Oct 16--YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO at Vaseux Lake

Chris Siddle found a YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO at the Vaseux Lake Bird Observatory--located on the west side of Hwy 97, 1 km north of the lake itself. Look for a wide shoulder near a gate in a barbed-wire fence, roughly opposite a hwy speed sign.

It was most recently seen (Dick Cannings & Doug Brown) at the old banding trailer that's at the bottom of the short track that leads down from the highway. It flew northeast across the oxbow that parallels the highway and is presently 'missing' but obviously still in that area somewhere (riparian thickets along the highway).

Stay tuned for updates.

Oct 12--YELLOW WAGTAIL in Royston, Vancouver Island

On the morning of October 12th, Adrian Boyle, a visiting birder from Australia, and a friend observed a YELLOW WAGTAIL as it flew past them calling at the Royston estuary (location posted below). Having seen them on the breeding grounds in Alaska and not being from here, Adrian assumed this was not an unusual sighting. Upon consulting some range-maps a little later he realized his mistake. In the afternoon of the same day he returned to the area and re-found the bird foraging along the tide-line. It flew and he managed some record shots that were unfortunately quite back-lit (see below). 

As a resident of Broome, Western Australia, Adrian sees around 100 Yellow Wagtails a year and he's travelled extensively in Asia (as a bird guide) so knows all the wagtails by call and sight. He sounds confident on the ID and I believe the photos help his case. "Eastern Yellow Wagtail" is of course the most likely type to occur in BC so I'll try and get more info on him to see if we can shore that up. For those trying for it, please let me know via email (russellcannings@shaw.ca) or cell: 778-886-3200 if you have any updates.

Location of the wagtail in Royston (Just north of Qualicum)

Shape consistent with wagtail/pipit but facial pattern much more wagtail-like.

Appears to be missing inner rectrices (tail feathers)

*October 13th + 14th--Two solid efforts to re-find the wagtail have been unsuccessful. Stay tuned for any further updates.

October 12--ORCHARD ORIOLE in Tofino

Adrian Dorst photographed this ORCHARD ORIOLE near Tofino (Oct 12).
There are less than 10 records for BC.

Yet another RED-THROATED PIPIT (Sooke area)

From Ian Cruickshank--

"I lucked onto another Red-throated Pipit this morning at Rocky Point.  This one flew in and landed out of sight in a short grass field; it soon took flight again and I managed a brief view in flight as it gained altitude and headed northwest.  I whipped out the camera, pressed the video button and managed to get a recording of two flight calls; the recording is at the link below.  Comments on these calls from anyone experienced with Asian pipits are welcome!  They do appear to be a good match for Red-throated and lack the pronounced buzzy quality of the flight calls of other somewhat similar-sounding species such as Olive-backed Pipit" 

IAN'S RECORDED AUDIO

*DOVEKIE*--First record for British Columbia!

August 21--Luke Halpin & Megan Willie observed this DOVEKIE near Campania Island at 6:45am, while conducting seabird surveys in the area. Campania is just SE of the large Banks Island, which is essentially due east of Sandspit, Haida Gwaii. This constitutes the first record of Dovekie for British Columbia, and the southernmost record of this species in the NE Pacific. Presumably, it is a member of the tiny breeding population in the Bering Sea. While there are no records off the North American (Pacific) coast south of the Aleutians, there are at least 3 records for Japan. An official write-up on the sighting is in the process of being reviewed by several experts and should be made public in the coming months.

For more information, contact Luke: (luke.halpin@gmail.com)

Oct 4-7--TROPICAL KINGBIRD at Swan Lake, Victoria

Photo: Heather Trondsen

*Oct 8 Update--"I found the Kingbird (in all its splendour!) this morning on Centerbury west of Rainbow near Swan Lake  on the wire in the opening in the middle of the block - easy to find - great way to start he day!" ---Patti Sullivan


*Oct 7 update--"I saw the kingbird at 1:40 at the south end of the boardwalk at Swan Lake and then lost it. I stopped at the corner of Rainbow and Canterbury when I left and it was perched on a wire around 2:15 and flew off in the direction of Swan Lake at 2:30." --Heather Trondson

*Oct 6--Another Tropical Kingbird was at Wickaninnish Beach, near the B-entrance picnic shelter (Guy & Donna Monty)

From Chris Saunders: (Oct 4) "The bird made close to a complete loop around the lake from the willow tops. It was last seen flying east toward Saanich Rd."

DICKCISSEL near Victoria

Oct 2 (morning)--Ian Cruickshank just found a Dickcissel at the end of Swanwick Road in Metchosin (W of Victoria). It was seen feeding in the think bush near the end of the road where seed has been placed under the bushes.

This is the 22nd record for BC.

RBA: CURLEW SANDPIPER at Sandspit, Haida Gwaii

Sep 28--Andrew Keaveney photographed this apparent CURLEW SANDPIPER just SE of Sandspit on Moresby Island (Haida Gwaii). *A different photo shows a better angle on the rump (which looks fully white). If accepted this would be the first BC record since 1993! Andrew's been hot lately (not surprising on HG), with 2 RED-THROATED PIPITS and 2 SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPERS also seen yesterday at the Sandspit Airport. 

Sep 29--AK joined forces with local birders Margo Hearne and Peter Hamel. I understand they had a RED-THROATED PIPIT in the dune-grass just east of Dixon Entrance Golf Course (SW of Tow Hill), and 2 Sharp-tailed Sandpipers at Delkatla Slough. I hope I have the details correct.

Sep 26-27--ORIENTAL TURTLE-DOVE near Tofino

From Adrian Dorst who made this observation on Stubbs island:

"First observed flying past, then landing on the beach about 100 meters away. It caught my attention immediately by being so much darker than the Eurasian Collared Doves also in the area. What was striking was the large amount of rust or rufous on the back in a pattern very similar to the Oriental Turtle Dove I saw in Tofino in 1992. But this bird looked darker overall and I suspect it is a juvenile. Head and neck appeared grey. I could not see any markings on the neck, but at the closest point it was still perhaps 80 meters (yards) away. A very shy bird. I suspect it may be joining collared doves at a feeder."

***This is on private land, so in the event that the bird stays around, permission will first need to be confirmed by landowners. Follow the blog for updates***

Sep 25--RED-THROATED PIPIT on Vancouver Island

From Ian Cruickshank:

"This morning at Rocky Point I had a flyover small passerine giving flight calls I didn't recognize - a single very high, completely clear "tseeew" with no buzzy quality, fairly long, and slightly descending/thinning gradually at the end.  I immediately thought it may be a wagtail sp. based on the calls, and though I remembered that Red-throated Pipit calls were distinctive, I've never heard one and couldn't remember the specifics.  Well, I just listened to flight calls of all the east Asian wagtails and pipits, and none of them fit, except Red-throated: a perfect match.  It was heading south across the strait on its own, and while I heard the flight call several times, I only got a visual on it once it was a little speck against the sky heading away from me.  The size/structure/flight style of this speck did look consistent with a pipit..."