Hi all,
Several of you have asked for a "hit list" for the coming months. Here are 10 species that could turn up soon---
1. Harris's Sparrow
2. Cattle Egret
3. Ash-throated Flycatcher
4. Slaty-backed Gull
5. Little/Black-headed/Laughing Gull (any of these would be nice!)
6. King Eider
7. Tufted Duck
8. Hoary Redpoll (should be findable if I head north in November)
9. Thick-billed Murre (might need to hit Haida Gwaii again)
10. Brambling (keep those feeders busy!)
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
NEW BC RECORD!
The morning started off at 2am with a hard thunping on the car-window... apparently it's "not cool" to camp out beside the airport runway on the road to Iona. I retreated to South Van to catch a couple more hours of sleep, then returned to Iona for some dawn birding. After not finding much I decided it was high time to head over to Reifel to search for the reported Sharp-tailed Sandpiper.
Once there it was clear that no Sharp-tailed was present, but since the tide was out... it was time for the waiting game. Mark Wynja, Ilya Povalayev, Larry Cowan, Cathie Barron, Mike and Sharon Toochin and several others showed up, and watched as 4 juvenile PEREGRINE FALCONS took turns diving on the LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER flock. This was hardly an invitation for a wayward shorebird! Things eventually settled down, but suddenly the silence was broken when ILya shouted "KINGBIRD-- FAR CORNER!!!" Apparently he had overheard Cathy talking on the phone with Larry who was on the other side of the ponds, and immediately spotted what they were looking at. An Australian birder by the name of Daniel Mantle had apparently seen it first... YES... a TROPICAL KINGBIRD!!! Greenish back, greeny-brown and somewhat forked tail... Vavoom!
I had the record tied! Or did I? Mike Toochin (record holder) broke news that his record was in fact 364 and not 365... meaning that the kingbird was the breaker, not the "tie-er." After not having seen Mike since early January (at Reifel to boot), here I was standing right beside him after over a week of nervous doldrums, looking at the bird to put me over. Clearly, the "Bird Gods" exist. Poetic right? Haha, I can only thank Mike and Sharon for setting the bar so high; now it's my turn to keep pushing for more...
A few hours later, we managed to see not 1 but 2 SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPERS in the ponds (thanks to help from Rick Wright and Brian Self respectively). Seems like the high-tide was key! A single AMERICAN TREE-SPARROW and a NORTHERN SHRIKE capped off the day nicely.
Wow. Finally I'm here The pressure is off.
Time to go birding.
Russell Cannings
South Surrey, BC
Once there it was clear that no Sharp-tailed was present, but since the tide was out... it was time for the waiting game. Mark Wynja, Ilya Povalayev, Larry Cowan, Cathie Barron, Mike and Sharon Toochin and several others showed up, and watched as 4 juvenile PEREGRINE FALCONS took turns diving on the LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER flock. This was hardly an invitation for a wayward shorebird! Things eventually settled down, but suddenly the silence was broken when ILya shouted "KINGBIRD-- FAR CORNER!!!" Apparently he had overheard Cathy talking on the phone with Larry who was on the other side of the ponds, and immediately spotted what they were looking at. An Australian birder by the name of Daniel Mantle had apparently seen it first... YES... a TROPICAL KINGBIRD!!! Greenish back, greeny-brown and somewhat forked tail... Vavoom!
I had the record tied! Or did I? Mike Toochin (record holder) broke news that his record was in fact 364 and not 365... meaning that the kingbird was the breaker, not the "tie-er." After not having seen Mike since early January (at Reifel to boot), here I was standing right beside him after over a week of nervous doldrums, looking at the bird to put me over. Clearly, the "Bird Gods" exist. Poetic right? Haha, I can only thank Mike and Sharon for setting the bar so high; now it's my turn to keep pushing for more...
A few hours later, we managed to see not 1 but 2 SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPERS in the ponds (thanks to help from Rick Wright and Brian Self respectively). Seems like the high-tide was key! A single AMERICAN TREE-SPARROW and a NORTHERN SHRIKE capped off the day nicely.
Wow. Finally I'm here The pressure is off.
Time to go birding.
