Esquimalt Lagoon Vancouver Island
Esquimalt Lagoon Vancouver Island

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

Esquimalt Lagoon/Mill Hill
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

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