Nature Vancouver

This is Wayne Weber with Nature Vancouver's Rare Bird Alert for Tuesday, August 31st, sponsored in part by Wild Birds Unlimited, with stores in Vancouver and North Vancouver. The RBA telephone number is (604) 737-3074. RARE BIRD ALERT for a WESTERN SCRUB-JAY in the 21900 block of the Lougheed Highway in Maple Ridge, which has been present now for more than a year, and for a FORK-TAILED STORM-PETREL and a CASSIN'S AUKLET, both reported from a ferry off the coal port in Delta on August 27th. Outside our area, a LESSER SAND-PLOVER, formerly called MONGOLIAN PLOVER, was seen and photographed at Ocean Shores, WA on August 26th and 27th, but has not been seen since then. No sightings reported for Tuesday, August 31st Sightings for Monday, August 30th Two PURPLE MARTINS were art the Alaksen National Wildlife Area in Delta, an unusual locality. Sightings for Sunday, August 29th A LEWIS'S WOODPECKER, a very rare migrant, and 4 SANDHILL CRANES were seen along the north side of De Boville Slough in Coquitlam. Along the beach at Boundary Bay Regional Park in Delta were a RED-NECKED PHALAROPE, 3 BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS, and 10 COMMON TERNS. A WANDERING TATTLER was still present on the Iona Island South Jetty in Richmond. Sightings for Saturday, August 28th Two SANDHILL CRANES were seen in fields at the south end of Minnekhada Regional Park in Coquitlam. Two WANDERING TATTLERS were still present along the Iona Island South Jetty in Richmond, about halfway out. Sightings for Friday, August 27th A FORK-TAILED STORM-PETREL and a CASSIN'S AUKLET, both extremely rare birds for the Vancouver area, were reported from a ferry just of the coal terminal in Delta, and a WANDERING TATTLER was seen along the Tsawwassen ferry jetty. Shorebirds noted on the Boundary Bay shoreline near the foot of 96th Street in Delta included 2 RUDDY TURNSTONES, 5 RED KNOTS, 6 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES, and a MARBLED GODWIT. Sightings for Thursday, August 26th A single BRANT was seen on the beach at Point Roberts, WA. On the Boundary Bay shoreline, between 104th and 112th Streets, were an AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER, another RUDDY TURNSTONE, 6 RED KNOTS, and a RED-NECKED PHALAROPE. Along the Iona Island South Jetty in Richmond were 2 WANDERING TATTLERS, an unseasonable BLACK SCOTER, and 3 BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS. Nearby in the Iona sewage ponds were a WILSON'S PHALAROPE and 2 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES. On Westham Island in Delta, 2 very early GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE were seen with CANADA GEESE. In Washington State, a LESSER SAND-PLOVER, formerly called MONGOLIAN PLOVER, was found and photographed at the Oyhut Wildlife Area in Ocean Shores, for a first state record. Sightings for Wednesday, August 25th A high count of 25 EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES was seen along 96th Street south of Highway 99 in Delta. In Langley, a SOLITARY SANDPIPER was seen in a pond at the intersection of Highway 1 and 208th Street. A WANDERING TATTLER was present on the south side of the Iona Island South Jetty in Richmond. Also at Iona Island, a WILSON'S PHALAROPE and a RED-NECKED PHALAROPE were seen in the southeast pond of the sewage lagoons. Sightings for Tuesday, August 24th A juvenile HEERMANN's GULL was seen on the beach at Boundary Bay Regional Park in Delta, as were a BAIRD'S SANDPIPER and 4 SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPERS. Also in Delta, a YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD was found in a large blackbird flock along 41B Street south of Deltaport Way. Sightings for Sunday, August 22nd An unconfirmed report was received of a LONG-TAILED JAEGER, an extremely rare migrant, along the Boundary Bay shoreline near 104th Street in Delta. A RUDDY TURNSTONE and 9 RED KNOTS were seen in the same area. Sightings for Friday, August 20th A NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH, a very rare transient, was caught and banded at the banding station in Colony Farm Regional Park, Port Coquitlam. Sightings