May 11--BAR-TAILED GODWIT near Port McNeill

Peter Curtis photographed this Bar-tailed Godwit (right) on the Cluxewe Estuary (NW of Port McNeill) on May 11th. It was in the company of a Long-billed Curlew (also a rare bird for the upper island, particularly this late in the season). Juvenile 'Barwits' are nearly annual in fall on the BC coast but spring birds are few and far between!

May 11--Laysan Albatross off Ucluelet

Hi all,

I've just returned to the Alberni Valley after a very enjoyable Ucluelet pelagic organized by WildResearch BC. Highlight was a single LAYSAN ALBATROSS that stayed with the boat for over 15 minutes--it was also our first albatross of the day!

Laysan Albatross (Photo: Catherine Jardine)

Laysan showing upperside (Photo: Catherine Jardine)

For WildResearch's full report, click HERE.

*Note that the trip list is still being adjusted a bit as have 80+ birders on board can lead to a range of species lists and totals at times.

Russ Cannings

Late report: BLACK PHOEBE (Apr 10-11)

From Adrian Dorst:

"I just found out today about another Black Phoebe sighting for the west coast. It was seen on two consecutive days in April, on the 10th and 11th, at the Millstream subdivision northwest of Ucluelet by Ewen and Barbara Brittain... There have been a number of rare flycatchers sighted at that location over the years including Ash-throated Flycatcher, Scissor-tailed Flycatcher, and Tropical Kingbird."

This is the 19th record for BC.

April 27--WHITE-TAILED KITE near Kamloops

**May 3--Possibly the same bird was seen by Ted Hillary at Salmon Arm Bay!

Original post:

Photo'd by Noreen Sadiwnyk

April 27--"It was on the Chase - Pritchard road north of the South Thompson River approximately 2 -3 kilometers passed the Neskonlith Lake turnoff. It was hunting in open fields ( near where the long billed curlews regularly nest close to the Wolf Creek Ranch)."

This location is between Chase and Kamloops.

*Has not been relocated since*

April 28--Little Gull at Nakusp

Gary Davidson photographed this apparent Little Gull at the mouth of Kuskanax Creek in Nakusp
(April 28). Comments welcome. It was consorting with some Bonaparte' Gulls.

April 24--Northern Mockingbird in Sechelt

John Hodges and Kai Bosch found a Northern Mockingbird at the Wilson Creek Estuary today south of Sechelt (Sunshine Coast).

April 12--WHITE-TAILED KITE near Port Alberni

George Bradd reports a WHITE-TAILED KITE flying over his place on the road to Great Central Lake (Just outside of Port Alberni).

Will post any updates or further sightings as they come.

March 27--King Eider returns to Little Qualicum

Guy Monty reports that scoter and gull numbers are swelling during a late spawn around Qualicum Beach. This morning (March 27) he relocated the first-winter male KING EIDER that was present back in February near the Little Qualicum River Estuary--west end of Surfside Drive. He also reports 4 Glaucous Gulls, 1 Nelson's Gull (Herring x Glaucous hybrid), and a Mountain Bluebird in the area.

First NORTHERN CARDINAL for BC?

This past December (2013), the Nanaimo Wild Bird Store received a report of a male Northern Cardinal near the corner of Metral Drive and Dunbar Road (north end of Nanaimo). Follow-up searches found nothing. Not surprisingly it was assumed that the bird had been misidentified (cardinals are reported fairly regularly to bird alerts and always turn out to be crossbills/house finches etc.). So it was quite the surprise when Colin from the bird store texted me this morning to report that the carcass had been found! I went and checked it out this afternoon, and as you can see from the photo it's definitely a male Northern Cardinal. This bird was found by Sandra Gaspardone on March 23 in the same area as the December report. Whether it died recently or was frozen under the February snow is unclear. If accepted, this would represent a first record for British Columbia and the only Pacific coast record north of Los Angeles (I think?). There is a hypothetical record from the Prince George area in the winter of 1994 when a male was well-described visiting a feeder but not confirmed by photos/local birders. There are multiple records from the Edmonton and Calgary area so this is an expected species for BC, but perhaps not all the way over here! Obviously origin will have to be considered, as cardinals are kept as cage birds in some areas though I'm unsure what the BC situation is. Apparently Washington has had 5 cardinal reports that have all been kept off the state list due to questions of origin. [Photo: Russell Cannings]

March 16-18--SAGEBRUSH SPARROW in Lardeau (N end of Kootenay Lake)

Marlene Johnston photographed this sparrow on March 16th as it fed with Juncos in Lardeau, BC. Formerly known as "Sage Sparrow" with less than 20 records for BC, this species has been recently split into Bell's Sparrow and Sagebrush Sparrow. Presumably all BC birds are the latter as they breed in south/central Washington State and migrate north around this time of year. This bird looks fairly good for the Sagebrush-types, but identification of this complex in the field is still being sussed out so conservatives may prefer to call this a "Sage Sparrow sp."
Whatever it is--it's very rare in BC!

Bird is still present as of March 18--Gary Davidson sends this photo from the 17th.