#113 Canyon Wren: Date - Apr 5. Location: Vaseux Lake Bluffs, Okanagan Falls, BC.
Our first stop on day 2 was the bluffs above Vaseux Lake. This site allows us to look down on the lake, and up on the Cliffs that tower above. One of the first things we saw was a Coyote hight above climbing over rocks like a Mountain Goat. I was not quick enough to get a photo.
Being earlier in the year, we missed some species we saw last year. However, we once again saw the Canyon Wren, called out the Chris' recording. There are some ethical questions about using recordings to draw birds out, but it's almost a necessity for a guide with paying customers. Also like last year, we were only afforded scope views of the wren, so I still have never photographed it. Here's a shot from Wikipedia, hopefully not infringing anyone's copyright.
#114 American Kestrel: Date - Apr 5. Location: Okanagan Falls, BC.
We left Vaseux and headed back to OK Falls and then east to make the long climb up 1500 metres to look for high altitude birds. Early on, the car in front of us stopped as they observed a pair of American Kestrels mating. Here they are after doing the dirty deed.
#115 Williamson's Sapsucker: Date - Apr 5. Location: Venner Meadows Rd, Okanagan Falls, BC.
Chris had a report from super birder Russell Cannings that these woodpeckers had arrived for nesting. Last year we had to hike a couple of kilometres to get to this location, but this year the roads were clear of snow. We heard drumming almost immediately and then a male and female appeared. Light conditions were not great, but I got a couple of decent shots. This one shows the male.
#116 Northern Pygmy Owl: Date - Apr 5. Location: Venner Meadows Rd, Okanagan Falls, BC.
After the sapsuckers we took a lunch break by our cars. Chris decided to try calling in some owls and starting hooting like a Barred Owl. No reply. Them he switched to his Pygmy Owl call and got a response after a few tries. Then, magically, the bird flew right in to a tree close by. I snapped some decent shots and then also tried digiscoping with Chris' scope.This photo is from my camera.
This was my first lifer on the tour, #384.
After heading up higher to try unsuccessfully for Boreal Chickadees, we headed back down the hill. On the side of the road we spotted this female Moose.
#117 Rough-legged Hawk: Date - Apr 5. Location: Commercial Road, Okanagan Falls, BC.
We stopped again on the way down and checked the skies overhead. Chris called out Rough-legged Hawk and I managed one quick shot.The white on the lower wing is diagnostic. This is a Dark morph of the species, which is about 10% of the population.
#118 Northern Goshawk: Date - Apr 5. Location: Commercial Road, Okanagan Falls, BC.
While still in the same spot, we then saw a pair of Northern Goshawks above. This is the largest of the Accipiter, which is a group of hawks that normally hunt songbirds.
#119 Long-billed Curlew: Date - Apr 5. Location: Road 22, Oliver, BC.
Road 22 intersects Hwy 97 near Oliver. If you head east, you will end up on Black Sage Road, the heart of wine country. Just before that intersection is a bridge over the Okanagan River, and a small pullout for a wildlife viewing area. Later in the year, it is the best place to see the elusive Bobolink. At this time of year, Long-billed Curlews are just arriving for nesting. They prefer nest in grasslands and then head for the coast when done. We did see a curlew through the scope, and I got a couple of record photos. The photo below was taken at Blackie's Spit in Surrey in August, long after nesting season.
#120 Long-billed Curlew: Date - Apr 5. Location: Road 22, Oliver, BC.
This is a very active swallow that seldom lands. Chris called it out and identified it by its flight pattern. I was not able to get a shot. I did not see the bird again in 2014, so this photo is from 2013, taken at the Great Blue Heron Reserve in Chilliwack.
#121 Osprey: Date - Apr 5. Location: Road 22, Oliver, BC.
2014 was my year of the Osprey. I saw this bird in multiple locations and got some great shots in some of those places. None were better than the Osprey I saw at Iona Regional Park in May. It had just caught a fish and landed on top of a piling close to me. I had a first hand look as it ate.
Another memorable shot was this one, taken at Road 22 in June. This is one of the first digiscope shots taken through my new spotting scope.
#122 Bewick's Wren: Date - Apr 5. Location: Road 22, Oliver, BC.
I usually see this bird in my back yard.Although I had heard it around the yard a few times, I had not yet seen it. I guess with a bird like this, I am less willing to add it to my year list after just hearing it.I was quite happy with this picture taken on this day.
#123 Savannah Sparrow: Date - Apr 5. Location: Road 22, Oliver, BC.
It's always nice to see this common sparrow for the first time of the year. It will be around for seven or eight months and then head south. This photo was taken in July near Frank Lake, Alberta. The plumage on this bird is somewhat different from what we see on the coast.This was the last new bird on the second day of our tour.
