Australia Part 1: A week in Bellawongarah

So it's October now, and for the first time in 4 years I'm not in British Columbia doing silly things like chasing vagrant birds on Vancouver Island, shovelling turkey into my mouth, and thinking about what tall historical/fantastical characters I could dress up as for Halloween. Instead, I am in Australia. Why not right? With no major plans for the winter and a teensy bit of money saved after the field-season, I figured this could be a fun way to spend six months (finances depending of course).

Another big reason for heading down to Australia specifically, would have to be Nigel Jackett. Some of you may know him and Jaime Hall, who cycled across Canada together in 2011, tallying 333 bird species and raising around $4,500 for the Ancient Forest Alliance (based in British Columbia). I had the pleasure of meeting up with Nigel and Jaime in Victoria as they completed their long journey. While out birding, Nigel mentioned that if I ever wanted to come down to Australia (Nigel and Jaime live in Perth), I would be welcome to crash for a bit at their place, and there might even be the possibility of field-work. Well hopefully he wasn't just trying to be polite because that's what about to happen! ;)

Superb Fairy-wren... an ugly denizen of parks and gardens

I flew out of Vancouver on the afternoon of October 1st headed for Shanghai on China Eastern Airlines. Wasn't sure what to expect from this little-known of the big carriers, but it was cheap! Landed in Shanghai around sunset; didn't have a window-seat so no birds to report. Spent a few hours stretching out the legs around the Pu Dong airport, then boarded the next flight (overnight) to Sydney. This time around I didn't have the luxury of an emergency exit seat, so it was a decidedly uncomfortable attempt at sleeping for these long legs-o-mine.

When I got off the plane in Sydney it was 9am local-time, and despite my one or two hours of sleep I felt surprisingly alert and excited now that I was Down Unda. After gathering up my stuff I boarded a train for Central Station where I transferred to the South Line and headed to the small town of Berry, south of the coastal city of Wollongong. Here I was met by Carla Jackett, Nigel's mother. Following Nigel's recommendation, I would be spending the next few days "getting over jetlag" with Carla and his dad (Jacko) at their lovely place up on Berry Mountain. I wasn't actually jetlagged at all, and since Carla is a birder, it turned out to be a glorious way to get my feet wet in the Aussie lifestyle (with an emphasis on feathered objects).

Warning: The following blog entry contains scenes of graphic birding and partial nerdity. Reader discretion is advised.

DAY 1

As I stepped into Carla's car, she asked if I wanted to sleep or go birding. The answer was easy.

On the train-ride in I had picked up a couple nice birds like WHITE-BELLIED SEA-EAGLE, STRAW-NECKED IBIS, SULPHUR-CRESTED COCKATOO, WHITE-FACED HERON, and NOISY MINER. Once in Berry with Carla, the fun continued as LITTLE and RED WATTLEBIRDS chattered in some local gardens, MAGPIE-LARKS patrolled a nearby roadside ditch, and a gang of RAINBOW LORIKEETS screeched as they hurtled past. All around me were unfamiliar calls and sounds, and birds I only vaguely recognized from a family holiday to Australia back when I was 14. It was a strange feeling, after many years of getting to know North America's birds, not having a clue what some things were even when they were perched right in front of me!

Carla took me to a place called Shoalhaven Heads (via the meat-pie shop of course)--the local river estuary hotspot that also boasts a beautiful beach on the mighty Pacific Ocean as well as  a mixture of brushy habitats. New trip birds were being added at a ridiculous pace, as CHESTNUT TEAL, MANED DUCK, and AUSTRALIAN PELICAN were tallied before even getting out of the car.

Australian Pelican against the Aussie hills

Once out on two feet, the hits just kept on coming. NEW HOLLAND and LEWIN'S HONEYEATERS filled nearby trees with their sharp contact calls, while low in the scrub BROWN THORNBILLS, GREY FANTAILS, and SUPERB FAIRY-WRENS buzzed and trilled.

As we rounded a bay, we came upon a nice selection of shorebirds feeding on the tidal flats. These included a good number of PACIFIC GOLDEN-PLOVERS, RED-NECKED STINTS, and RED KNOTS, along with a few PIED OYSTERCATCHERS, and single SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER and RED-CAPPED PLOVER.

Each week Carla helps with a volunteer effort to monitor the nesting oystercatchers in the area, so next we headed over to the dunes where some electric fences have been erected to keep people and dogs out of the nesting zone. As we approached one nest however, an AUSTRALIAN RAVEN hovered over the unguarded nest, then nabbed an egg! As the raven flew low over the beach Carla chased after it as it disappeared behind a dune. As she did so, a group of 9 WHITE-FRONTED CHATS flushed off the open ground--a nice species to pick up for the area. As we got closer, the raven flew off without an egg, but Carla found his tracks and after a bit of searching I found the egg, completely intact, cached under a pile of dried seaweed!

Carlo with "POC" egg

These are not raven tracks... can you guess who they belong to?

Answer: Red-capped Plover! [Essentially a sexier version of our Snowy Plover]

And yes, out on the proper beach there were a handful of plovers, and while we checked the other Pied Oystercatcher nest (which fledged successfully by the way), we also noted fly-by WHISTLING KITE, BROWN GOSHAWK, WHITE-BELLIED SEA-EAGLE, and not to be out winged by the big boys--a single BAR-SHOULDERED DOVE.  Offshore I scoped a fishingboat which was getting a lot of attention from a flock of SILVER GULLS. A small, white-headed albatross was circling the boat which I concluded was a SHY ALBATROSS based on the underwing pattern. Several probable SHORT-TAILED SHEARWATERS were also too far out to see well, and my first EASTERN WHIPBIRDS of the trip gave their totally awesome-cool songs from the coastal scrub.

White-bellied Sea Eagle

It was getting close to supper-time so we headed back to Berry and up into the hills where Carla and Jacko live. Some people have nice birdy yards... but this was something else! 150 acres of Eucalyptus woodland and temperate rainforest, criss-crossed by convenient walking tracks and trickling brooks? I could get used to this.

As we neared the house, a WOMBAT scooted across the road--what a burly ball of intriguing cuteness! Yes they're cute okay? But also funny-lookin. Anyway--also passed a couple SWAMP WALLABIES along the way. Decent start to the marsupial list. It was too dark to see birds when we pulled into the driveway, but LAUGHING KOOKABURRAS and LOGRUNNERS (endemic to a thin strip of mountains in New South Wales and southern Queensland---those are Australian states if you just came out of a cave) were still actively calling. Later on in the evening a pair of SOUTHERN BOOBOOK (owls) started calling.

Bassian Thrush; nice to catch one out in the open

What a place-- I couldn't wait for the morning, but sleep seemed like a good idea.

DAY 2

I woke up at 5:30am. Not much choice when a family of LAUGHING KOOKABURRAS live outside your window. As the eastern skies brightened, an incredible cacophony of incredible birdsong filled the air. The distinctive song of the EASTERN WHIPBIRD was about the only thing I could identify, save for one obvious exception: the SUPERB LYREBIRD. If you haven't seen the BBC segment on this bird, you need to check it out (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VjE0Kdfos4Y). A bird that looks this cool and sounds that cool, has no business being "fairly common" in someone's backyard. But that's the way it is here at Carla and Jacko's place (known as "Bellawongarah"--or "the place of many Wonga Pigeons"). As I sat at the breakfast table, I could hear at least 3 or 4 different lyrebirds sounding off, along with a host of mysterious sounds that I was dying to try and track down. 

