May 5--Loggerhead Shrike in Creston

May 5--This morning Gary Breault got brief looks at a "small shrike" near Duck Lake (north of Creston). I just happened to be passing through the area today so I joined Gary for a bit of local birding this afternoon and we managed to refind the beauty!  Yup it's a LOSHie!

Apr 29 MANX SHEARWATER - Ucluelet

This past weekend (April 28-29), 87 birders from around BC and Alberta headed to the outer coast of Vancouver Island to board the MV Frances Barkley on Sunday in hopes of finding some nice seabirds. Not surprisingly, with all those eyes out there, there were plenty of other highlights onshore as well.

First off-- here are some photo highlights, courtesy of Peter Candido:
[Click to Enlarge]
Black-footed Albatross: "Clear for Take-off"

Manx Shearwater (right) with Sooty Shearwater--Note smaller size and white underparts

 Photo showing underside of Manx Shearwater (with same Sooties)

 Flock of Red Phalaropes in different stages of pre-alternate moult

 The ever-pleasant sight of Sabine's Gulls floating by

For a detailed report of the pelagic trip itself, CLICK HERE.

Other highlights from the weekend:

--Huge numbers of migrating geese; particularly Greater White-fronted, but also Cackling, Snow, and Brant. On the afternoon of the 29th, an estimated 30-40 thousand Greater White-fronts passed north over Tofino, with close to 10,000 Cacklers mixed in.

--The long-staying Yellow-billed Loon was again present around the south end of Tofino Harbour on the 28th and 30th.

--Western Sandpiper numbers seemed low, but there were still lots of other shorebirds around including 25 Marbled Godwits near the Sharp Rd Look-out, 100's of Short-billed Dowitchers at Sharp Road and the Airport, 7 Whimbrels at the Tofino Airport on April 30th along with a single Marbled Godwit, loads of Black-bellied and Semipalmated Plovers, good numbers of Dunlin, Western, Semipalmated, and Least Sandpipers, and over 40 Wilson's Snipe!

--"Rockpipers" were also around, with Black Turnstones and Surfbirds seen at various locations in Pacific Rim National Park, as well as the usual Black Oystercatchers. Another big highlight for many was a good showing of Wandering Tattlers. Multiple tattlers were recorded in Tofino, as well as Green Point area, and around Ucluelet (where they could be heard calling for several hours on the evening of the 28th).

--The Wick Sewage Lagoons yielded a pair of Wood Ducks, 1 drake Cinnamon Teal, 3 Ring-necked Ducks, and a Northern Rough-winged Swallow (among other things)

--Finally, there appears to have been an influx of Sea Otters into the area, as ~10 were sighted off Amphitrite Point on the 28th, and at least 3 were seen from the boat on the 29th!

Ever heard of a "red-phase" Western Screech?

Check out this photo of a rare "red/brownish-phase" macfarlanei Western Screech-Owl. The red-phase of the Eastern Screech-Owl is well known, but few (if any) have ever seen the Western (interior) Screech version! Or could this be a hybrid macfarlanei x kennicottii or simply a kennicottii (coastal ssp.) that has made it up into the interior?  This bird was found in the upper Fraser Canyon by Jared Hobbs et al.

[Typical gray-phase on left, with reddish bird on right]

[Photo Credit: Jared Hobbs]

Lesser Goldfinch in Lillooet

[Photo: Ken Wright]

Found at a private residence in Lillooet on April 23rd, and is continuing up until at least the 26th. The landowner has requested that the precise location be kept private.

April 26 UPDATE--There are now *2* males LEGOs at the feeder!


April 27--Last seen on this date

ARCTIC LOON--Jordan River

On Apil 15th an Arctic Loon was reported from the Surfer's Parking Lot in Jordan River by Louis Haviland. The bird was Alone and close to shore and was photographed several times.

April 21 Update: STILL PRESENT

Ross's Goose returns for 3rd spring in a row!

CRESTON: Gary Breault just photographed this ROSS'S GOOSE at the first 90 degree corner on Channel Rd, near Duck Lake. This is the third spring that a Ross's Goose has turned up at this exact location--must be the same bird? Sightings have ranged from April 14th to May 4th.