Russell Cannings
South Surrey, BC
Thursday, September 30, 2010
More Vancouver birding
Over the last two days I've been patroling all the possible Sharp-tailed Sandpiper spots and hoping for some other rarities along the way. Nothing mind-blowing to report yet but here is a sumary of some of the things I've been seeing.
On Wednesday (Sept 29) I started off at Cecil Green near UBC where a few sparrows were in evidence including this nice WHITE-THROATED SPARROW--- an uncommon migrant on the coast.
I checked the sewage lagoons at Iona but only found 2 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS and 40ish LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS. The highlights here were more of the waterFOWL variety. First I spotted this cute "minima" CACKLING GOOSE. My first of the Fall.
Then later, a single BLUE-WINGED TEAL was a somewhat late find... but weirdest of all was a PURPLE-WINGED TEAL! What is that you ask? Well while writing up some notes along the side of the road that overlooks the foreshore, I noticed that one of the "Green-winged Teals" hanging out with a swarm of pintails and wigeon had obvious PURPLE speculums. As many will know, mallards sometimes show purple instead of blue but I have never heard of any other duck with purple on the wings!!! (at least in North America). As I snuck around to the back of the car to get my camera out, I accidentally flushed the entire flock. UNfortunately I wasn't able to get a photo but I managed to refind the bird in flight and sure enough-- both wings had small purple speculums--- no green! Otherwise this was a "classic" female-type Green-winged Teal. Very odd!
Next up was Reifel where the 2 highlights were massive LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER numbers and close encounters with both the resident SANDHILL CRANES and a group of wild migrants. All together in the outer ponds, there were over 4500 dowitchers, by far the most I've ever seen anywhere in BC. They were all juveniles except for 1 lone adult, and 1 WESTERN SANDPIPER joined the mix.
Today (Sept 30) I returned and all the dowies were still there plus 1 juv SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER and 1 LESSER YELLOWLEGS. It was interesting to watch a pair of PEREGRINE FALCONS dive-bomb the waders but with little effect. The dowitchers didn't seem too worried even when the peregrines swooped within a foot of their heads.
Other birds of note from today (Sept 30) include 4 WESTERN MEADOWLARKS at Iona, another WHITE-THROATED SPARROW at Terra Nova in Richmond, a RED KNOT at Boundary Bay, and a couple PACIFIC GOLDEN-PLOVERS (also at Boundary Bay). It was neat to spend 4 hours out on the BB mud and get close and personal with the waders and ducks.
Hoping for sharpies tomorrow!
Russ
On Wednesday (Sept 29) I started off at Cecil Green near UBC where a few sparrows were in evidence including this nice WHITE-THROATED SPARROW--- an uncommon migrant on the coast.
I checked the sewage lagoons at Iona but only found 2 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS and 40ish LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS. The highlights here were more of the waterFOWL variety. First I spotted this cute "minima" CACKLING GOOSE. My first of the Fall.
Then later, a single BLUE-WINGED TEAL was a somewhat late find... but weirdest of all was a PURPLE-WINGED TEAL! What is that you ask? Well while writing up some notes along the side of the road that overlooks the foreshore, I noticed that one of the "Green-winged Teals" hanging out with a swarm of pintails and wigeon had obvious PURPLE speculums. As many will know, mallards sometimes show purple instead of blue but I have never heard of any other duck with purple on the wings!!! (at least in North America). As I snuck around to the back of the car to get my camera out, I accidentally flushed the entire flock. UNfortunately I wasn't able to get a photo but I managed to refind the bird in flight and sure enough-- both wings had small purple speculums--- no green! Otherwise this was a "classic" female-type Green-winged Teal. Very odd!
Next up was Reifel where the 2 highlights were massive LONG-BILLED DOWITCHER numbers and close encounters with both the resident SANDHILL CRANES and a group of wild migrants. All together in the outer ponds, there were over 4500 dowitchers, by far the most I've ever seen anywhere in BC. They were all juveniles except for 1 lone adult, and 1 WESTERN SANDPIPER joined the mix.
Today (Sept 30) I returned and all the dowies were still there plus 1 juv SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER and 1 LESSER YELLOWLEGS. It was interesting to watch a pair of PEREGRINE FALCONS dive-bomb the waders but with little effect. The dowitchers didn't seem too worried even when the peregrines swooped within a foot of their heads.
