Aug 14--YELLOW-BILLED CUCKOO near Oliver

Mel Thorn just called to report a Yellow-billed Cuckoo at Hack's Pond NW of Oliver. This is the wetland along Horsetail Rd which is a gravel track connecting the north end of River Road with Secret Road. Apparently it was first seen in the cottonwood riparian area then flew up the bank and went out of sight.

Check back here for updates and more details.

Blackburnian Warbler in Chilliwack

Gord Gadsden saw a Blackburnian Warbler at Island 22 (Chilliwack) yesterday. You can read more on the sighting Here. So far it hasn't been relocated today but stay tuned for more updates.

Hawaiian Petrel off BC

On 8 July, Paul Lehman and group were aboard another Princess cruise-ship "pelagic" from San Francisco to se. Alaska and had a HAWAIIAN PETREL in BC waters far southwest of Vancouver Island, at 47.105, 129.147, which is about 320 km SW of Estevan Point, or 340 km SW of Tofino, but actually due west of Washington state (but no closer there than 350 km's....). Otherwise this pass through these deep, far offshore waters was fairly slow, with mostly just about 300 Leach's Storm-Petrels, a few Fork-taileds and several Black-footed Albatrosses and Sooty Shearwaters to look at.

--Paul Lehman (San Diego)
Posted by Barbara Carlson

Jul 13--Indigo Bunting in Cawston

While returning home to Nelson from the coast, Janice Arndt found a singing male INDIGO BUNTING near the highway pull-off with the Eagle Valley interpretive sign, 4km south (toward Osoyoos) from the lone traffic light in Cawston. This is just outside of Keremeos if you were driving Hwy 3 to Osoyoos.

July 3-7--BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO near Kelowna

Around 10:15 on July 3, Michael Force and Doug Kragh heard a BLACK-BILLED CUCKOO in a densely-vegetated ravine near a bend to the left at KM 4.5 on the Beaver Lake Rd (east of Winfield in Lake Country, BC). Be sure to use the yellow KM markers on the road when zeroing your odometer. This is just north of Kelowna where Beaver Lake Rd is signed off Hwy 97 in Winfield.

Photo: Michael Force

Morning (545am-830am) and evening (630pm-830pm) seems to be best.

**LAST SEEN MONDAY, JULY 7 (early morning). The bird ranges from close to the road to several hundred meters south down the brushy ravine.

---The bird was not detected on several attempts Tuesday and Wednesday---PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU TRY FOR IT--even if you didn't see it!

June 29 - McCown's Longspur on Becher's Prairie, Chilcotin

Found in the area where Sprague's Pipit have nested previously, a male McCown's Longspur has been seen well and photographed by Phil Ranson and Sandy Proulx on private land on Becher's Prairie, west of Williams Lake. This is a species which historically may have bred in the lower mainland but it's occurrence in BC is represented by fewer than half a dozen records. If the bird is found again and is more accessible, details will be posted here.

McCown's Longspur at Becher's Prairie, Chilcotin, 29 June 2014 (photo: Sandy Proulx)

June 18--Ferruginous Hawk near Kamloops

On June 18, a group of birders taking part in an extension fieldtrip from the BCFO conference in Pemberton, spotted a Ferruginous Hawk on a private ranch in Knutsford, BC (SE of Kamloops). If the bird is seen again, look for updates here. (Fide Rick Howie et al.)

Western Scrub-Jays nesting in Maple Ridge, BC

John Gordon recently captured this image of an adult Western Scrub-Jay feeding recently fledged young along 119th Ave in Maple Ridge. There has been a 1-2 adults in this area for around 5 years but this is perhaps the first confirmed successful nesting-attempt in British Columbia/Canada (apparently this pair's nest failed last year). There are 2 fledglings according to John Gordon. 

June 14-15: Ash-throated Flycatcher in Jordan River

Victoria's weekly Saturday birding group turned up a great bird on June 14--Ash-throated Flycatcher! It was in the alders along Jordan River in the village of Jordan River--this is west of Sooke on Vancouver Island. It was still in the area on Sunday, June 15.

Photo--Aziza Cooper

Calvert Island -NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD

Last year around this time a Brown Thrasher was found at the Hakai Beach Institute on Calvert Island (BC Mid-Coast--in between Bella Bella and Port Hardy), and now Brian Starzomski reports that a Northern Mockingbird was present at the exact same compost heap (June 14), and a Gray Catbird was also around for several days before that in the same area (photos shown). Northern Mockingbirds are rare but annual in BC, while Gray Catbird is common within its interior breeding range however it is very rare on the outer coast!