Max Hellicar
@birdingtothemax.bsky.social
Birder • Ringer (BTO trainer) • Ecologist • MSc graduate • Sharing the wildlife I see on my travels!
Many Northern Saw-whet Owls pass through Vancouver Island on their autumn migration to lower latitudes, but some will remain for the winter. This individual, trapped last night, was ringed here on 01 October. 🇨🇦🦉🧪🌎
November 25, 2025 at 6:52 AM
Many Northern Saw-whet Owls pass through Vancouver Island on their autumn migration to lower latitudes, but some will remain for the winter. This individual, trapped last night, was ringed here on 01 October. 🇨🇦🦉🧪🌎
Sixty Black Turnstones were feeding on the Whiffin Spit shoreline this evening 🇨🇦🪶
November 25, 2025 at 6:47 AM
Sixty Black Turnstones were feeding on the Whiffin Spit shoreline this evening 🇨🇦🪶
Owl feathers contain porphyrins, which fluoresce pink under ultraviolet light. Recently grown feathers fluoresce, while older feathers don’t, as porphyrins fade with age. First-year (1 flight feather generation) and second-year (2 generations) Northern Saw-whet Owls are pictured. 🇨🇦🧪🌎 #birdringing
November 24, 2025 at 6:41 AM
Owl feathers contain porphyrins, which fluoresce pink under ultraviolet light. Recently grown feathers fluoresce, while older feathers don’t, as porphyrins fade with age. First-year (1 flight feather generation) and second-year (2 generations) Northern Saw-whet Owls are pictured. 🇨🇦🧪🌎 #birdringing
It’s always nice to see a Bufflehead. These chaps were feeding in the Haro Straight on Wednesday. 🇨🇦🪶
November 24, 2025 at 6:15 AM
It’s always nice to see a Bufflehead. These chaps were feeding in the Haro Straight on Wednesday. 🇨🇦🪶
Tidepooling in Victoria tonight produced a handful of nudibranchs, including this Spotted Leopard Dorid (Diaulula odonoghuei) 🇨🇦🌊🦑
November 21, 2025 at 7:59 AM
Tidepooling in Victoria tonight produced a handful of nudibranchs, including this Spotted Leopard Dorid (Diaulula odonoghuei) 🇨🇦🌊🦑
I wrote an article on last month’s Salish Sea boat trip for the latest edition of BCnature magazine 🇨🇦🌊
November 20, 2025 at 8:46 PM
I wrote an article on last month’s Salish Sea boat trip for the latest edition of BCnature magazine 🇨🇦🌊
Harlequin Duck enjoying the view of Mount Baker from southern Vancouver Island this afternoon 🇨🇦🪶
November 20, 2025 at 7:23 AM
Harlequin Duck enjoying the view of Mount Baker from southern Vancouver Island this afternoon 🇨🇦🪶
Goosing Canada style! 2K ‘white-cheeked geese’ to sift through at Martindale Flats on Vancouver Island today. Bulk of Ridgway's Cackling and Dusky Canada (22 neck collars read), with a single Snow. #CanadianBirding
November 20, 2025 at 7:17 AM
Goosing Canada style! 2K ‘white-cheeked geese’ to sift through at Martindale Flats on Vancouver Island today. Bulk of Ridgway's Cackling and Dusky Canada (22 neck collars read), with a single Snow. #CanadianBirding
A cracking third-year Northern Saw-whet Owl ringed in Metchosin tonight. The key denotes the moult pattern of three flight feather generations, allowing its age to be determined. 🇨🇦🧪🌎 #birdringing
November 18, 2025 at 8:28 AM
A cracking third-year Northern Saw-whet Owl ringed in Metchosin tonight. The key denotes the moult pattern of three flight feather generations, allowing its age to be determined. 🇨🇦🧪🌎 #birdringing
Woodland wander last night. Trees swaying. Wolves howling. Varied Thrushes roosting. 🇨🇦🪶
November 18, 2025 at 7:45 AM
Woodland wander last night. Trees swaying. Wolves howling. Varied Thrushes roosting. 🇨🇦🪶
Odd twitch yesterday. A distant White-tailed Ptarmigan in Nanaimo, Vancouver Island. A mountain specialist, favouring elevations of >820 metres, who appeared on lowland farmland. 🇨🇦🪶
November 15, 2025 at 9:46 PM
Odd twitch yesterday. A distant White-tailed Ptarmigan in Nanaimo, Vancouver Island. A mountain specialist, favouring elevations of >820 metres, who appeared on lowland farmland. 🇨🇦🪶
Harris’s Sparrow this afternoon at Jordan River on Vancouver Island. Over 1000 miles northwest of where it should be! 🇨🇦🪶
November 11, 2025 at 6:13 AM
Harris’s Sparrow this afternoon at Jordan River on Vancouver Island. Over 1000 miles northwest of where it should be! 🇨🇦🪶
White-crowned Sparrow experienced a record year at Rocky Point, with 537 ringed (2000-2024 mean of 160). This individual, who’d clearly been feasting on berries, was one of our oldest recaptures, having been ringed in 2019. 🇨🇦🪶🧪🌎
