YELLOW-GREEN VIREO!

Word has now spilled across the internet that a very intriguing-looking vireo was sighted in Vancouver on the 18th of September, 2013. Well here's what I have collected so far. Please check out the photos and comment if you have any strong feelings to suggest that this is not a YG Vireo.

If accepted, this would be a first record for British Columbia and  the second record for Canada (the first being a specimen collected in Quebec back in 1899!). While at face-value this might seem like an outlandish vagrant, the species is close to annual in September in California now a days and this year saw 12 confirmed sightings including a couple in the San Francisco area. 

• Thank you to Andy Birch for helping to get the word out on this!

This from the photographer:

"There aren't really too much in the way of field observations. All i can say is, i saw the bird moving around in a tree, not sure if you can ID the tree from the photos? The bird seemed to stay in under the foliage, not coming out to the front of the tree at all. Which was why the photos are not my best! It stayed in the same tree for maybe 10 minutes, before disappearing into some thick bushes. I spent half of that time photographing the bird, the other half trying to get the attention of my birder friend. Sadly, he believed it to be a Red-eyed Vireo, as you can imagine, as Yellow-green has not been found this far North before. So, we didn't pursue it too much, bad move as it turns out, but sure you understand why?"

----Gary Thoburn (All photos are his).

*Remember that you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them*

Nov 12/13--One more BROWN BOOBY for BC

Robbie Heggelund, a commercial fisherman, snapped this photo of an adult BROWN BOOBY that landed on his boat yesterday (Nov 12) off the coast of BC near Ucluelet. Likely disoriented and starving. The bird was quite tame and readily ate sardines out of the crews hands. The bird flew before the vessel returned to port in Sooke. Keep an eye-out in the Juan de Fuca and beyond.                                                  The booby invasion ain't over yet!

Nov 1-2--Ash-throated Flycatcher in Prince George!

Well it's been a good week for Myiarchus flycatchers! On Nov 2, Nancy Krueger found this Ash-throated Flycatcher along the Nechako River Trail near Brinks Forest Products in Prince George. Today (Nov 3), it was relocated by several birders closer to Cottonwood Island Park (but still along the Nechako River Trail). *This, I believe is the 2nd most northerly record in BC, the other was caught at the banding station in Mackenzie a few years back.

In comparison to the Great Crested Flycatcher below, note the pale-grayish wash to the breast (weak lemony colour to belly as opposed to rich yellow), and the dark tip to the orangy tail-feathers. The bill is also smaller and lacks the obvious pale base to the lower mandible. (Photo: Nancy Krueger)