Nature Vancouver

This is Wayne Weber with Nature Vancouver's Rare Bird Alert for Monday,
January 9th, sponsored in part by Wild Birds Unlimited, with stores in
Vancouver and North Vancouver. The RBA telephone number is (604) 737-3074. 

 

If you wish to leave a rare bird report, please phone the main number again
at (604) 737-3074, press "2" for the rare bird reporting line, and follow
the instructions given there.

 

 

This has become a major SNOWY OWL flight year, with recent reports of up to
28 birds near the foot of 72nd Street on Boundary Bay, plus 6 more in the
Brunswick Point area of Delta. Birders and photographers are asked to
observe SNOWY OWLS from a respectful distance, to make an effort not to
flush or frighten off the owls, and to speak to anyone who appears to be
crowding an owl too much.

 

 

RARE BIRD ALERT for SNOWY OWLS at numerous localities, especially along
Boundary Bay and at Brunswick Point in Delta.

 

Out-of-town RARE BIRD ALERT for a ROSS'S GULL, the second record for
Washington, at Palmer Lake, near Oroville, from at least December 15 to 27.
This bird has not been reported from Palmer Lake since December 27, but a
small gull which may have been the ROSS'S was seen at nearby Spectacle Lake
on December 29.



 

Sightings for Monday, January 9th

 

A flock of 14 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE was seen with swans along 64th
Street south of 60th Avenue in Delta, just west of the Burns Bog landfill.

 

At the foot of 72nd Street in Delta were 23 SNOWY OWLS, 3 AMERICAN TREE
SPARROWS, and 4 WESTERN MEADOWLARKS.

 

Three EARED GREBES were seen along the waterfront in White Rock.

 

In Surrey, 6 RING-NECKED DUCKS and a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE were seen in the
Holly Park area near 104th Avenue and 144th Street.

 

Along 40th Avenue (Mud Bay Road) and 140th Street in Surrey were 57 EURASIAN
COLLARED-DOVES and 20 BROWN-HEADED COWBIRDS.

 

A flock of 100 RED CROSSBILLS was seen at the boat launch on Buntzen Lake
near Ioco.

 

 

Sightings for Sunday, January 8th

 

A total of 28 SNOWY OWLS were seen from the south foot of 72nd Street in
Delta, and 5 AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS were seen on the Boundary Bay dyke just
east of 72nd Street.

 

A BARRED OWL and 20 COMMON REDPOLLS were observed at the Serpentine Fen WMA
in Surrey.

 

Five YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS were seen near a manure pile on 140th Street,
off Mud Bay Road in Surrey.

 

The adult NORTHERN GOSHAWK was seen near the duck pond at the Maplewood
Conservation Area in North Vancouver, and has reportedly been seen daily
since New Year's Day.

 

The annual Squamish and Brackendale eagle count produced 655 BALD EAGLES, a
respectable count, but less than the average. A NORTHERN GOSHAWK was also
seen in the area.

 

 

Sightings for Saturday, January 7th

 

A TOWNSEND'S WARBLER and 5 COMMON REDPOLLS were seen in the Walnut Grove
area of Langley, near 204th Street and 93B Avenue.

 

A huge flock of 150 COMMON REDPOLLS was reported from Deas Island Park in
Delta.

 

At Blackie Spit in Surrey were the LONG-BILLED CURLEW, 6 MARBLED GODWITS, 9
GREATER YELLOWLEGS, and 11 EURASIAN WIGEON.

 

 

Sightings for Friday, January 6th

 

Two COMMON REDPOLLS and 3 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE were seen at Hastings
Park in Vancouver.

 

At Burnaby Mountain Park in Burnaby were a flock of 30 WHITE-WINGED
CROSSBILLS, and at least 2 COMMON REDPOLLS with a PINE SISKIN flock.

 

There were 90 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS and an intergrade AMERICAN x EURASIAN
GREEN-WINGED TEAL along the Nicomekl River near Brydon Lagoon in Langley.

 

 

Sightings for Thursday, January 5th

 

The wintering LONG-BILLED CURLEW and 6 MARBLED GODWITS were seen on the east
side of Blackie Spit in Surrey.

 

Three EARED GREBES were seen along the waterfront in White Rock.

 

A total of 26 SNOWY OWLS were seen at the foot of 72nd Street on Boundary
Bay in Delta; 600 BRANT were seen offshore from 72nd. Also a loose flock of
38 GREATER YELLOWLEGS were feeding in a wet field along 72nd Street.

 

An adult WESTERN GULL was seen at Garry Point Park in Richmond, and another
was in a large gull flock on 96th Street just north of Highway 10 in Delta.

 

The Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta produced 2 adult BLACK-CROWNED
NIGHT-HERONS, 9 SANDHILL CRANES, a RING-NECKED DUCK, a BARRED OWL, and 2
CEDAR WAXWINGS. A single MUTE SWAN was at nearby Canoe Pass near the Westham
Island bridge.

 

At the Tsawwassen ferry jetty in Delta were the long-staying WILLET and 16
BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS.

 

 

Sightings for Wednesday, January 4th

 

A pair of CINNAMON TEAL were seen along 64th Avenue in Surrey, where a
single male had been seen 2 days earlier.

 

 

Sightings for Tuesday, January 3rd

 

Four MOURNING DOVES were seen along River Road near Bradner Road in
Abbotsford.