Male (left) and female Gang-gang Cockatoos

So off we went, first along a trail that leads into the rainforest habitat--birds were everywhere. Carla pointed out WHITE-BROWED and YELLOW-THROATED SCRUBWRENS, then I spotted a single LARGE-BILLED SCRUBWREN. Songsters higher up in the canopy included GOLDEN and RUFOUS WHISTLERS, BLACK-FACED MONARCHS, SPOTTED PARDALOTES, BROWN GARYGONES, and GREY SHRIKE-THRUSHES. As we climbed the trail up to the top of a nearby hill, we caught a glimpse of a female lyrebird dashing up the path in front of us. Further up, the forest opened into a drier eucalyptus woodland. Here, eye-popping CRIMSON ROSELLAS rocketed past, while WHITE-THROATED TREECREEPERS worked the trunks of nearby trees. Probably the neatest discovery of the morning, was a pair of GANG-GANG COCKATOOS that were apparently excavating a nest!

Next we headed down a lower track to an area where Carla has been monitoring a small population Eastern Bristlebirds (once common in south-eastern Oz, now rapidly declining). No luck with those secretive brown-jobs but a few new birds were coming in to a small pond. Here we picked up ROSE ROBIN, EASTERN YELLOW ROBIN, YELLOW-FACED HONEYEATER, and a showy male RUFOUS WHISTLER.

From here we headed back to the house for a nice lunch of egg sandies... nabbed a pair of AUSTRALIAN KING PARROTS on the walk.

After lunch, Carla drove me down to Bomaderry where there's a beautiful little sandstone canyon. This is a known site for the highly localized endemic--the Rock Warbler--essentially the Aussie version of a Canyon Wren (in terms of ecological niche). It was a warm afternoon, so bird activity was somewhat reduced, but since this was my first full day in the country there were still great things to see! YELLOW-FACED HONEYEATERS were common, and I nabbed my lifer YELLOW THORNBILL. Then once we got down into the cool shade of the canyon we were treated to great looks at a BROWN CUCKOO-DOVE. Soon after this I spotted a WHITE-THROATED TREECREEPER feeding two young at a nest!

Juvie White-throated Treecreeper peeking out of the nest cavity

 And just as I pointed that out, Carla noticed a RING-TAILED POSSUM snoozing right out in the open!

Apparently tourists aren't supposed to get this lucky

In the evening, Carla and I took a short nightwalk. Couldn't find any owls but we got decent looks at a GREATER GLIDER-- a very cool marsupial. We also had brief glimpses of a foraging ECHIDNA but hopefully I'll see more.

DAY 3

One of the more extravagant one-lane bridges I've seen (Kangaroo Valley)

Today Carla was heading into the picturesque country town of Kangaroo Valley for a yoga class, and so I came along and went for a walk along the nearby Kangaroo River. It was a hot day, but there were so many birds around I barely noticed. Showy EASTERN SPINEBILLS darted from flower to flower, while a NOISY FRIARBIRD and SACRED KINGFISHER both called loudly from atop a tall Eucalyptus. As I rounded a corner in the trail, I spooked a large group of EASTERN GREY KANGAROOS--my first true kangas of the trip! More new trip birds/lifers popped up as I trekked further up the sandstone canyon. An OLIVE-BACKED ORIOLE was a nice one, but a calling male LEADEN FLYCATCHER was possibly even cooler. A black speck in the sky caught my eye and I got it in the bins just in time before it flew out of view---adult WEDGE-TAILED EAGLE! Final new bird of the walk was a trilling FAN-TAILED CUCKOO which took me quite a while to pinpoint as it hopped around in a thick patch of trees.

Yawning White-naped Honeyeater--quite numerous along the trail

Headed back to the Jackett homestead for another relaxing afternoon. On the way we stopped off at a scenic lookout but unfortunately the sky was a bit hazy. High overhead we heard and saw a small group of woodswallows--a good find for the area, but they were just too high and back-lit to 100% ID them--most likely Masked but possibly White-browed... more on that later.

Oh yes--and later that evening, as the sun was going down, we finally scored an EASTERN BRISTLEBIRD! Clara pointed out the sharp call, then after some patience we caught a glimpse of it dashing across the road.

And today my ECHIDA prayers were answered!

DAY 4

Today was Carla and my 'big' birding day (if we weren't birding enough already). The plan was to meet a group of Wollongong and Sydney birders out at Barren Grounds Nature Reserve-- a place where the scarce and declining Eastern Ground Parrot can be found, among other goodies.

Only problem was... the weather had changed from hot and sunny to foggy, rainy, and cold.

Eastern Ground Parrot habitat; this is probably a very pretty meadow on a sunny day

Since the main group wasn't meeting until 9am, we arrived at 7 to get an earlier start in case any ground parrots were on the track. The rain wasn't letting up and the fog made visibility challenging but at least there were still lots of birds around. Seems to be a theme in this area!

Hoping for handouts at the picnic shelter. This wet Pied Currawong is a little bit more intimidating than a Gray Jay!

A singing HORSFIELD'S BRONZE CUCKOO was the first new bird, then around the first bend we ran into the first pair of EASTERN BRISTLEBIRDS (we ended up with around 8!). Apparently rainy days are good for seeing these guys out on the track.

Tough to get good photographs when it's pouring rain and windy!

Another nice advent of this cruddy weather was that had pushed in large numbers of woodswallows. At first it was a bit frustrating because we could hear them calling off in the fog but couldn’t see any. Masked and White-browed Woodswallows have similar calls and often travel in mixed flocks, but we couldn’t be sure until we actually saw them well. Every once in a while a bird would fly past close enough to see, but it was only a silhouette. Finally our prayers were answered and we came upon a tree where close to ten woodswallows were resting. Here we had fantastic looks at WHITE-BROWED WOODWALLOWS and at least one MASKED WOODSWALLOW. Apparently White-browed are fairly unusual this close to the east coast, but being nomadic, they can sometimes turn up in large numbers and I reckon there were probably around one hundred of them in this small area today.

Finally! A woodswallow that we can ID--this one of the "Masked" variety... looks cold

But there were plenty of other great birds to see along the walk. A pair of BEAUTIFUL FIRETAILS (cute little finches) popped up for a quick look, then I finally got a decent look at a FAN-TAILED CUCKOO after hearing many over the last couple days. Around the next bend, we had possibly our most significant sighting—not a bird but a LONG-NOSED POTOROO. Apparently a threatened species and something that few Aussies are lucky enough to see.

Mr. Potoroo--possibly the best find of the trip thus far

As we descended a small hill down to a creek crossing where a natural the sandstone forms a natural bridge across the water, we were on high alert for a very special endemic known as the Pilotbird. This species is only found in the SE corner of Australia and is often difficult to see, even in known territories. Apparently the name derives from their alleged penchant for following lyrebirds around the forest in order to snag a few bugs or worms that the larger bird rakes up (e.g. like a ‘pilot-fish’ with a shark). Apparently there is much contention about the validity of this behaviour however—but frankly I would be happy to just to see one! We listened hard for their Fox Sparrow-like song, but all we could hear really were bag-loads of NEW HOLLAND HONEYEATERS, mixed groups of BROWN THORNBILLS and WHITE-BROWED SCRUBWRENS, plus the omnipresent gangs of CRIMSON ROSELLAS (not complaining!).

At this point we were getting pretty wet despite the rain gear, so we started heading back, then this guy popped onto the trail! As we stood and watched in silence, this PILOTBIRD actually moved closer toward us before moving off into the scrub.