Apr 12--SAGE SPARROW in Kelowna

From Avery Bartels:

At Munson Pond this morning (9:30am) I had a Sage Sparrow. It was foraging on its own, on both sides of the road but was last seen on the north side as it ducked behind the piles of debris and wood chips. A couple hundred metres after turning onto Munson Rd. there is a bare field (mostly bare ground, with little grass) on the left. I first had the bird here before it flew across the road and continued foraging on a dirt track and the aforementioned wood chip piles.

The bird was quite pale brown with a contrastingly grey head, strong white malar stripe, a fairly short and weak white supercilium, an unmarked nape with a streaked back, faint wingbars and and a dark spot on the centre of its chest, underparts white. It often held its long tail cocked up and ran about quite actively.

I managed to digiscope a couple of poor shots with my ipod which I will post when I figure out how to do transfer them off my ipod. [April 12]

--Will post photo soon

Brown Pelican found near Prince Rupert

Press Release---

A brown pelican is being nursed back to health in Prince Rupert after veering almost two-thousand kilometres off course. The large bird with the nearly two metre wingspan was spotted, disoriented and wobbly, on a Port Edward dock earlier this week, far from its usual northerly limits along the Oregon coast. Prince Rupert Wildlife Rehab Shelter volunteer Amy Maund says people had been tossing fish to the pelican, so it wasn't starving, but an examination has revealed some eye and head injuries. The feisty pelican has perked up, since then, and is now preening and snapping his beak while shelter officials try to figure out why he ventured on his unexpected northerly adventure.

MOTTLED PETRELS in BC Waters

Ryan Merrill (Of "Mission to Haida Gwaii 2011" fame) just returned from a NOAA research cruise, and reports seeing three MOTTLED PETRELS in BC Waters (off Carmanah Pt, BC). This was around March 3rd, 2012. Here are the other highlights---

[Mottled Petrel--Note dark belly and black bars on underwing]

Laysan Albatross (4)
3/3 1 Nitinat Canyon, WA
3/5 1 Guide Canyon, 32nm off Ocean Park, WA
3/6 2 21-23nm off Cape Lookout, OR

Mottled Petrel (9)
2/21 1 4.3nm off Caramanah Point, BC - unusually close to land!
3/3 1 29nm off Caramanah Point, BC
3/3 1 Nitinat Canyon, 40nm off Caramanah Point/Cape Alava - this
bird was seen in both countries
3/3 3 Nitinat Canyon, 39-43nm off Cape Alava, WA
3/5 3 Astoria Canyon, 23-29nm off Cape Disappointment, WA

Sooty Shearwater - 2 off Ocean Shores 3/4

Short-tailed Shearwater - 33 total in BC,WA & OR

Manx Shearwater – 1 15nm off Long Beach on 3/5

Yellow-billed Loon - Scott saw one in Boundary Pass near Saturna Island on 3/2

Red-legged Kittiwake - Nitinat Canyon, 37nm off Cape Alava, WA, adult on 3/3

Apparent Black-tailed Gull - 14nm off Long Beach, WA, adult on 3/6

[Single Parakeet]

Parakeet Auklet (871!)
2/16 6 Tillamook
2/17 10 Clallam
2/20 2 Clallam
2/21 1 BC
2/23 2 Clallam
3/3 21 Clallam
3/4 358! Grays Harbor max of 85 in view at once
3/5 438! Pacific 160+ different sightings
3/6 33 Tillamook

[Group of Parakeets!]

Tufted Puffin (8)
3/3 1 Nitinat Canyon, WA
3/5 7 Willapa Canyon, WA

For more photos, click HERE.

[More reason to sign up for the WildResearch pelagic in April?]

Northern Mockingbird in Squamish

[Photo: Chris Dale]
First found by Patrick MacNamara approx 2 weeks ago-- Its regular hangout is the Holly tree in the back yard of house number 1260 on the corner of Fourth Avenue and Victoria Street. Sometimes it is down a nearby alleyway at some other hollys.

Last seen March 24

Check out a VIDEO of it!