May 8/9: Another BLACK PHOEBE (Vancouver)

Report and photo from Neil Hughes:

"There is a Black Phoebe at the Avalon pond in Everett Crowley Park off SW Marine drive at Kerr. The bird is feeding with some other flycatchers, dozens of yellow-rumps and many Wilson's warblers. I was watching it till about 1pm."

UPDATE: After a thorough search on May 10th, no sign of the phoebe

May 4--RBA: LITTLE STINT

Rick Toochin just sent me this photo of an odd peep in Chilliwack. He managed the shot just before the birds flew. So what do you think?
[In this cropped photo, the bird in question is on the right. The bird on the left is a Least Sandpiper. Both Little and Red-necked Stints are strikingly orange in spring--compared to our regular peeps. This bird certainly shows an orangey-red face and rusty-coloured back Separating Little from Red-necked is another issue that will have to be discussed; the warmer tones to the entirety of the upper-parts might point toward Little]
--CLICK ON THE PHOTO TO ENLARGE

[uncropped--bird is in high centre]

Here is what Rick had to say--
"This field is about .5 to 1km before Annis Road if you were heading east along Chilliwack Central. There were about 20+ or-so Least Sandpipers and a couple of Western Sandpipers in the mix. I got on the bird immediately as it is a rusty-orange color. The bird has a round ball body shape and round head shape. I have seen a few of these over the years. I quickly grabbed my camera and got a shot off. As I was going for better shots the flock flushed and flew out into the back area of the fields. All of this is private property so you need to ask before walking out there. I would have liked a longer look but I am confident."

LESSER GOLDFINCH in Shirley (Vancouver Island)

This is the first Vancouver Island record of this species! Photographs have been attained and the bird was still present as of May 1rst (afternoon). For more details check out the Vancouver Island page on the left!

Visitors are welcome but must call first--email Jeremy for details.

Location: Shirley, BC (just west of Sooke in southern Vancouver Island)

RBA: BLACK PHOEBE at Jericho Park (Vancouver)

[Photo by Pieter van Veelen]

On the morning of April 27th, Brian Stech and Rick Wright observed this bird hawking insects by the westernmost pond in the park (Jericho is located at 3941 Point Gray Road in Vancouver). The bird was still present as of 3pm April 28th.

There are less than 10 confirmed records of BLPH in Canada, all of which are from BC.

RBA: FERRUGINOUS HAWK (Chilliwack)

This from Rick Toochin: "Ferruginous Hawk tonight at the corner of Chilliwack Central and Gibson Road.

The bird flew into a tree and stayed in the treetop for about an hour! I
took loads of pictures. It is a nice light phased adult bird. It got dive bombed
by a Peregrine Falcon and Crows but didn't want to fly. The owner of the house
accidentally flushed it when he came out to ask what the heck I was looking at.
It didn't go far. The bird was visible from Gibson Road near Chilliwack
Central.Look west towards Chilliwack MT and you will see 2 fir trees in a field
with a silo to the right. The bird was happy in that tree near sunset. It might
well be in the area tomorrow as it is raining here and they don't migrate at
night."

I believe this would constitute the first coastal record for BC?

RBA: Lesser Goldfinch is still present as of April 10th!

It seems as if the Lesser Goldfinch is still in the same area! Check out the comments from "Steve" below the original post and photos. He saw the bird twice on APRIL 10th... not sure if it has been seen since? Sorry for the late report but I didn't notice the comments until today.

---Russ

RBA: LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL (Creston)

March 17--Linda Van Damme was out birding today in the Creston area and managed to pull out an adult LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL feeding in a field with a "huge flock" of Ring-billed Gulls. This is the first record for the Creston Valley!

It was seen along Reclamation Road at one of the dairy farms (where the pavement ends). Migration is really kicking off in the valley, with hundreds of GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE already moving through along with 1000+ TUNDRA SWANS and good numbers of TRUMPETER SWANS passing through, not to mention the hundreds of CANADA GEESE, MALLARDS, GADWALL, NORTHERN PINTAIL, and AMERICAN WIGEON in the area. Linda also saw a EURASIAN WIGEON along Kootenay River Road.

RBA: LESSER GOLDFINCH (Vancouver-Point Grey)

March 11th--This male Lesser Goldfinch was photographed by Stephen Forgacs at his feeder near 8th Ave and Blanca Street (Point Grey)--in the area known as "Little Australia."

He will be updating us on whether or not the bird is sticking around. If you want to arrange a visit, his email is: stephen.forgacs@gmail.com

UPDATE-- The bird has not been re-sighted as of Sunday, March 13th

SHORT-TAILED ALBATROSS photographed in BC waters

A good sighting anywhere in North American waters, this juvenile was photographed 20km off Vancouver Island near Ucluelet, BC (March 8). The large pink bill distinguishes it from the more common Black-footed Albatross. As they get older, STAL will gradually molt into their distinct white and black plumage.[Report and photo provided by Barie Hotchkiss]

RBA: ACORN WOODPECKER!!! (Dec 27-Feb 5)

[top photo: J and M Ramsay]

From Stan Olson:

"Mid morning today on the Abbotsford-Mission Christmas Bird Count, I found an Acorn Woodpecker in the small village of Matsqui, in a rural area of Abbotsford near the Fraser River. I have posted a photo in Stan's Photos in the Photos section. It's digiscoped so the quality is poor, sorry, but should be sufficient for identification. It appears to be a female. I didn't hear any vocalization from this bird in the 10 minutes we were observing it, but it showed the undulating flight of a woodpecker on several occasions.

Directions to the location:
Take Hwy 1 to the Sumas exit in Abbotsford, and follow Hwy 11 north toward Mission for several miles to the traffic light at Harris Rd (56th Ave). Turn left here, onto Harris Rd. One block later turn right on Riverside Rd (traffic light), and follow Riverside Rd for about 4 blocks through Matsqui village. Turn right on Fore Rd, a gravel lane just before a small slough bordering a small community park. Fore Rd dead-ends at the railway. Looking left (north) from this point there is a row of cottonwoods growing along the west side of the RR grade. The bird was perched in one of these cottonwoods. It also flew across the RR to a grove of hazelnut trees, and back into the cottonwoods, where it moved around to various trees. The cottonwoods are also visible from the above mentioned park. There is a parking lot there. Walk further to the back fence, and across the slough you see the row of cottonwood trees.

If you wish, you can take a short cut from the west. Exit Hwy 1 at 264th and follow 56th Ave east (Harris Rd) to the above mentioned corner of Harris Rd and Riverside Rd, turn left and go to Fore Rd.

From Hwy 7, exit in Mission onto Hwy 11 toward Abbotsford. Immediately at the end of the bridge over the Fraser River, exit off Hwy 11. You are now on Riverside Rd. Shortly you will see the small park on your left, and Fore Rd just past it.

Be aware: this is an active rail line so use caution. Also be aware that while you can turn east off Hwy 11 northbound onto another part of Fore Rd, there is no access from Hwy 11 to this portion of Fore Rd. You can only get to it from Riverside Rd.

Good luck to anyone trying for this bird.

Stan Olson
Abbotsford, BC"

**Check for updates in the comments below!