Foggy/rainy picture of a Pilotbird. Note the white patch on the neck--minor pigment defect?

But the Barren Grounds still had one more gift for us. As we neared the car-park, Carla remarked that we still hadn’t seen or heard an emu-wren. I asked her to play the call to refresh my memory on what they sounded like, and instantly a pair of SOUTHERN EMU-WRENS started calling from the scrub right beside us and I enjoyed brief but fantastic views of both male and female. Their high-pitched squeaks are somewhat reminiscent of golden-crowned kinglets, but they’re a lot hard to see since they favour the thick bush and aren’t as keen to pop out into the open like fairy-wrens will.

Yep, it was wet.

Despite missing the ground parrots, I was thoroughly happy with the morning’s walk, and so we headed down the hill to the town of Robertson so we celebrated (and dried off) with a couple of meat-pies at the local bakery.

As we left Robertson, the rain had abated, which made the rest of the afternoon that much more enjoyable. We stopped off first at a pond (or “dam” as Kiwis and Aussies say) in Moss Vale where new trips birds were everywhere. A pair of introduced (European) GOLD FINCHES flew across the road, then Carla spotted two AUSTRALIAN SHELDUCKS in a nearby paddock. EURASIAN SKY LARKS were singing overhead and we eventually had looks at one of them. Then a native RUFOUS SONGLARK showed us what he could do, just as several WHITE-WINGED WHISTLERS flew by! As I hastily absorbed all these new things, we finally turned our attention to the pond itself where there were plenty of waterbirds including AUSTRALASIAN SHOVELER, HARDHEAD, HOARY-HEADED and AUSTRALASIAN GREBES, and a single BLACK-FRONTED DOTTEREL. Unfortunately, some hoped-for freckled ducks were not seen, but no worries. A flock of EASTERN ROSELLAS, plus a pair of smart-looking RED-RUMPED PARROTS made for an easy distraction.

Pair of Galahs (cockatoos) lookin' gooood. "Common as muck"

Our final birding stop of the day was a large reservoir near Fitzroy Falls. It was getting pretty windy but we soon found a couple of the expected GREAT CRESTED GREBES, along with a couple AUSTRALASIAN and HOARY-HEADEDS. Then we quickly stopped in to a spot on the east side of the reservoir, and I was about to ask if people ever see terns in the area, just as a medium-sized tern landed on a piece of wood about 150m away! It was an adult in pre-basic moult and puzzled us for a fair-while. By far the most likely red-billed/red-legged tern species in this part of the world is WHISKERED TERN, and after much humming and hawing I finally decided that it must be so. Good old distant terns right!

Back to Bellawongarah for some tea and a hot-shower!

Me wearing a toque: Proof that it's not always smoking hot down here

DAY 5

Today I took it easy and lounged around the Jacketts’s place a bit. Some new birds this morning included a pair of ver cool-looking CRESTED SHRIKE-TITS, a single BLACK-FACED CUCKOO-SHRIKE, and brief views of a GREEN CATBIRD (which we later heard giving their fantastic cat/baby-like wails in the afternoon).

Not sure if it was this day or another day, but Carla and I discovered that a SATIN BOWERBIRD had constructed his bower just meters from the edge of their yard! These bowers are not for nesting. Essentially they are a catwalk for the male to strut his stuff and impress females. This particular species clears a small patch of ground in the forest, makes a soft carpet of grasses, then builds a little archway which I suppose he walk through during the display. The finishing touch is a collection of blue things that the male collects from his surrounding territory. Traditionally these would mostly be flowers, but ‘modern’ Satin Bowerbirds often use a wide range of man-made objects such as bottle-caps, string, flagging-tape, or even someone’s business card. As long as it’s blue!

Apparently it takes the male Satin Bowerbird SEVEN years to look this good!

DAY 6

Today I bid farewell to Bellawongarah and headed north on the train to Sydney. I can’t thank Carla and Jacko enough for the wonderful hospitality, and especially Carla for taking so much time to show me around, rain or shine!

And I shouldn't neglect to mention these new friends> Wheat-Bix (top) and his sister Roma--
the  "Serial Lickers of Bellawongarah"

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"Slightly out-of-focus, through some branches" shot of
a Red-rumped Parrot...just so you know it's mine

I got off the train in Campbelltown, a SE suburb of Sydney, where a longtime friend from the high-school days—Jenny Kenyon—is living while completing vet school. After relaxing and catching up at her place for a while, we took a walk through a nearby park to grab some lunch. Despite being in a distinctly urban setting, there were plenty of birds around and I couldn’t help but nerd it up for a while. A good mix of ducks and grebes were present but nothing new. The new things came in the form of FAIRY MARTINS whizzing around overhead, a few groups of WHITE-PLUMED HONEYEATERS calling from the trees, while AUSTRALIAN REED-WARBLERS chattered from… yes… the reeds! We also got great views of RED-RUMPED PARROTS. Hard to concentrate on ‘normal’ things when these dang birds are everywhere.

Tonight we took it easy since Jenny was still recovering from a lovely bout of tonsillitis and I needed to catch a train to the airport at 5am. Had some pretty tasty Thai curry though… Flying to Perth tomorrow!

Jenny in front of the mighty Harrington Park water feature! 

Massive thank you to Jenny K for the warm welcome—I’ll see ya again in a couple months! 

Whirlwind Alberta Trip (June 2012)

From June 16th to the morning of June 20th, I did nothing but bird around the southern half of Alberta. I probably averaged around 4 hours of car-sleep per night, and tallied over 200 species including 24 species of warbler! It's taken me too long to get around to doing this so I'm afraid this will be an abbreviated summary followed by a few photo-highlights.

I had 5 days off from work in Revelstoke, so here's what I did-->

After 6 days out in the bush doing fieldwork, I showered then headed east out of Revelstoke. After some accident-delays near Rogers Pass, I finally made it to my first stop (Horse Creek Marsh) NW of Cochrane, AB some time around 2am. I fell asleep in the car to the metronomic ticking of several YELLOW RAILS, as well as the soft trills of both NELSON'S and LE CONTE'S SPARROWS

Day 1--Woke up at bright and early, with the rails and sparrows still going at it. Also picked up EASTERN PHOEBE and SWAMP SPARROW. Oh and how can I forget? When I awoke in the car, a GREAT GRAY OWL was perched on a fence-post across the road! 

From here I drove straight through Calgary down to Medicine Hat where I turned off south to Pakowki Lake, and spent the rest of the day in the SE corner of the province looking for prairie specials. I was not disappointed as despite some strong winds, I managed to find some great birds including FERRUGINOUS HAWK, KRIDER'S (Red-tailed) HAWK, WHITE-FACED IBIS, UPLAND SANDPIPER, WILLET, MARBLED GODWIT, BURROWING OWL, SPRAGUE'S PIPIT, LARK BUNTING, and GRASSHOPPER SPARROW. Also saw my first BADGER!!!

On this night, I fell asleep to the jumbled song of 20+ LARK BUNTINGS that surrounded my car. I was near the US border at Wild Horse, and these showy black-and-white sparrows were nearly in plague numbers!

Day 2--Finally managed good looks at my lifer BAIRD'S SPARROW this morning. The ever-abundant and noisy LARK BUNTINGS made listening for this secretive sparrow tricky but eventually I got one in the scope about 10m off the road.