 

 

Sightings for Monday, January 2nd

 

Twenty-two COMMON REDPOLLS were seen at Jericho Park in Vancouver, and 7
more at the Maplewood Conservation Area in North Vancouver.

 

An AMERICAN BITTERN and two female CINNAMON TEAL were seen at the Serpentine
Fen WMA in Surrey.  Another CINNAMON TEAL, this one a drake, was with other
ducks in a flooded field in Surrey on the north side of 64th Avenue, just
east of the Serpentine River canal.

 

A lone SNOW BUNTING was seen on the beach in White Rock, near the White Rock
pier.

 

Birds of note at Point Roberts, WA included 2 MARBLED MURRELETS, 25 COMMON
MURRES, and 130 BRANT.

 

 

Sightings for Sunday, January 1st

 

The two NORTHERN GOSHAWKS, one adult and one immature, were seen again at
the Maplewood Conservation Area, as were a SPOTTED SANDPIPER and 24 COMMON
REDPOLLS.

 

A RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER was found at Queen Elizabeth Park, Vancouver.

 

In North Delta, 66 EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES were seen along 112th, 104th, and
96th Streets N of Highway 10. Also in Delta were 6 SNOWY OWLS and a WESTERN
MEADOWLARK in the Brunswick Point area.

 

 

Sightings for Saturday, December 31st

 

Two NORTHERN GOSHAWKS (one adult and one immature) and 5 COMMON REDPOLLS
were reported from the Maplewood Conservation Area in North Vancouver.

 

Bird seen at the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta included 3 GREATER
WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, 7 CEDAR WAXWINGS, and a NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL.

 

A WESTERN SANDPIPER and 3 LEAST SANDPIPERS, both rare in winter, were seen
among other shorebirds in fields along Deltaport Way near 41B Street.

 

A male REDHEAD was present in a pond near the intersection of Ferry Road and
Windjammer Road in Delta. 

 

 

Sightings for Friday, December 30th

 

Three COMMON REDPOLLS were seen with PINE SISKINS at the Maplewood
Conservation Area in North Vancouver.

 

In Richmond, the 3 HORNED LARKS were still present at Garry Point Park.

 

A WHITE-THROATED SPARROW, rare in winter, was reported from the 6900 block
of Bradner Road in Abbotsford.

 

 

Sightings for Thursday, December 29th

 

Two COMMON REDPOLLS were seen at Deer Lake Park in Burnaby.

 

 

Sightings for Wednesday, December 28th

 

Three HORNED LARKS, a very rare species here in winter, were seen among
beach logs in Garry Point Park in the Steveston area of Richmond.  A
SAVANNAH SPARROW, also rare but regular in winter, was photographed at
Brunswick Point in Delta.

 

 

Sightings for Tuesday, December 27th

 

The GYRFALCON along Mud Bay Road (40th Avenue) in Surrey, west of Highway
99, was reported again.

 

Birds of note at and near the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta included 2 MUTE
SWANS, 2 BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS, 5 SANDHILL CRANES, and a SWAMP SPARROW.


 

 

Sightings for Friday, December 23rd

 

At the foot of 72nd Street in Delta, 26 SNOWY OWLS and 2 SHORT-EARED OWLS
were present.

 

The first-year GLAUCOUS GULL was seen again at the Capilano fish hatchery in
North Vancouver.

 

 

Sightings for Thursday, December 22nd

 

A TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE was seen eating cotoneaster berries in Ambleside
Park, West Vancouver, near the mouth of the Capilano River.

 

 

Sightings for Monday, December 19th

 

The WILLET was reported again from the base of the Tsawwassen ferry jetty in
Delta, and a flock of at least 10 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS was noted at 40th
Avenue and 140th Street in Surrey, west of Highway 99 near Mud Bay.

 

Another SNOWY OWL was reported on a rooftop in Vancouver, near the
intersection of Lakewood Drive and Graveley Street.

 

 

Sightings for Sunday, December 18th

 

The Vancouver Christmas Bird Count posted a respectable 132 species.
Highlights included the CLAY-COLOURED SPARROW in West Vancouver, now present
for 2 weeks; a very late BARN SWALLOW and an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER at Iona
Island in Richmond, and 24 ANCIENT MURRELETS off the Iona south jetty; a
RHINOCEROS AUKLET in English Bay; 4 CINNAMON TEAL in the Southlands area of
Vancouver; 3 SNOWY OWLS in Richmond; a first-year GLAUCOUS GULL at the
Capilano Dam fish hatchery in North Vancouver; and a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE in
Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Park.

 

A GYRFALCON was seen from the Boundary Bay dyke between 96th and 88th
Streets in Delta; there appear to be at least 2 of them wintering in the
area.

 

The Squamish Christmas Bird Count, north of Vancouver, tallied a low number
of only 423 BALD EAGLES, but a high total of 45 AMERICAN DIPPERS.

 

 

 

 

For a summary of extremely rare bird sightings throughout British Columbia,
check "British Columbia Bird Alert" by Russell Cannings at
 http://bcbirdalert.blogspot.com .

 

 

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 Larry at 604-465-1402, or Viveka at 604-531-3401. 

 

Thank you for calling the Vancouver Rare Bird Alert, and good birding.

 

 

Wayne C. Weber

Delta, BC

  contopus@telus.net