Max Hellicar
@birdingtothemax.bsky.social
Birder • Ringer (BTO trainer) • Ecologist • MSc graduate • Sharing the wildlife I see on my travels!
Black-headed Gull sightings just in. I ringed 2N05 in Southend-on-Sea on 03 January 2025. It was seen from April to June in a colony at Zwillbrocker Venn in Germany, just a whisker from the Dutch border. It had returned to Southend by August. 🧪🌍 #EssexBirding
December 23, 2025 at 3:16 PM
Black-headed Gull sightings just in. I ringed 2N05 in Southend-on-Sea on 03 January 2025. It was seen from April to June in a colony at Zwillbrocker Venn in Germany, just a whisker from the Dutch border. It had returned to Southend by August. 🧪🌍 #EssexBirding
Barrow’s Goldeneye and assorted geese from today’s Christmas Bird Count on the Saanich Peninsula #CanadianBirding
December 15, 2025 at 5:59 AM
Barrow’s Goldeneye and assorted geese from today’s Christmas Bird Count on the Saanich Peninsula #CanadianBirding
Ringing recovery: a Rufous Hummingbird I ringed in Metchosin, British Columbia, on 22 June was found in Angell, Arizona, on 12 August. The 1773 km between encounters is potentially less than 30% of the distance it should’ve covered, having been killed by a cat. 🧪🌎 #birdringing
December 14, 2025 at 8:02 AM
Ringing recovery: a Rufous Hummingbird I ringed in Metchosin, British Columbia, on 22 June was found in Angell, Arizona, on 12 August. The 1773 km between encounters is potentially less than 30% of the distance it should’ve covered, having been killed by a cat. 🧪🌎 #birdringing
Epic recovery report just received! ⚠️ A Turnstone I trapped using a homemade walk-in trap has been recaptured in the 🌍 world’s 🌎 northernmost continuously inhabited settlement. Ringed on 12 February 2024 in Southend-on-Sea, Essex 🇬🇧, it was re-trapped on 08 June 2025 in Alert, Nunavut… 🇨🇦 (🧵 1/2)
December 10, 2025 at 10:10 PM
Epic recovery report just received! ⚠️ A Turnstone I trapped using a homemade walk-in trap has been recaptured in the 🌍 world’s 🌎 northernmost continuously inhabited settlement. Ringed on 12 February 2024 in Southend-on-Sea, Essex 🇬🇧, it was re-trapped on 08 June 2025 in Alert, Nunavut… 🇨🇦 (🧵 1/2)
Female Varied Thrush ringed today 🇨🇦🪶
December 5, 2025 at 7:19 AM
Female Varied Thrush ringed today 🇨🇦🪶
Red-breasted Nuthatch today. Or a miniature badger…? 🦡🪶🇨🇦
December 4, 2025 at 7:33 AM
Red-breasted Nuthatch today. Or a miniature badger…? 🦡🪶🇨🇦
Male Red-shafted (Northern) Flicker ringed on southern Vancouver Island today. I always appreciate the intricate patterns of their tail coverts. 🇨🇦🪶
December 4, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Male Red-shafted (Northern) Flicker ringed on southern Vancouver Island today. I always appreciate the intricate patterns of their tail coverts. 🇨🇦🪶
It was a record autumn for Spotted Towhee at Rocky Point, with 438 ringed. That’s 17 kg of biomass! Two subspecies were encountered: oregonus (common) and arcticus (rare). A key difference is that arcticus has more extensive white in the scapulars. 🇨🇦🪶🧪🌎
December 3, 2025 at 10:22 PM
It was a record autumn for Spotted Towhee at Rocky Point, with 438 ringed. That’s 17 kg of biomass! Two subspecies were encountered: oregonus (common) and arcticus (rare). A key difference is that arcticus has more extensive white in the scapulars. 🇨🇦🪶🧪🌎
Varied Thrushes are everywhere at the moment! I saw at least 30 on my afternoon forest outing. This male was one of three ringed. #birdingBC
December 3, 2025 at 7:14 AM
Varied Thrushes are everywhere at the moment! I saw at least 30 on my afternoon forest outing. This male was one of three ringed. #birdingBC
The travels of 2N04 continue. I ringed this Black-headed Gull in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, on 03 January. It spent July to September in Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire, before visiting Datchet, Berkshire, on 26 November. #EssexBirding
December 3, 2025 at 7:09 AM
The travels of 2N04 continue. I ringed this Black-headed Gull in Southend-on-Sea, Essex, on 03 January. It spent July to September in Mablethorpe, Lincolnshire, before visiting Datchet, Berkshire, on 26 November. #EssexBirding
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) 🇨🇦🪶🧪🌎