After filling my boots with grassland bird treats, I decided to head north to the Cypress Hills. Here an "Inter-provincial Park" (shared with Saskatchewan) protects a good portion of the remaining forested tracks of this unique area. At the time of glaciation, these hills acted as an isolated set of islands for breeding forest birds, and now this place is quite unusual indeed. Surrounded by hundreds of miles of grassland, the hills are high enough to support rich spruce forests, shaded lakes, and aspen copses. Most interestingly, many of the birds here are distinctly western, despite being well east of the Rocky Mountains. Therefore it's a good spot to work on both your Alberta and Saskatchewan bird lists! Here are some of the western birds I managed to pick up today: COMMON POORWILL, RED-NAPED SAPSUCKER, RED-SHAFTED (Northern) FLICKER, DUSKY FLYCATCHER, AUDUBON'S (Yellow-rumped) WARBLER, MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER, and BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK. Some other nice things I picked up here included WILD TURKEY and WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS who both breed near the town of Elkwater, and a few singing OVENBIRDS (the only true "eastern" warbler here).

After sweeping the Cypress Hills specials, I was ahead of schedule, so I decided to do something crazy: Head to Cold Lake Provincial Park in NE Alberta! First I stopped off in Medicine Hat, where after a bit of effort managed to get great looks at both BROWN THRASHER and YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT at a local park, then I headed due north to Oyen, AB as the sun started going down. 

Slept somewhere in the middle of nowhere, not quite sure where.

Day 3--Woke up to the sound of a displaying LONG-BILLED CURLEW, then hit the road where I nabbed some breaky in Vermillion, AB. From there I headed straight to Cold Lake Provincial Park where I rolled in around 10am. The reason for coming all this way is because this park is famous for its great diversity of eastern boreal specialties. It's like the Peace River area but better, and in a much more concentrated area.

Within minutes of entering the park I had already seen 4 male BLACKBURNIAN WARBLERS (my favourite American wood-warbler). Soon after I had added CANADA, BAY-BREASTED, and CHESTNUT-SIDED WARBLER, among many other neat birds such as the (eastern) WINTER WREN, COMMON TERN (on the lake itself). --All the while having to deal with F-18s from the nearby airforce base blasting back and forth across the sky. 

After adding RUBY-THROATED HUMMINGBIRD and PURPLE MARTIN in town as I ate my lunch, I decided to head over to relatively nearby Pierce Lake in Saskatchewan. It was a relatively quiet afternoon, but it was still kinda fun to add some boreal birds to my shrimpy Saskatchewan life-list.

In the evening I birded the Parsnip Lake Rd which head NW out of the town of Cold Lake toward the air-base. It's great for spruce and muskeg birds like CAPE MAY WARBLER, PALM WARBLER, and YELLOW-BELLIED FLYCATCHER. Things were still fairly quiet in the evening, but a pumping AMERICAN BITTERN was nice.

Day 4--Birded the Parsnip Lake Rd at dawn. Not as active with birds as I had hoped (it was quite cold) but I did hear plenty of CONNECTICUT WARBLERS, along with a few other new birds for the trip. I nipped into Cold Lake Provincial Park later in the morning, hoping to pick up Great Crested Flycatcher but I had no luck. I did however scope a beautiful pair of RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS on the lake, and at long last, I found my first BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER of the trip.

To cap off the morning I dashed over to Pierce Lake, SK again to try for more Saskie birds. Birdsong was much better in the morning and I heard and saw even more CONNECTICUT WARBLERS than on the Alberta side.

Left Cold Lake around lunch-time and basically drove straight south to the Drumheller area, where I had a hot-tip on some Piping Plover locations. My only detour was through beautiful Elk Island National Park just east of Edmonton, where despite some rain squalls, I finally managed to find a GREAT CRESTED FLYCATCHER. Finally got to a small series of Alkaline lakes where the plovers are supposed to be around 5pm. After an hour of careful scanning, I could not find any shorebirds let alone the endangered piper! With some very threatening storm-clouds rolling in, I was worried my new corolla, as shiny as it is, might not be able to make it out on these muddy roads once rain-soaked. I decided to try for one last scan at the first lake and finally bingo! There along the shoreline was a cute little PIPING PLOVER, seeming pretty casual considering the size of the lightning storm that was about to hit.

Quick side-note: If you haven't driven across the praires during lighting-storm season, you are missing out! Because you can see for so far, there were times when I would be driving along a sunny country road, while 4 or 5 separate thunderstorms could be counted raging off at various directions in the distance. An awesome way to experience the atmosphere of this deceptively beautiful part of the country.

After nabbing the plover, I retreated to Boston Pizza in Drumheller for a "high-class" celebration meal. I was nearing the end of a tiring but fantastic trip, plus the Blue Jays rallied to beat the Yankees in the bottom of the 9th, and a pair of GRAY PARTRIDGE flew across the highway as I left Drumheller at sunset... life was good!

Drove through Calgary in the dark and slept on a side-road somewhere south of Cochrane.

Day 5--Woke up at dawn yet again (like 3-something???), and birded the Bear Hill area east of Canmore where I heard Chris Charlesworth's staked-out male CAPE MAY WARBLER, as well as my first TOWNSEND'S WARBLER and OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER of the trip. From here I headed into the Rockies and birded my way along the Bow River to Lake Louise where I padded my warbler list with the addition of ORANGE-CROWNED, BLACKPOLL, and WILSON'S WARBLER, along with NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH. Once I hit the border, I just drove straight back to Revelstoke.

Time to get back to work.

Woke up in the car to this guy!

Prairie Roads in June; nothing like it (those hills are in Montana)

Male McCown's Longspur near Wild Horse, Alberta

Upland Sandpiper at Wild Horse 

Yellow-breasted Chat in Medicine Hat

Chestnut-sided Warbler in Cold Lake Provincial Park

Palm Warbler (feeding young) along the Parsnip Lake Rd, near Cold Lake

RAIN IN THE DESERT: The tale of the 2012 BCFO AGM Extension Field Trip to Southern Washington State

As lunch wrapped up in the early afternoon of June 3^rd, the British Columbia Field Ornithologists’ AGM was coming to a close, it was time for 14 keeners (including myself) to keep the party rolling! After leading last year’s extension fieldtrip to Fort Nelson, I had the distinct pleasure of leading another one—this time to the interior of Washington State. Along the way we would be concentrating mainly on the birds of shrub-steppe and ponderosa pine habitats. Unfortunately poor weather made for some difficult and unpleasant birding at times, and thwarted our owling ambitions. Nevertheless, some fantastic birds and moments were had by all—here’s our report!

DAY 1: Princeton to Omak, USA

Unlike last year when we had 2 rented vans, this year we would be carpooling. So after organising the troops, our convoy left Princeton around 2pm, eastward bound for the Chopaka border-crossing near the lower end of the Canadian Similkameen Valley. Before passing through customs, we stopped in an extensive area of sage-brush where Brewer’s Sparrows and Sage Thrashers (rare) occur in most years. Unfortunately both of these specialists eluded us on this particular afternoon but we did get fantastic looks at a showy LARK SPARROW, and best of all was a singing CLAY-COLOURED SPARROW (a scarce and irregular breeder in the area). After marvelling at the buzzy song of the male, I noticed some movement in a nearby sage and caught a glimpse of a bird running away along the ground. Intrigued, I checked the bush and sure enough—there was the nest! (4 eggs)

We rolled through US customs relatively unscathed. On the other side we had a nice comparison of large flycatchers as single WESTERN and EASTERN KINGBIRDS lined up along a fence-line beside a SAY’S PHOEBE. Next we headed south past the settlement of Nighthawk (where at least one vehicle saw a nighthawk!), then turned onto the Chopaka Road which gives access to the rich riparian bottomlands of Champney Slough. Picture Road 22 near Osoyoos but on steroids, with groves of massive cottonwoods surrounded by willow-clad marshes, flooded hayfields, and a meandering creek that leads into the north end of Palmer Lake (of Ross’s Gull 2011 fame).  Along this road we were treated to scope views of several male BOBOLINKS, while our only HAIRY WOODPECKER of the trip flew past, and a GRAY CATBIRD sang from a willow thicket. Further up the road we stopped beneath a rocky cliff where the cascading song of a CANYON WREN greeted us and WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS chattered high overhead. BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAKS and LAZULI BUNTINGS added their songs to the mix, and a lone male WOOD DUCK swam by in a nearby oxbow.

