June was a month of travel. I took one solo birding trip back to the Okanagan, a trip to Chilliwack to bird Columbia Valley, and then a vacation to Grand Forks and Calgary with Edith and my grandson Austin. Although the purpose of the second trip was to visit family, I also squeezed in quite a bit of birding.
I had planned to do June in one post, but have now split it into two parts due to some long-winded descriptions of my Okanagan trip.
The Chilliwack trip and the summer vacation are detailed in earlier posts to my 2014 birding blog here: Summer Vacation Birding Some of the photos from that post may be duplicated in this one.
#156 Willow Flycatcher: Date - June 8. Location: Serpentine Fen, Surrey BC.
Whenever my grandson Austin stays with us on Saturday night, we go play mini-golf on Sunday morning at Art Knapp's Plantland in Surrey. Occasionally, I persuade him to take a side trip to Serpentine for a short birding excursion. On this day, we did that and our reward was my first Willow Flycatcher of the year. I only had my pocket camera, so this photo is a much better one taken June 21 in the Columbia Valley near Chilliwack while birding with my friend Mary-Jean.
#157 Clark's Nutcracker: Date - June 11. Location: Manning Provincial Park, BC.
I left work at noon on this day to start my Okanagan trip. I had booked a room at the Manning Park Lodge and planned to bird there in the late afternoon and early evening. However the park seemed devoid of bird life at the few spots I stopped at along the way. I did see this very common however. It is lumped in with the Corvids, which includes Ravens, Crows and Jays. The photo was taken at the lodge the next morning.
#158 Townsend's Warbler: Date - June 12. Location: Beaver Pond, Manning Provincial Park, BC.
The next morning I got in the car and headed out to a few recommended spots for birds. However, the areas were all deserted with warnings about bears posted frequently. I did not like the odds of solo birding, so I headed back to the highway and the Beaver Pond. It was quiet there at first, but as I came back to the parking lot I noticed some activity. A bit of pishing produced two warbler species, the common Yellow-rumped and the Townsend's. I had seen this bird twice before. The first time was in the Queen Charlotte Islands in 2004 and the other was a lucky sighting at Reifel. This is a striking bird that was making this trip pay off.
After I let Manning, I tried a spot north of Princeton where there was a natual grassland restoration project. I did see American Kestrel and Western Meadowlark, birds featured in earlier posts. This spot had a good assortment of butterflies, including thisNorthern Checkerspot.
#159 Western Kingbird: Date - June 12. Location: Keremeos BC.
To find my way around to the good birding spots I was using a book titled "Birdfinding in British Columbia" by Russell Cannings. I've had the pleasure of meeting him at various birding locations in the Okanagan and Lower Mainland. This led me to a road north of Kermeos, past the local graveyard. However, the climb was quite steep and a very ominous weather system was approaching. As I turned around I spotted this bird on a fence guarding a local vineyard. It was one of my target birds for the trip. This #2 for my annual Kingbird trifecta.
#160 Calliope Hummingbird: Date - June 12. Location: Red Roost Gift Shop, Kaleden BC.
Back on the highway again the ominous storm caught up with me. Birding was going to be very difficult. I decided to stop at the gift shop to check out the hummingbird feeders as I would have partial cover there. I bought a couple of nice wine glasses from the gift shop so I would not feel guilty about waiting out the rainstorm. There was a good collection of hummers, most of them Rufous. I did get this shot of a male Calliope, which I had never seen before. Last year I had seen the female here for my life list addition.
#161 Ruby-throated Hummingbird: Date - June 12. Location: Red Roost Gift Shop, Kaleden BC.
The proprietor mentioned this species was present, but very shy. I believe I caught it in this photo. This is the only time I saw this bird this year, so I'm hoping I am correct with this ID.
The rain showed no sign of stopping, so I headed for my motel past Vaseux Lake and called it a day. Hopefully tomorrow would be better.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#162 Bank Swallow: Date - June 13. Location: Horsetail Rd. Oliver BC.
Unfortunately, I woke up to pouring rain that looked like it would last all day. After watching some World Cup soccer while eating breakfast, I decided to try to bird in the car to start with. There was a stretch of gravel road along the river in Oliver that seemed like a good fit. We had been there in our April tour. As I was driving along, I noticed some bird activity on the side of the road. There was a sandy slope on the side with burrowed nest holes. Sure enough the birds were bank swallows. These birds come darting out of their nest holes and then return with food for the nestlings. It was a challenge to capture them, but I eventually got the hang of it. The best field mark for this bird is the dark stripe under the throat.
After another trip back to the room to watch a bit more soccer, I realized the rain was hanging in for the day. I headed out again, this time going south of Oliver to Road 22. There is a small wildlife preserve just before the Okanagan River. It is named Bobolink Meadows. This bird is a member of the Icteridae family, which includes Orioles, Meadowlarks and Blackbirds. Unlike those genera, the Bobolink is the only member of its genus. This was lifer #387 for me, so the day was a success in spite of the rain.
#164 Yellow-breasted Chat: Date - June 13. Location: Okanagan River Oxbows, Oliver BC.
While observing the Bobolink, more birders arrived. A couple were casual birders who soon left. The other was the self-proclaimed second best birder in the Okanagan (Dick Cannings being #1). His name was Doug and he asked me if I had seen any Chats around. I said no, but would be thrilled to as it would be a lifer for me. He told me to follow him and we drove across the bridge and onto the small road that runs along the river. We stopped and got out, put binoculars up and he spotted one. I got a five second look and the bird flew off. The Chat is a member of the Warbler family, but is much larger, more like a Tanager. However, it is very secretive.
Since this was lifer #388, I have no previous photos, so here's one from Wikipedia.
#165 Gray Catbird: Date - June 13. Location: Okanagan River Oxbows, Oliver BC.
I continued along the river with Doug for a while. The term Oxbow refers to a crescent shaped lake alongside a meandering river. The Catbird is a common sight in the Okanagan, and also in places such as Pitt Lake and Colony Farms Regional Park closer to home. This photo was taken in Sicamous BC in July.
#166 Lazuli Bunting: Date - June 13. Location: Okanagan River Oxbows, Oliver BC.
One of our most beautiful spring/summer visitors, but one that is difficult to photograph. They always seem to keep their distance from people. This bird was singing high up in a tree in the pouring rain.
#167 Bullock's Oriole: Date - June 12. Location: Okanagan River Oxbows, Oliver BC.
This species used to be lumped in with the Baltimore Oriole of the East. However, it has been split back into its own. The male in the first photo was seen on this day. The female in the second photo was seen at Grant Narrows Regional Park in Pitt Meadows in August.
#168 Black-billed Magpie: Date - June 13. Location: Vaseux Lake Bluffs, Okanagan Falls BC.
It's amazing I did not see this bird in April on our tour, or in May on my golf trip. This photo was taken in Calgary in July in my cousin's front yard.
#169 Western Wood-Pewee: Date - June 13. Location: Horsetail Rd. Oliver BC.
At the end of the day, I returned to this location for one more look. I saw a small fly catcher and took one shot. I did not identify it until I got home and studied the photo. Just to be sure I posted it on the Birding in BC forum and was confirmed by a 13 year old Kelowna birder named Logan (whom I would meet at Boundary Bay in August).
So ended Day 2. The next day and the rest of the month is contained in the next post - Birds of June - Part 2.
No comments:
Post a Comment