Other birds of note from today (Sept 30) include 4 WESTERN MEADOWLARKS at Iona, another WHITE-THROATED SPARROW at Terra Nova in Richmond, a RED KNOT at Boundary Bay, and a couple PACIFIC GOLDEN-PLOVERS (also at Boundary Bay). It was neat to spend 4 hours out on the BB mud and get close and personal with the waders and ducks.
Hoping for sharpies tomorrow!
Russ
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
New Update soon
Will be updating soon. No new birds to report but a few nice birds and pics from my recent wonderings in the Vancouver area. Also some sad news about my closest friend--- my car Francesca :(
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Rocky Point and other coastal spottings
On Monday I had the great pleasure of joining some of the Rocky Point Bird Observatory staff and volunteers. It is of course a fantastic place to bird, located at the southern tip of Vancouver Island on DND (Navy) Lands. A mixture of scrub, old-growth oak/fir forest, grassland, marsh, intertidal, and open ocean meet for a great variety of spectacles both avian and otherwise. Of course, because I was there, we had "one of the worst days ever" in terms of birds caught (this is a banding station of course)-- at 13. Still, there was lots to look at including hundreds of BAND-TAILED PIGEONS (pictured feeding on arbutus berries), several hundred TURKEY VULTURES kettling around the islets before heading south over the Strait of Juan de Fuca, and good numbers of accipiters and the odd Red-tail mixed in. I also got to see my first HUTTON'S VIREO in the hand!
Back on the mainland, today-Tuesday, I suddenly realized that I am once again sick... aw man... thought I could fight it. Turns out 5 hours of sleep each night combined with sleeping in a car and birding in the rain everyday is not good for you. Therefore I decided to head back to the Okanagan to recoop... and of course, a Sharp-tailed Sandpiper shows up at Boundary Bay.
Hmm....
Decisions, decisions...
Sunday, September 19, 2010
RUFF............. check
Beautiful bird eh? I was a little worried about this guy as I found out about it when I was in Revelstoke. Luckily this juvenile decided to stick around for a 3rd day in Sooke (southern tip of Vancouver Island). Got great looks from only feet away over a 5 hour period.
All in all a great day of Island birding today, looking forward to visiting the Rocky Point Bird Observatory tomorrow then who knows what next?
Also... because of a counting error (I counted Least Sandpiper twice on the blog list), I'm back at 364. Will have to re-do the list soon.
Keep on birding in the free world!
Russ
Thursday, September 16, 2010
Another drive for the ages... yawn.
SEPT 13th
I started off today "pishing in the bushes" at every pull-off in Pacific Rim National Park. Heavy rain had hit the coast over the course of the previous two days and warblers were everywhere. By 2pm I hadn't turned up anything "rare" but was quite pleased with the abundance of warblers... quite the spectacle. To put things in perspective, in one parking lot alone (North end of Long Beach), I bumped into a mixed migrant flock containing:
130+ Yellow Warblers
65+ Orange-crowned Warblers
3 Townsend's Warblers
1 Wilson's Warbler
1 Common Yellowthroat (a bit out of place high in an alder!)
1 Yellow-rumped Warbler
2 Pacific-slope Flycatchers
2 Warbling Vireos
1 Hutton's Vireo (is that a good bird in the Tofino area? I wouldn't know)
4 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
10+ Golden-crowned Kinglets
20+ Chestnut-backed Chickadees
1 Caspian Tern (okay, this guy was sitting on the beach... but close enough)
[Townsend's Warbler says 'hello' at eye-level]
Pretty good parking lot list and that's not including the bushes which contained 5 sparrow species, 4 thrush species, and some very young Pacific Wrens.
That's when the bombshell hit: "20 Forster's Terns at Duck Lake"
WHAAAATTT??? They're back? Or did they never leave and I just missed them? Not wanting to waste any time, I hopped in the car, drove to Nanaimo, caught the 7:30pm ferry to Horseshoe Bay, then drove through the night to the Okanagan, slept on the side of the road in Richter Pass from 2am to 6am, then drove to Creston, making it to Duck Lake just after 10am.