We still had an hour-long drive ahead of us so we piled back into the vehicles and headed more-or-less straight to our hotel in Omak. We made one stop along the east side of Palmer Lake, where we enjoyed close views of six species of swallows lined up on a power-line, while a CHUKAR called somewhere up on the bluff. After a long weekend of late nights and early mornings in Princeton, everyone was exhausted so the evening of owling was called off in favour of a decent sleep. Mexican food at “Rancho Chico’s was pretty tasty (at least mine was!), and we all fell asleep with dreams of white-capped cone-peckers dancing in our heads.

DAY 2: Omak to Yakima

After a good night’s sleep we awoke rejuvenated and excited about the full day of birding that was to come. The weather however was decidedly “less than ideal.” Omak was shrouded in low clouds accompanied by a light but steady drizzle. Nothing we could do about that of course, so we headed up into the hills east of town for some pine forest birding.

Typical Okanagan birding scene... NOT!

When we arrived at the first patch of ponderosa pine (where I have seen a pair of White-headed Woodpeckers on two previous occasions), the drizzle appeared to be a bit heavier. On the plus side, there still seemed to be birds around so we threw on our jackets and those who had brought umbrellas deployed them (who would have thought we’d need those in central Washington?). CASSIN’S FINCHES sang from the tops of the trees, while a male SPOTTED TOWHEE trilled from a nearby shrub. Then suddenly we heard the liquidy chilup-chilup of a GRAY FLYCATCHER. This was a lifer for many in the group so we pranced around in the rain for a bit until we had it out in the open, tail wagging and all! While this was certainly a nice treat, the bird many people had on their minds, was that previously alluded-to White-headed Woodpecker! We hiked around in the woods for about 30min until everyone’s shoes were soaked through.

Next we walked up and down the main road as well as a gravel access road to a few houses behind a small pond. The two ponds in the area produced some nice birds including a lone PIED-BILLED GREBE, a pair of RUDDY DUCKS, several RED-WINGED and YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS, and an AMERICAN COOT. A foraging NASHVILLE WARBLER gave us a good look, then best of all, a female VARIED THRUSH came down to the water’s edge to drink!!! This is without a doubt the first time I have observed Varied Thrush in this habitat at this time of year. By now they should all be up in the boreal forests sitting on eggs, and this one was in an open ponderosa pine forest surrounded by miles and miles of sage brush plateau. Assuming she was a lost anomaly, I was even more astonished when a male started singing behind us! Not exactly a White-headed Woodpecker, but in some ways even more interesting to me… okay sorry!

The rain and lack of woodpeckers had started to affect the group’s morale so I decided to try for some sage-brush/grassland species further up the road (we could always try for the woody later). Only a few kms beyond this small piney area, the road climbs onto a large plateau (part of the “Okanagan Highlands”), where all one can see for miles in either direction is sage. BREWER’S and VESPER SPARROWS are abundant here and we were pleased to get long and close views of both. Out other target was supposed to be a little harder… I am talking of course about the “secretive” GRASSHOPPER SPARROW.

Grasshopper Sparrow feeding out in the open!

These little guys give their insect-like trills from grass-tussocks, and rarely perch high enough for a clear view (Note: If you have attended more than one Deep Purple concert in your life you may not even have a chance of hearing it). Today would be different though! Possibly because of the rain, there was a small scattering of sparrows feeding out in the open in a patch of short grass near an old out-house. They seemed to all be Vespers but then I caught sight of a smaller bird that looked grasshopper-ish! It dashed behind a grass-tuft though and someone suggested it may have been a funky-looking Vesper. “This will solve it,” I said, then played a short burst of its song on my phone. Instantly the bird flushed up and landed right at my feet, hopping around wildly as it tried to suss out where the intrusion had come from. I have seen roughly 60ish grasshopper sparrows in my life and I can confidently say this would make the top 3! Oos and Ahhs all around!

Happy with our sparrow trio, and keen to get back into the dry, heated vehicles, we headed back down the hill for one last kick at the proverbial “white-headed can.” The rain had eased up a bit but the undergrowth off the road was still soaked so I decided to lead the group along the road in the opposite direction than before. Only a few minutes later… a sharp chickachick! came from about 100m off the road. “I just heard it! That’s it!” But we couldn’t see anything, so the whole group ran back up the road to access a trail that led to where the sound was coming from. Our hearts thumping, no one wanted to miss the Holy of Holies, this ghost of the pines. “There! Oh no wait, that’s a sapsucker. Damn” Chickachick! There it is! There it is!” I shouted as it swooped by, right in front of us, before landing low down out of sight near a rocky slope.

Hearts beating harder now, some beaming from their brief but close view, other feeling anxious, some may have even missed it… “It’s coming out in the open!” someone shouted. And there it was… a gorgeous male WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER—graciously making his way up the side of a pine tree, almost as if he was aware of his celebrity status. We were able to follow him around for a couple more minutes before he vanished, almost into thin air, never to be seen again (on this day anyway).

Yeah BABY!

Well it’s hard to top that. For some, this experience was the culmination of multiple decades of searching in vain. Lifers ticked, jinxes broken, magnificent bird well-seen, and for me—a huge relief! I can’t deny that I was feeling a bit of pressure after 3 or 4 different people approached me in Princeton saying that this bird was the main reason they signed up for the tour. Phew… and in the rain to boot.

#Enjoyment

With morale fully rebooted beyond expectations, we returned to the valley bottom then made our way south to the town of Brewster where we picked up some lunch, while some took advantage of the great Mexican market. We brought our lunches to the Dry Falls State Park visitor’s centre—possibly the most scenic picnic area in the state! Here, a massive gorge seemingly comes out of nowhere and provides birders with a great mix of wetland habitats far below to go along with rocky slopes, steep cliffs, and grasslands close at hand. WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS darted past at eye-level, and some of the group got point-blank views of a ROCK WREN. A few ducks were scoped out in the ponds down below, and I spotted an adult PEREGRINE FALCON preening on a nearby basalt outcrop.

A great place for a sandwich

After lunch our southward progress continued with a brief stop at the south end of Soap Lake where we were treated to close views of 2 AMERICAN AVOCETS and 2 BLACK-NECKED STILTS. Next we turned east and cruised on out to the small town of Wilson Creek, home to Washington State’s only Tricoloured Blackbird colony. Having never been here before, I didn’t really know what to expect—would they be easy to find, or would it be a needle in a haystack kind of situation?

Well we didn’t have to worry about finding nice birds. At our first stop, we were pleased to find 5 GREAT EGRETS foraging in a field alongside some cows. A pair of OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHERS chased each other through some large trees near the farmhouse, and a YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT whistled in the distance. Although we couldn’t see any Tricolored-like objects, YELLOW-HEADED, RED-WINGED, and BREWER’S BLACKBIRDS were all abundant at this spot, and we definitely “heard” at least one of the Tricoloureds somewhere out in the marsh.