Our owling trip on the second night was supposed to be a high altitude journey back up to where we had been earlier in the day. However, we hit snow at about 1200 metres, and it quickly got worse. We eventually turned around and called it a night.
#124 Wilson's Snipe: Date - Apr 6. Location: River Road, Oliver, BC.
This is an unusual looking shorebird that I added to my life list in 2012. Chris spotted it at quite a distance and I only got a look through his scope. The photo below is from Serpentine Fen in Surrey, taken in 2012.
#125 Chukar: Date - Apr 6. Location: Richter Pass near Osoyoos BC.
The Chukar is an Indian Partridge that was introduced to BC in the 1940's. It has established itself as a wild population, and is countable if seen in the wild. This was taken on a busy Highway 3 near Osoyoos with traffic whizzing by at 90 - 100 km/hr. This was my second lifer on the trip, #385.
#126 Ruddy Duck: Date - Apr 6. Location: Richter Pass near Osoyoos BC.
I only got a scope look at this colourful duck on this day. The photo below was taken at Frank Lake, Alberta in July. It shows a male who has come up from a dive in a particularly grassy area of the lake.
This was the last new bird on our three day tour. We did wind up at the Red Roost Gift shop on Highway 97b near Kaleden. I'd recommend this location to anyone travelling that way to stop in. They have a great variety of birds at their feeders, and lots of interesting items in the gift shop.
#127 Brown-headed Cowbird: Date - Apr 13. Location: Reifel Bird Sanctuary, Delta BC.
Related to Blackbirds, this bird is a nest parasite. It deposits its eggs in other species nests, and then remains in the area to ensure its young are cared for. Quite often the chicks will kill the smaller native fledglings in the nest.This male as photographed at Iona Regional Park in May.
#128 Common Yellowthroat: Date - Apr 18. Location: Serpentine Fen, Surrey BC.
This common warbler lives in marshes and fens. It is often heard before it is seen. Even though quite colourful, it is small and hard to spot. I finally got a good shot of a male in Burns Bog in June.
#129 Orange-crowned Warbler: Date - Apr 18. Location: Serpentine Fen, Surrey BC.
Tow warblers on the same day. These ones were in the trees close to where I had parked. Very thoughtful of them to be so convenient.
#130 Pacific Wren: Date - Apr 20. Location: Redwood Park, Surrey BC.
This bird has been a nemesis bird for me the last couple of years. On our birding tours in the Okanagan they were spotted by the group, but eluded my poor eyesight. Edith had been on a birding tour to this park in Surrey the week before and had seen them there. We went out on a Sunday morning and there was a wren singing heartily. Since they live in the deep forest, it is hard to get good light, but i managed this flash assisted photo.
#131 Mourning Dove: Date - Apr 21. Location: Surrey BC.
This is now a hard to see bird also. The Eurasian Collared Dove has displaced this once common species in all the open farmland in Delta. My golf friend Pat Bradley has Mourning Doves in his backyard, which is where I got this poor shot with my pocket camera.
#132 Purple Finch: Date - Apr 24. Location: Burns Bog, Delta BC.
We get House finches in our back yard and the occasional Purple as well. However, the first one I saw this year was on a walk in the bog. I could hear it singing loudly (which is the easiest way to tell it from the House Finch). I got a couple of poor shots that day. This photo was taken in May in my front yard, at the top of our large Douglas Fir tree.
#133 Bonaparte's Gull: Date - Apr 27. Location: South Jetty, Iona Regional Park.
This is a fairly common gull that is easily distinguished in the spring by its black head. I was on the jetty to find a Lapland Longspur that had been reported, but missed it on the way out. These gulls were with a group on a sandbar that included Mew Gulls, a Glaucous-winged Gull, some Dunlin and an immature Bald Eagle.
#134 Lapland Longspur: Date - Apr 27. Location: South Jetty, Iona Regional Park.
I was disappointed that I had not seen this bird on my way out and was doing the 4 kilometer walk back. I had seen this species late last year for my life list, but they did not stay into January. However, the bird reported now was a male in breeding plumage, and a very late record for BC. At about the 1 KM marker, I saw a young woman with a camera crouched down, and there it was. This photo is from that day.
As an additional bonus, another male was seen on May 6th in the lawn around the washroom. When I pulled up in the early evening, I met with two other birders and located the bird in front of my parked car. This is definitely the latest record for this species.
#135 Western Sandpiper: Date - Apr 29. Location: Boundary Bay,96 St Delta BC.
This was a spectacular evening to end the birding month. The tide was coming in, and there were thousands of Western Sandpipers and Dunlin close to shore. The flocks would land for a bit and then something would set them off and up they would fly.
This photo shows a single Western Sandpiper on the rocks off the South Jetty at Iona Regional Park. It was taken on September 1st, capping off a great day at Iona, which will be detailed in the September post.
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