebe | 43 | 33 | 4 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 92 | |||
Western Grebe | 6 | 64 | 27 | 76 | 82 | 10 | 479 | 41 | 785 | ||
Double-crested Cormorant | 21 | 5 | 3 | 14 | 6 | 21 | 52 | 4 | 2 | 23 | 151 |
Brandt's Cormorant | 6 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 19 | ||
Pelagic Cormorant | 6 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 37 | |
Great Blue Heron | 5 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 3 | 7 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 10 | 75 |
Trumpeter Swan | 0 | ||||||||||
Mute Swan | 19 | 21 | 18 | 8 | 2 | 10 | 9 | 4 | 11 | 102 | |
Greater White-fronted Goose | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | |||||||
Emperor Goose | 0 | ||||||||||
Canada Goose | 33 | 98 | 181 | 113 | 146 | 55 | 272 | 222 | 6 | 1126 | |
Wood Duck | 0 | ||||||||||
Green-winged Teal | 1 | 33 | 77 | 2 | 113 | ||||||
Mallard | 354 | 232 | 274 | 76 | 285 | 180 | 244 | 97 | 481 | 176 | 2399 |
Northern Pintail | 32 | 58 | 9 | 57 | 23 | 74 | 59 | 25 | 337 | ||
Northern Shoveler | 4 | 2 | 6 | ||||||||
Gadwall | 2 | 7 | 4 | 13 | |||||||
Eurasian Wigeon | 1 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | ||||||
American Wigeon | 161 | 329 | 125 | 170 | 240 | 53 | 169 | 19 | 76 | 144 | 1486 |
Canvasback | 0 | ||||||||||
Ring-necked Duck | 3 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 35 | 3 | 5 | 14 | 70 | ||
Greater Scaup | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 75 | 6 | 93 | ||||
Lesser Scaup | 33 | 4 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 7 | 62 | ||||
Harlequin Duck | 2 | 3 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 23 | |||||
Long-tailed Duck | 6 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 5 | 21 | 25 | 69 | |||
Black Scoter | 0 | ||||||||||
Surf Scoter | 42 | 38 | 22 | 46 | 45 | 36 | 37 | 33 | 78 | 173 | 550 |
White-winged Scoter | 1 | 2 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 20 | |||
Common Goldeneye | 26 | 22 | 36 | 51 | 67 | 39 | 27 | 48 | 107 | 48 | 471 |
Barrow's Goldeneye | 3 | 3 | |||||||||
Bufflehead | 190 | 291 | 162 | 128 | 432 | 204 | 175 | 243 | 202 | 326 | 2353 |
Hooded Merganser | 17 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 15 | 22 | 11 | 6 | 4 | 100 |
Common Merganser | 2 | 2 | 7 | 2 | 32 | 14 | 7 | 12 | 78 | ||
Red-breasted Merganser | 82 | 74 | 37 | 80 | 67 | 51 | 95 | 53 | 188 | 50 | 777 |
Ruddy Duck | 0 | ||||||||||
Turkey Vulture | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 | |||||||
Bald Eagle | 5 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 9 | 7 | 11 | 22 | 6 | 69 |
Sharp-shinned Hawk | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 12 | |||
Cooper's Hawk | 1 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 11 | |||||
Red-tailed Hawk | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 21 | |||
Cackling Goose | 3 | 3 | |||||||||
American Kestrel | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
Merlin | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 9 | ||
Peregrine Falcon | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||
Ring-necked Pheasant | 2 | 2 | |||||||||
California Quail | 20 | 13 | 3 | 20 | 4 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 83 | |
American Coot | 1 | 2 | 1 | 5 | 22 | 55 | 3 | 10 | 99 | ||
Black-bellied Plover | 2 | 39 | 34 | 40 | 2 | 35 | 152 | ||||
Greater Golden-Plover | 0 | ||||||||||
Killdeer | 1 | 12 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 1 | 25 | ||||
Black Oystercatcher | 1 | 4 | 5 | ||||||||
Greater Yellowlegs | 0 | ||||||||||
Black Turnstone | 34 | 11 | 21 | 5 | 16 | 38 | 10 | 8 | 108 | 5 | 256 |
Surfbird | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||
Sanderling | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 14 | ||||||
Western Sandpiper | 0 | ||||||||||
Dunlin | 12 | 26 | 19 | 14 | 21 | 1 | 20 | 113 | |||
Common Snipe | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |||||||
Bonaparte's Gull | 0 | ||||||||||
Mew Gull | 133 | 1037 | 805 | 59 | 143 | 9 | 727 | 319 | 614 | 1264 | 5110 |
California Gull | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||
Herring Gull | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
Thayer's Gull | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 10 | ||||||
Western Gull | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 15 |
Glaucous-winged Gull | 77 | 118 | 361 | 153 | 94 | 322 | 103 | 2122 | 114 | 314 | 3778 |