November 9, 2025 at 9:52 PM
White-crowned Sparrow experienced a record year at Rocky Point, with 537 ringed (2000-2024 mean of 160). This individual, who’d clearly been feasting on berries, was one of our oldest recaptures, having been ringed in 2019. 🇨🇦🪶🧪🌎
It was Rocky Point’s second-best autumn for White-throated Sparrow, with 16 ringed (2000-2024 mean of 7.2) 🇨🇦🪶🧪🌎
November 9, 2025 at 9:42 PM
It was Rocky Point’s second-best autumn for White-throated Sparrow, with 16 ringed (2000-2024 mean of 7.2) 🇨🇦🪶🧪🌎
Male Varied Thrush in a southern Vancouver Island forest today. I’ve ringed 10 first-years over the last two weeks here, but this was my first adult! 🪶
November 9, 2025 at 6:12 AM
Male Varied Thrush in a southern Vancouver Island forest today. I’ve ringed 10 first-years over the last two weeks here, but this was my first adult! 🪶
First- and second-year Northern Saw-whet Owls last weekend in Metchosin. 1CYs are characterised by a single generation of new (juvenile) flight feathers. 2CYs exhibit a block of old (juvenile) flight feathers which are sandwiched between new outer primaries and inner secondaries. 🇨🇦🧪🌎 #birdringing
November 8, 2025 at 10:06 PM
First- and second-year Northern Saw-whet Owls last weekend in Metchosin. 1CYs are characterised by a single generation of new (juvenile) flight feathers. 2CYs exhibit a block of old (juvenile) flight feathers which are sandwiched between new outer primaries and inner secondaries. 🇨🇦🧪🌎 #birdringing
Adult male Barred Owl ringed in a southern Vancouver Island forest this evening 🇨🇦🦉
November 8, 2025 at 6:37 AM
Adult male Barred Owl ringed in a southern Vancouver Island forest this evening 🇨🇦🦉
This Northern Saw-whet Owl, trapped last night in Metchosin, was ringed <1 km away on 14 Oct 2023. Now in its third year, the clincher for ageing is the presence of three generations of flight feathers which include a juvenile generation (in this case, just the innermost primary). 🇨🇦🧪🌎 #birdringing
November 4, 2025 at 6:57 AM
This Northern Saw-whet Owl, trapped last night in Metchosin, was ringed <1 km away on 14 Oct 2023. Now in its third year, the clincher for ageing is the presence of three generations of flight feathers which include a juvenile generation (in this case, just the innermost primary). 🇨🇦🧪🌎 #birdringing
Nice night spent ringing Northern Saw-whet Owls on southern Vancouver Island 🦉🇨🇦
November 3, 2025 at 7:52 AM
Nice night spent ringing Northern Saw-whet Owls on southern Vancouver Island 🦉🇨🇦
It’s always good to see the impacts of avian non-natives documented. A recent paper on Common Myna in Israel (mdpi.com/2079-7737/14/7/828) cited our Seychelles research (sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989423002196). #ornithology
November 2, 2025 at 10:52 PM
It’s always good to see the impacts of avian non-natives documented. A recent paper on Common Myna in Israel (mdpi.com/2079-7737/14/7/828) cited our Seychelles research (sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2351989423002196). #ornithology
Every Varied Thrush I see is a delight! A male and a female, ringed in Metchosin this evening, allowed a side-by-side comparison. 🇨🇦🪶
November 2, 2025 at 6:44 AM
Every Varied Thrush I see is a delight! A male and a female, ringed in Metchosin this evening, allowed a side-by-side comparison. 🇨🇦🪶
Steller’s Jay ringed in Metchosin just now. The blue lateral crown-stripes are easy to miss in the field! #birdringing
November 2, 2025 at 12:08 AM
Steller’s Jay ringed in Metchosin just now. The blue lateral crown-stripes are easy to miss in the field! #birdringing
Male Red-breasted Nuthatch ringed in Metchosin today #birdingBC
November 1, 2025 at 10:13 PM
Male Red-breasted Nuthatch ringed in Metchosin today #birdingBC
A day of habitat restoration in the subalpine zone, via chopper. By expanding lines of sight for Vancouver Island Marmots, predation pressure on this Critically Endangered ground squirrel should be reduced. 🇨🇦🌎🐿️
October 31, 2025 at 6:03 AM
A day of habitat restoration in the subalpine zone, via chopper. By expanding lines of sight for Vancouver Island Marmots, predation pressure on this Critically Endangered ground squirrel should be reduced. 🇨🇦🌎🐿️
A stunning male Varied Thrush in Metchosin this evening 🇨🇦 #birdringing
October 30, 2025 at 5:27 AM
A stunning male Varied Thrush in Metchosin this evening 🇨🇦 #birdringing