We moved along to the east end of “Crab Creek Marsh” (as I believe it’s called), where more extensive open water provided us with a few new species such as CINNAMON and GREEN-WINGED TEAL, WESTERN GREBE, and more AMERICAN AVOCETS and BLACK-NECKED STILTS. An adult BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON was spotted sitting in an isolated willow, and even better was an AMERICAN BITTERN that flew past for great looks! At least a couple more TRICOLOURED BLACKBIRDS were heard singing from the reeds then someone in the group spotted three blackbirds perched up in the open. One was a female-type that looked like a Red-wing, another was definitely a male Red-wing, but the third had noticeably whiter median coverts, and the bill appeared thinner-looking. But soon after getting the scopes on this trio, they all dashed down into some weeds, so unfortunately not everyone was able to get good looks. As it would turn out, a few more “good candidates” would pop up now and then but none that we could say for sure was a Tricoloured. The sole exception was when one of the Margarets went for a walk down the road (there were 3 Margarets and 2 Daves on this trip and apparently two of the women on the tour had spouses by home named Dave/David… good thing they stayed home! Pheew…. Anyway, back to the story). So one of the Margarets walk down the road a few hundred meters from the group and she was treated to close views of a male Tricoloured! Unfortunately the bird flew off before she could get our attention.

The early afternoon had become the late afternoon however, and we still had a ways to go to get to Yakima, so we piled back in the cars and started heading back to Soap Lake. Then as we passed a rocky outcrop, I caught some movement in the corner of my eye—a large white bird… Snowy Owl??? Bins up---Holy S*&%%%!!! ALBINO RAVEN!!!  Yes indeed, a fully albino raven (pure white with red eye and pink bill) landed on a rocky turret beside an old raven nest—we decided that it must be a recently fledged juvenile. I believe this is the first fully-albino bird I’ve seen in the wild, and a raven makes it extra-special!

Happy to end the day on such a high note, we got back in the cars once more. But what about this incoming hawk? I’d been checking the Red-tails all day. Ooo it’s big. Really white. Rusty underparts! Mottled white in the inner webs of the outer primaries! FERRUGINOUS HAWK!!! I yelled as I ran back along the road to alert all the other cars. It was cruising fast but luckily everyone was able to get out in time to marvel at this monarch of the prairie. With our eyes still glowing, it almost seemed inevitable that a smart-looking dark-morph SWAINSON’S HAWK (our first of the trip) was waiting for us on a power-pole at the next junction.

The drive to Yakima took longer than I had anticipated while planning the itinerary (Washinton looks smaller on the map!), so we decided to stop in Ephrata for dinner (more Mexican) before pushing onto Yakima. Many had been looking forward to some owling tonight but unfortunately rain thwarted any hope of Flams or screeches. The best we could do were the couple of COMMON NIGHTHAWKS and a single COMMON POORWILL seen by some on the drive south.

It had been a rainy day, but it had been a very good day.

DAY 3: Yakima to Ephrata (via Toppenish, Fort Simcoe, and the Wenas Valley)

Another rainy morning; this was supposed to be a tour of shrub-steppe grasslands and deserts and the Yakima Valley received 15% of its annual rainfall in the two days we were in the area! But that’s birding—the birds are still out there somewhere, and it’s our job to find them.

Supposedly this part of the Sonoran Desert?

First off we headed to the Toppenish Wildlife Refuge—a great place for a mixture of grassland, sage, and wetlands birds. The wind and rain didn’t help of course, but there were still a few birds to be seen. A group of AMERICAN WHITE-PELICANS circled in the distance, while a WILSON’S SNIPE perched obligingly on a fence post along the roadside. We went for a short walk into the sage to try for Sage Sparrows, but there were zero sparrows to be had; not even a Vesper or Brewer’s! We did find what I believe is a Common Poorwill egg. Unfortunately however, it was cold, wet, and likely abandoned. It took over an hour but we finally found our first sparrow of the day when a Song Sparrow sang from the roadside—about time! The wind was picking up so we decided to move on to our next destination: The lovely Garry Oak grove that surrounds the historic Fort Simcoe.

Ash-throated Flycatcher

At Fort Simcoe, the sun came out for a pleasant while, but the wind was still very much with us. Luckily that did not matter as the birds performed supremely. This stand of planted oaks around the fort are well-known by Washington birders possibly the most reliable location for LEWIS’S WOODPECKER in the state, and so it was no surprise that the group got great looks at around ten of these unique beauties as we strolled around the fort grounds. HOUSE WRENS, WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, and BULLOCK’S ORIOLES were some of the other favourites in the area, along with a pair of ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHERS! The latter of course is a rarity in BC but this chatty flycatcher may one day breed in our fair land as it has been steadily expanding its range from the Oregon border north into Washington in recent years.

Oh and speaking of chats, we had heard several on the field trip to this point but no visuals. A few members of the group were starting to wonder when my “Don’t worry, we’ll see one soon” comments were going to come to fruition. Well it turns out Fort Simcoe would be the spot! We had now nearly completed a circle around the fort, and just before angling back to the cars, I heard the familiar whistle of a male YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT coming from a tangle of riparian shrubs. The group gathered in a grassy clearing, then after a few patient moments of trying to get onto a darting shape in the bushes, North American’s largest warbler decided it was time to put his vocal skills on full display as he perched up-top for the whole world to see; even shifting perches when he felt the group had seen a particular side of him for too long. We watched him doing his thing for close to ten minutes, when a male BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK decided he didn’t want to be left out so he popped up nearby and started singing. Well with that it was time for lunch!

We ate lunch in Toppenish then headed north of Yakima to the Wenas Valley. Here a dirt road winds through a large area of protected grasslands, and is home to one of the last remaining colonies of Burrowing Owls in the state. As we pulled up to the area where the owls were supposed to be (I hadn’t been here since I was a child), a PRAIRIE FALCON was spotted soaring in front of us then it swooped down across the road and quickly out of site. While a few people managed to see it a second time later on, unfortunately a few of the cars ended up missing it (this was our only Prairie Falcon of the trip).

When we stepped out of the vehicles, the wind was noticeably strong, and after scanning around the network of burrows (made by ground-squirrels and badgers), I was getting worried that the owls might opt to nap deep inside the holes instead of their typical sentinel posture in front of the entrance. We tried a few places up and down the road, but no owls could be seen and it was too windy to try for sage sparrows and the like. As a last ditch effort, most of the group went for a hike in the surrounding area, and found what we suspect were three active Burrowing Owl burrows—the entrances were littered with white-wash and pellets, and one even had an owl feather! Unfortunately, that would be as close as we would get; a flyover pair of HORNED LARKS being our sole consolation.

The weather was starting to get quite frustrating, as it seemed like either rain, wind, or both, stayed with us the entire trip. The frustration came to a peak when we reached the small community of Vantage on our way north to Ephrata. Here we had hoped to finally kill the sage sparrow jinx, with a side of Black-throated Sparrows—a pair of this distinctive desert sparrow had been reliable all spring. But Vantage was even windier! Too windy to even attempt to hear or see sparrows, and apparently this isn’t too unusual for the area given the name of the local food-stand: “Blustery Burger”

We checked into the Travel Lodge in Ephrata, where we would be spending our final night as a group. After the positive experience the evening before, the group opted to once again eat at “Tequila’s” in Ephrata, where the appetizers could probably feed a small nation-state.

