Possible SUMMER TANAGER in Prince George

July 4--Heather Sapergia & Suzanne Bahr were birding in "Forests for the World" near UNBC in Prince George, and saw an unfamiliar bird. They suspect it to be a female SUMMER TANAGER. Here are some of their comments:

Suzanne:

"We were about half way  from Shane Lake and the parking lot, on the lower trail..  This bird's bill was large and yellow color and it's wings blended more into the body unlike the female Western which has the white barring on the median & greater coverts. Also somewhat larger that the Western."

Heather:

"The colour was yellow to olive and not much variation between body and wing.  We both got a good look at it but no pics and no sound that we could hear."

Stay tuned for updates...

June 21--Another Lark Bunting!

Getting kind of "old news" now, but I still desperately need one at least!

This morning Mike Bentley had a male LARK BUNTING in his backyard in Fernie, BC.

*No subsequent reports. Stay tuned...

June 13-15: Brown Thrasher--North Coast

"1 individual at the Hakai Beach Institute site [CALVERT ISLAND, NE of Port Hardy].  Feeds around grass clippings and compost pile during periods when few people around (when relatively easy to observe; shy when many people around).  Has been present since at least 13/06/2013" ---Brian Starzomski (photos)
*First found by Keith Jordan.

June 8--WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER

Isn't June supposed to be the worst month for shorebirds? Well today Daniele Mitchell photographed this
WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER at Robert Lake in Kelowna. It was present from 4:30pm to around 8:30pm when it disappeared.  It has not been seen since. This is the first photographed WR for the Okanagan and
is probably the second all time for the area. 

LEAST AUKLET and more off BC!

From Barbara Carlson:

[Reporting for Paul Lehman]

Yesterday, 6 June, Paul Lehman and Larry Peavler were cruising south in BC waters on their way back to San Francisco. They saw an adult LEAST AUKLET paralleling the boat for three minutes! It was flying with Cassin's Auklets. This was 97 km northwest of the northwest tip of Vancouver Island.

They also saw an adult Thick-billed Murre approximately 55 km east of the south end of the Queen Charlotte Islands. Late in the day, they had a MANX SHEARWATER behind a trawler approximately 50 km west off central Vancouver Island.

Earlier in the day, traveling through Hecate Strait, they saw a mass of dark shearwaters, some 80,000 Sooty/Short-tailed Shearwaters. A large number of these were molting Short-tailed, which is unusual for BC waters at this time of year.

Throughout the day, large numbers of Leach's Storm-Petrels (2,600) were seen. Also were some 700 Fork-tailed Storm-Petrels, 700 Ancient Murrelets, and 11,000 Cassin Auklets. There were 180 total number of Black-footed Albatross, with 125 of these being behind the same trawler where they beheld the Manx Shearwater.

June 6--Another Lark Bunting!

Well, here's the third male LARK BUNTING of the spring for the Kootenays! Cam Gillies photographed one in Brisco (North of Invermere) today while conducting is annual Breeding Bird Survey (See MAP).

PARAKEET AUKLETS AND MURPHY'S PETREL - Vancouver Island June 1st

June 1---Just heard from Paul Lehman, who just passed through BC waters on a cruise bound for Alaska. Among the regulars he reports a single MURPHY'S PETREL off Vancouver Island (Heck Seamount), as well as 7 PARAKEET AUKLETS and 1 SOUTH POLAR SKUA off the west coast of Haida Gwaii.

White-faced Ibis on Mandarte Island

On May 31, Ryan Germain saw and photographed a White-faced Ibis on Mandarte Island, off of Sidney.  See the Vancouver Island page for more details, and updates if the bird is relocated.

Black-throated Sparrow at Osoyoos (May 30)

Photo: Dick Cannings

I discovered a singing Black-throated Sparrow  on the west bench of Osoyoos this morning (30 May 2013) at 7 a.m.; it was still present as of 9:45 a.m.  To reach the site, drive south on Hwy. 97 from the Hwy. 3 intersection on the west side of Osoyoos, then turn right (west) following signs for the Osoyoos golf course.  As you reach the golf course, watch for Fairwinds Drive on your left.  Turn on to Fairwinds and drive up the hill until it ends and turns into a gravel road and you cross a cattle-guard.  There are a myriad of rough gravel roads from here on, but one way to reach the site is to take the road on the left side and follow it over the hill until you see a a flat grassy clearinh with a couple of pieces of wood and a plastic pop bottle on the right. Vehicles with low clearance should probably park here. Continue up the hill on the main track past those two pieces of wood. You'll eventually come to an open meadow with several Russian Olives, and some couches, chairs and an obvious firepit--where someone has had a bush party.  The bird was on the large rocky hill directly to the west (the one behind the central Russian olive tree as you approach the grassy flat for the first time). I've placed some pink flagging-tape at the base of the hill. Continue to the south slope of the hill (instead of going right, past the couches). The bird was moving around a little but in general stayed on the south side of that rocky hill, singing sporadically.  GPS coordinates approximately 317917E 5430686N.

**PLEASE REFRAIN FROM USING PLAYBACK.** If the bird is still present, it should be findable with patience, as it was exhibiting all the characters of a territorial bird. After several years of sightings at this location, it is possible that they may one day be confirmed as breeders. Birders should do their best to avoid harassing it/them. Obviously morning is best! Tip: In addition to learning this sparrow's song, familiarize yourself with the songs/calls of Vesper, Brewer's, and Lark Sparrow, as well as Lazuli Bunting and Rock Wren, as all are present and common in this area, and can sound similar.

Good luck!

Revelstoke Lark Bunting

Well this hurts me as much (or more) as it does most of you. While I was turning up a few nice birds south of Revelstoke, my good friend Jennifer Greenwood caught this beauty up by the Revelstoke Dam! (May 26). This was an incidental catch, as the intended target(s) were Savannah Sparrows (Which Jen is studying for her PhD). Could it be the same bird seen by Jeremy G further south a week ago, or are there several in the Columbias this spring?

Photo Credit: Becca Ferguson