"NO TERNS TODAY"
Those were the words of local birder Gary Breault who had heard from Linda Van Damme (who tipped me off in the first place) that I would be around, and he had hit Duck Lake in the morning to scout for me... why are people so nice!!! Unfortunately however, there were no terns at the usual spot at the south end of the lake. This is where the advantages of being "local" come in. Gary told me that the terns usually disperse to the north and that I would have a good chance at finding some if I walked the railway bed up the west side of the valley. I thanked him for his help and set out. I hadn't got very far however when I picked up a flock of terns in my scope. Sure enough 15 FORSTER'S TERNS were feeding in a tight group at the north end of the lake. Eventually they came close enough to feel good about the ID and then continued further north and out of site.
YIPPEEEEE!!!! Like the Black-necked Stilt, Bay-breasted Warbler, and Philadelphia Vireo before it, I had considered the tern as a massive bungle on my part... a missed breeder... but here they were! Just as Gary and Linda had predicted! Now I'm only 1 away from tying the record!
Thanks to Linda and Gary and all the other Creston birders who have kept me informed over the last couple weeks! And now I hear that Harris's Sparrow is an annual visitor??? Might hear from me again soon!
After a celebratory sandwich at MUGWUMPS, I hit the road again... finally getting back to Penticton around 5pm.
I just hope no one finds anything rare in the next 48 hours... I need rest people!!!
I started off today "pishing in the bushes" at every pull-off in Pacific Rim National Park. Heavy rain had hit the coast over the course of the previous two days and warblers were everywhere. By 2pm I hadn't turned up anything "rare" but was quite pleased with the abundance of warblers... quite the spectacle. To put things in perspective, in one parking lot alone (North end of Long Beach), I bumped into a mixed migrant flock containing:
130+ Yellow Warblers
65+ Orange-crowned Warblers
3 Townsend's Warblers
1 Wilson's Warbler
1 Common Yellowthroat (a bit out of place high in an alder!)
1 Yellow-rumped Warbler
2 Pacific-slope Flycatchers
2 Warbling Vireos
1 Hutton's Vireo (is that a good bird in the Tofino area? I wouldn't know)
4 Ruby-crowned Kinglets
10+ Golden-crowned Kinglets
20+ Chestnut-backed Chickadees
1 Caspian Tern (okay, this guy was sitting on the beach... but close enough)
[Townsend's Warbler says 'hello' at eye-level]
Pretty good parking lot list and that's not including the bushes which contained 5 sparrow species, 4 thrush species, and some very young Pacific Wrens.
That's when the bombshell hit: "20 Forster's Terns at Duck Lake"
WHAAAATTT??? They're back? Or did they never leave and I just missed them? Not wanting to waste any time, I hopped in the car, drove to Nanaimo, caught the 7:30pm ferry to Horseshoe Bay, then drove through the night to the Okanagan, slept on the side of the road in Richter Pass from 2am to 6am, then drove to Creston, making it to Duck Lake just after 10am.
"NO TERNS TODAY"
Those were the words of local birder Gary Breault who had heard from Linda Van Damme (who tipped me off in the first place) that I would be around, and he had hit Duck Lake in the morning to scout for me... why are people so nice!!! Unfortunately however, there were no terns at the usual spot at the south end of the lake. This is where the advantages of being "local" come in. Gary told me that the terns usually disperse to the north and that I would have a good chance at finding some if I walked the railway bed up the west side of the valley. I thanked him for his help and set out. I hadn't got very far however when I picked up a flock of terns in my scope. Sure enough 15 FORSTER'S TERNS were feeding in a tight group at the north end of the lake. Eventually they came close enough to feel good about the ID and then continued further north and out of site.
YIPPEEEEE!!!! Like the Black-necked Stilt, Bay-breasted Warbler, and Philadelphia Vireo before it, I had considered the tern as a massive bungle on my part... a missed breeder... but here they were! Just as Gary and Linda had predicted! Now I'm only 1 away from tying the record!
Thanks to Linda and Gary and all the other Creston birders who have kept me informed over the last couple weeks! And now I hear that Harris's Sparrow is an annual visitor??? Might hear from me again soon!
After a celebratory sandwich at MUGWUMPS, I hit the road again... finally getting back to Penticton around 5pm.
I just hope no one finds anything rare in the next 48 hours... I need rest people!!!
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