Day 4: Ephrata back to Princeton, BC (via Grand Coulee Dam)

This morning the keeners in the group assembled at 5am, hoping to head down to Vantage for one last attempt at the Black-throated and Sage Sparrows. Unfortunately however, the wind was still strong and rain was threatening. Instead we decided to reconvene around 6am and check out a local park in Ephrata that is a noted migrant trap. The appropriately named “Oasis Park” is not really an amazing example of natural splendor or grandeur, but it’s the only lush patch of green amongst miles and miles of dry sage scrub habitat, so migrant songbirds are drawn to it like a magnet. About a week before we arrived, a Black-and-White Warbler and an Eastern Phoebe were both found here—great birds for Washington. It was early June however, so we were not sure if any migrants would still be around. Well in fact there were; nothing rare, but a few new birds for the trip list. WILSON’S and MACGILLIVRAY’S WARBLERS sang from a thick patch of shrubs but refused to come out in the open, but the group did get great looks at a pair of TOWNSEND’S WARBLERS, as well as an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, and both WARBLING and RED-EYED VIREOS. Nice to get some of these forest birds for the trip since the majority of the tour was in the lowland open-country where these birds are hard to come by.

After a hearty breakfast in Ephrata, half the group split off as there were a few cars continuing on with their holidays either in Washington, or those heading back home to the coast. The rest of us continued birding northward toward the border. We first stopped off again at Dry Falls, where the wind had died off considerably. A single CASPIAN TERN flew north along the canyon, while the familiar WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS continued to perform at close range. Since the wind had died down, I decided we had better make one more attempt at sage sparrow before continuing north. We walked up an abandoned stretch of highway that parallels a small canyon, with big sage clumps on either side. The habitat looked ideal for sage sparrows but all we could muster were a pair of LARK SPARROWS and a singing ROCK WREN. Just before turning around, Val George of Victoria spotted a bird perched on a sage in the distance—a LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE! Soon after it flew past us and landed on a nearby fence for a closer look; our only one of the trip and a lifer for some!

“Okay one more stop, and then we need to get a move one,” I said. The birding was starting to pick up but I had to keep in mind that we still had a long trip back to Princeton and I needed to get to Revelstoke that night!

Good thing we stopped though. Immediately after getting out of the car, I heard the distant warbles of a SAGE THRASHER! This is a bird I thought we would find easily, but the wind and rain had thwarted much of our sage-brush birding. We walked closer and closer to the sound then there it was! We watched with glee as it sang from atop a sage, before flying across the road and onto a chain-link fence. This was a lifer for most present so there were plenty of “yipees” and “All rights!” followed by even more excitement when the thrasher dropped from the fence and into some tall grass, flushing a pair of GREY PARTRIDGES!!! How often does that happen? Thanks for the help Mr. Thrasher!

Sage Thrasher-watchers

After the dampened moods of the morning and previous afternoon, this flurry of excitement certainly boosted the morale as we pressed north along the east side of Banks Lake. Here we made a few stops, hoping to find some breeding groups of Western Grebes where we might luck into a couple Clark’s mixed in. The first couple recommended spots were duds however, but then we checked in at a small cove near the NE end of the lake. There were only four grebes present but BINGO! One was a CLARK’S GREBE! As Adrian Leather of Quesnel remarked, we had all been expecting to have to scope through a distant flock of grebes to pick out the one with pale flanks and orange bill, but this one swam right past us giving us all splendid views of every field mark. Not to mention the gorgeous backdrop of sage-brush grasslands butting up against rocky cliffs, all reflected in the dark, glassy surface of Banks Lake. Not surprisingly, ROCK WRENS chimed in from the rocky outcrops nearby, and we were all ready for another celebratory lunch! For this we headed through Electric City and into the historic town of Grand Coulee, home of the Grand Coulee Dam.

Clark's Grebe (Photo: Val George)

After lunch the remaining cars headed back to Princeton at their own paces. A few  new birds were added to the trip list such as BLACK SWIFT and GOLDEN EAGLE, but mostly we just continued directly back to Princeton where the rest of us had left our cars. For those last few hours we soaked in the lovely scenery that is the Okanagan and Similkameen Valleys in springtime.

I’m sure everyone was a little worn out after the long 3.5 days of birding (added to the long weekend of the conference and the pre-conference fieldtrip for some), but I also suspect that we all returned to our separate lives with the glow of another great birding adventure. Looking back on the trip list, it’s hard to believe we fit that all into those few days!

Until next time,

Russell Cannings

 **And big thank you to Les Gyug and Art Martell who both put in a lot of work organizing the drivers and hotel reservations**

Full species list (highlights in CAPS)—Total of 149 species

Canada Goose

Wood Duck

Gadwall

American Wigeon

Mallard

Blue-winged Teal

Cinnamon Teal

Northern Shoveler

Green-winged Teal

Canvasback

Redhead

Ring-necked Duck

Greater Scaup

Lesser Scaup

Bufflehead

Barrow's Goldeneye

Ruddy Duck

California Quail

CHUKAR

GRAY PARTRIDGE

Ring-necked Pheasant

Pied-billed Grebe

Red-necked Grebe

Western Grebe

CLARK’S GREBE

Double-crested Cormorant

American White Pelican

American Bittern

Great Blue Heron

GREAT EGRET

Black-crowned Night-Heron

Turkey Vulture

Osprey

Bald Eagle

Golden Eagle

Northern Harrier

Cooper's Hawk

Swainson's Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

FERRUGINOUS HAWK

American Kestrel

Peregrine Falcon

PRAIRIE FALCON

Sora

American Coot

Killdeer

BLACK-NECKED STILT

American Avocet

Spotted Sandpiper

Wilson's Snipe

Wilson's Phalarope

Ring-billed Gull

California Gull

Herring Gull

Caspian Tern

Rock Pigeon

Eurasian Collared-Dove

Mourning Dove

Common Nighthawk

Black Swift

Vaux's Swift

White-throated Swift

Rufous Hummingbird

Belted Kingfisher

LEWIS’S WOODPECKER

Red-naped Sapsucker

Hairy Woodpecker

WHITE-HEADED WOODPECKER

Northern Flicker

Pileated Woodpecker

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Western Wood-Pewee

Willow Flycatcher

Gray Flycatcher

Say's Phoebe

ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER

Western Kingbird

Eastern Kingbird

LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE

Cassin's Vireo

Warbling Vireo

Red-eyed Vireo

Black-billed Magpie

Clark's Nutcracker

American Crow

Common Raven (Including an albino individual!)