Common Murre | 6 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 107 | 126 | ||||
Pigeon Guillemot | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | |||||||
Marbled Murrelet | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | |||||||
Ancient Murrelet | 13 | 124 | 137 | ||||||||
Rhinocerus Auklet | 6 | 3 | 9 | ||||||||
Rock Pigeon | 256 | 132 | 187 | 132 | 45 | 76 | 94 | 61 | 62 | 80 | 1125 |
Band-tailed Pigeon | 3 | 2 | 10 | 15 | |||||||
Western Screech-Owl | 0 | ||||||||||
Great Horned Owl | 0 | ||||||||||
Barred Owl | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
Northern Saw-whet Owl | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
Anna's Hummingbird | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 15 | ||||
Belted Kingfisher | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 5 | 5 | 26 |
Yellow-bellied Sapsucker | 0 | ||||||||||
Red-breasted Sapsucker | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||||
Downy Woodpecker | 9 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 10 | 3 | 15 | 8 | 15 | 72 |
Hairy Woodpecker | 1 | 3 | 1 | 5 | |||||||
Northern Flicker | 24 | 18 | 17 | 24 | 4 | 30 | 14 | 31 | 39 | 46 | 247 |
Pileated Woodpecker | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 10 | ||||||
Steller's Jay | 17 | 19 | 7 | 12 | 4 | 2 | 23 | 10 | 31 | 4 | 129 |
Northwestern Crow | 96 | 75 | 76 | 63 | 10 | 114 | 79 | 61 | 108 | 125 | 807 |
Common Raven | 7 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 16 | 6 | 16 | 23 | 22 | 109 | |
Chestnut-backed Chickadee | 176 | 97 | 64 | 92 | 8 | 201 | 73 | 170 | 161 | 126 | 1168 |
Bushtit | 49 | 60 | 34 | 12 | 25 | 94 | 21 | 60 | 18 | 15 | 388 |
Red-breasted Nuthatch | 26 | 12 | 2 | 25 | 1 | 25 | 6 | 27 | 13 | 30 | 167 |
Brown Creeper | 7 | 8 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 13 | 2 | 21 | 16 | 24 | 101 |
Bewick's Wren | 21 | 8 | 4 | 22 | 22 | 2 | 12 | 10 | 13 | 114 | |
Winter Wren | 24 | 17 | 12 | 55 | 1 | 26 | 9 | 26 | 46 | 33 | 249 |
Marsh Wren | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||||||||
Golden-crowned Kinglet | 102 | 33 | 87 | 145 | 3 | 175 | 70 | 155 | 220 | 163 | 1153 |
Ruby-crowned Kinglet | 31 | 15 | 21 | 31 | 1 | 49 | 8 | 22 | 72 | 23 | 273 |
Townsend's Solitaire | 0 | ||||||||||
Hermit Thrush | 2 | 2 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 12 | ||||
American Robin | 206 | 100 | 351 | 137 | 22 | 220 | 92 | 138 | 273 | 654 | 2193 |
Varied Thrush | 6 | 13 | 26 | 29 | 3 | 272 | 6 | 13 | 68 | 21 | 457 |
American Pipit | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
Cedar Waxwing | 3 | 3 | |||||||||
Northern Shrike | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
European Starling | 109 | 83 | 63 | 77 | 73 | 112 | 220 | 94 | 362 | 305 | 1498 |
Hutton's Vireo | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | |||||||
Orange-crowned Warbler | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
Yellow-rumped Warbler | 0 | ||||||||||
Townsend's Warbler | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
Palm Warbler | 0 | ||||||||||
Spotted Towhee | 91 | 65 | 27 | 47 | 8 | 73 | 31 | 72 | 47 | 49 | 510 |
Savannah Sparrow | 9 | 1 | 10 | ||||||||
Fox Sparrow | 71 | 97 | 54 | 86 | 9 | 162 | 48 | 89 | 59 | 46 | 721 |
Song Sparrow | 73 | 32 | 46 | 84 | 3 | 106 | 29 | 78 | 79 | 46 | 576 |
Lincoln's Sparrow | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | |||||||
White-throated Sparrow | 4 | 1 | 1 | 6 | |||||||
Golden-crowned Sparrow | 63 | 10 | 17 | 39 | 7 | 104 | 28 | 21 | 9 | 44 | 342 |
White-crowned Sparrow | 4 | 4 | 3 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 15 | 17 | 75 | |
Dark-eyed Junco | 298 | 208 | 130 | 170 | 97 | 617 | 257 | 224 | 242 | 323 | 2566 |
Red-winged Blackbird | 18 | 34 | 2 | 17 | 6 | 8 | 22 | 29 | 14 | 30 | 180 |
Western Meadowlark | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
Brewer's Blackbird | 62 | 67 | 67 | 63 | 41 | 45 | 35 | 32 | 119 | 39 | 570 |
Brown-headed Cowbird | 1 | 1 | |||||||||
Brambling | 0 | ||||||||||
Purple Finch | 2 | 5 | 18 | 3 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 47 | |||
House Finch | 39 | 51 | 52 | 22 | 23 | 180 | 58 | 96 | 65 | 83 | 669 |
Red Crossbill | 69 | 10 | 5 | 16 | 36 | 136 | |||||
Pine Siskin | 228 | 199 | 153 | 394 | 47 | 452 | 165 | 87 | 304 | 617 | 2646 |
American Goldfinch | 0 | ||||||||||
Evening Grosbeak | 0 | ||||||||||
House Sparrow | 130 | 67 | 10 | 12 | 6 | 85 | 53 | 75 | 47 | 66 | 551 |
Unidentified Scaup | 5 | 5 | |||||||||
Unidentified Gull | 15 | 1006 | 112 | 1133 |