for Thursday, August 19th Shorebirds of interest included 7 RED KNOTS with a huge flock of BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS near the foot of 96th Street on Boundary Bay; 50 BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS in the same area, along with 50 more at Brunswick Point in Delta; 4 STILT SANDPIPERS at the Reifel Bird Sanctuary; 14 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS at Iona Island; and the RUDDY TURNSTONE still at Boundary Bay Regional Park. Sightings for Wednesday, August 18th Two LONG-BILLED CURLEWS were seen at Blackie Spit in Surrey, and 15 BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS were at the Iona Island sewage ponds in Richmond. Sightings for Tuesday, August 17th A STILT SANDPIPER was at the Iona Island sewage ponds in Richmond, and the RUDDY TURNSTONE at Boundary Bay Regional Park in Delta, first found on August 7th, was still there. Sightings for Monday, August 16th The WESTERN SCRUB-JAY in Maple Ridge is being seen quite infrequently now, but made an appearance for the first time in 12 days in the 21900 block of the Lougheed Highway. Sightings for Sunday, August 15th Two STILT SANDPIPERS were near the foot of 96th Street on Boundary Bay in Delta. Sightings for Saturday, August 14th A HOUSE WREN seen by two observers on the west side of the Sea Island Conservation Area in Richmond was only the second report of the species this year. Sightings for Friday, August 13th Two EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES near Crown and Oswell in North Vancouver were among very few records of this species for Vancouver's North Shore. Sightings for Thursday, August 12th A GREEN HERON along lower McKay Creek in North Vancouver; a SOLITARY SANDPIPER at Beaver Lake in Vancouver's Stanley Park; and a WANDERING TATTLER on the Iona Island south jetty in Richmond were also somewhat unusual, especially the tattler (averaging 2-3 records per year). Sightings for Wednesday, August 11th A RUDDY TURNSTONE was still at Boundary Bay Regional Park in Delta, and a WILLET and a WHIMBREL along the Tsawwassen ferry jetty. Sightings for Tuesday, August 10th Four MUTE SWANS, a CHIPPING SPARROW, and 5 SANDHILL CRANES were seen at Brunswick Point in Delta. In the Boundary Bay area of Delta, the PACIFIC GOLDEN-PLOVER was still at 96th Street, 7 BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS were east of 112th Street, and 5 EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES were along 96th Street south of Highway 10, the usual "hot spot" for this species. Two SURFBIRDS were seen at the Tsawwassen ferry terminal. Sightings for Monday, August 9th Six EASTERN KINGBIRDS at Colony Farm Park in Port Coquitlam were noteworthy. Sightings for Sunday, August 8th The RUDDY TURNSTONE was seen again at Boundary Bay Regional Park, as was a SURFBIRD near the foot of 96th Street-a very unusual locality. At the Reifel Bird Sanctuary, 2 STILT SANDPIPERS were present, as were 11 SANDHILL CRANES (including a partly-grown young with its parents, and 8 additional adults.) Sightings for Saturday, August 7th Another RUDDY TURNSTONE showed up on the beach at Boundary Bay Regional Park, near Beach Grove in Delta. Sightings for Friday, August 6th A GRAY-CROWNED ROSY FINCH was seen near the summit of Mount Seymour in North Vancouver. Also in North Vancouver, a SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER, a BAIRD'S SANDPIPER, and 2 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES were at the Maplewood Conservation Area. The SOLITARY SANDPIPER was at Deltaport Way and 41B Street in Delta again. At the nearby Reifel Bird Sanctuary were another SOLITARY SANDPIPER, 2 STILT SANDPIPERS, and a WILSON'S PHALAROPE. A brief account of 31 of the best birding locations in the Vancouver area can be found on the Nature Vancouver website at http://www.naturevancouver.ca/Birding_Birding_Sites If you have any questions about birds or birding in the Vancouver area, please call Wayne at 604-597-7201, Viveka at 604-531-3401, or Larry at 604-465-1402. Thank you for calling the Vancouver Rare Bird Alert, and good birding. Wayne C. Weber Delta, BC contopus@telus.net