Horned Lark

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Tree Swallow

Violet-green Swallow

Bank Swallow

Barn Swallow

Cliff Swallow

Black-capped Chickadee

Mountain Chickadee

Red-breasted Nuthatch

White-breasted Nuthatch

Pygmy Nuthatch

Rock Wren

Canyon Wren

House Wren

Marsh Wren

Ruby-crowned Kinglet

Western Bluebird

Mountain Bluebird

Swainson’s Thrush

American Robin

Varied Thrush

Gray Catbird

SAGE THRASHER

European Starling

Cedar Waxwing

Orange-crowned Warbler

Nashville Warbler

MacGillivray's Warbler

Common Yellowthroat

Yellow Warbler

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Townsend's Warbler

Wilson's Warbler

YELLOW-BREASTED CHAT

Spotted Towhee

Chipping Sparrow

Brewer's Sparrow

CLAY-COLOURED SPARROW

Vesper Sparrow

Lark Sparrow

Savannah Sparrow

GRASSHOPPER SPARROW

Song Sparrow

Dark-eyed Junco

Western Tanager

Black-headed Grosbeak

Lazuli Bunting

BOBOLINK

Red-winged Blackbird

TRICOLOURED BLACKBIRD

Western Meadowlark

Yellow-headed Blackbird

Brewer's Blackbird

Brown-headed Cowbird

Bullock's Oriole

Cassin's Finch

House Finch

Red Crossbill

Pine Siskin

American Goldfinch

Evening Grosbeak

House Sparrow

Shuttlewirth Shufflers Report: May 20, 2012

This is a summary of my 2012 “Baillie Birdathon” which I undertook to raise money for the Vaseux Lake Bird Observatory. Each year on the May long weekend, the Meadowlark Festival hosts the “Okanagan Big Day Challenge”—where different groups of birders team up to try and see the most amount of species in a 24-hour period. These days, most teams are “NMT” (non-motorized transport) and so our group decided to walk all day, as we did last year. Michelle Hamilton and Grant Halm (of Kelowna) returned again, while newcomers Aaron Gaffney (Vancouver) and Kai Bosch (Egmont, Sunshine Coast) added some out-of-town enthusiasm to the mix. Our name, the “Shuttleworth Shufflers”—comes from our walking route, starting from Venner Meadows at KM 20 on a logging road east of Okanagan Falls, then winding down the Shuttleworth Canyon toward the valley bottom.

5:15am saw us at the chilly marshes of Venner Meadows. Soon after getting out of the car, the dawn chorus of boreal songbirds became evident—The downward spiral of a singing HERMIT THRUSH, the trill of an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, the burble of LINCOLN’S SPARROW. As we walked along the fringe of the willow wetlands, more songsters were added including NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH, COMMON YELLOWTHROAT, MACGILLIVRAY’S WARBLER, SONG SPARROW, and DUSKY FLYCATCHER. Off in the forest somewhere a NORTHERN GOSHAWK called, and we got brief looks at the local breeding pair of NORTHERN HARRIERS.

The main disadvantage of doing a walking big day is of course that you can’t cover a lot of ground and you can’t do it quickly! Because of this, we couldn’t whip over to the next good patch of woods—instead we had to walk 5km through regenerating Lodgepole Pine where bird diversity is fairly low. BUT, the ADVANTAGE of walking is that you hear and see things that would be missed from a car or even a bicycle. Case in point: a PINE GROSBEAK that called once as it flew over—the only one recorded by any team today!

After last year’s steady drizzle, it was wonderful to be dry as well strolled into the larches near KM 15. Here a distant BARRED OWL responded to our hoots then a WILLIAMSON’S SAPUCKER drummed and called, followed by a RED-NAPED SAPUCKER. Our only HAMMOND’S FLYCATCHER of the day was picked up along the roadside, and further down the road we lucked into a pair of BLACK-BACKED WOODPECKERS. But our woodpecker good fortune didn’t end there! Around the next corner we heard more tapping, then some calls, and high up on a snag we spotted a pair of AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKERS!

Mid-morning snack-break amongst the Venner Larches

It was a good thing we had picked up a few high-country goodies, since we wouldn’t be walking back up of course, and we had another ~5km walk to get into some new habitat. Once we got down into a lower section of the Shuttleworth Road, we started picking up new species more associated with Ponderosa Pine and open country such as SPOTTED TOWHEE, HOUSE WREN, RED CROSSBILL, and CASSIN’S FINCH. Out first NASHVILLE WARBLER sputtered away from a maple-fringed gully, then the distant screeches of WHITE-THROATED SWIFTS alerted us to a feeding flock high overhead. Several times we were treated to close views of RUFFED GROUSE strutting across the road, and soon our first WESTERN TANAGER churupped from up in a pine.

At KM 5.5ish on the Shuttleworth (201) Rd, we turned off onto the old Irrigation Creek Road which leads down to Vaseux Lake. This decommissioned road has changed a lot since the fire of 2003, but there is still plenty of good habitat to keep us walking birders happy! At the upper end we were quite pleased to hear and see several GRAY FLYCATCHERS (only the second time since the fire this once regular species has been found at this location), and soon we had all 3 species of nuthatch in the bag. ROCK WRENS ching-chinged from up on the ridge, then lower down we entered a narrow box canyon where we were all delighted to watch a CANYON WREN deliver food to a nest cavity! This is the same general area where we found a nest on last year’s walk—he sang too!

A little further along, we bumped into a pair of calling NORTHERN PYGMY-OWLS—phew! Thought we had missed out chance further up.  LAZULI BUNTINGS were also tallied near here, along with our one and only WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE. As we left the canyon, we got our first distant look at Vaseux Lake. From up here on the hill it’s a little too far to scope, so we kept on trucking. By this point we had essentially swept all possible forest species (except Steller’s Jay), so there was no point in stopping too much before we reached the bottom—“Come on guys, just another 3 or 4 kms!” This is the time of day where the knees and feet start to complain, but no one was complainin—we had work to do!

Possibly the greatest group photo ever taken

A lone LEWIS’S WOODPECKER on a burned snag gave us the woodpecker sweep, then SAY’S PHOEBE and MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD both performed on cue near the ranch-house. As we approached the first decent look-out over the lake, we tallied our first WESTERN KINGBIRD and BULLOCK'S ORIOLE, as well as LARK SPARROW, and a few other grassland birds we had been missing.

From up on the hill we scoped the lake and picked up a nice mix of new waterbirds including REDHEAD, AMERICAN WIGEON (only 1!), RING-NECKED DUCK, OSPREY, and best of all—a BLACK TERN! (Thanks in part to a tip from some passing birders). The tern was fluttering around near the north end of the lake with a swarm of hundreds of swallows. Once we got down closer to the lake we were able to tick off all 6 species of swallow—CLIFF, BARN, NORTHERN ROUGH-WINGED, BANK, TREE, and VIOLET-GREEN. It was warm but quite windy on this particular afternoon, so we scrapped our idea of scrambling around the rocks in hopes of chukar, so instead we headed to the Vaseux boardwalk. The wind made bird-finding very difficult, but luckily a few birds were still calling late in the day so things like MARSH WREN, EASTERN KINGBIRD, and YELLOW WARBLER were jotted down with great sighs of relief.

For our last stop, we spent several hours exploring the riparian thickets and marshes around the Vaseux Lake Bird Observatory (a series of trails that are accessed off Hwy 97 just north of the boardwalk parkinglot). Here things were relatively quiet, but luckily we eventually heard both SORA and VIRGINIA RAIL call from the reeds (we missed both last year!). CINNAMON TEAL, GREAT BLUE HERON, VEERY, and YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD also made their way onto the list—one by one we were climbing higher!

And then the highlight of the day… we were walking along (remember it’s a walking big day), and out of the corner of my eye I caught some fuzzy grey stuff poking out of an old crow’s-nest. A quick look through the bins revealed a couple sets of eyes looking back—LONG-EARED OWL chicks! For several minutes we gawked in awe at our great find then we spotted the male roosting nearby!

Since it was getting close to dinner time, we had walked around 25km, and we still had to drive back up to Venner Meadows to retrieve the other vehicle, we decided to end the day on a high note. Our final species tally was 122—Not bad for a morning walk! 2 more than last year and we didn’t walk all the way to Okanagan Falls!

Big thank you to everyone who made pledges to our team in support of the Vaseux Lake Bird Observatory! If you haven’t made a pledge yet there is still time—click HERE to donate online.