RBA: May 28 - FERRUGINOUS HAWKS in Kelowna and Knutsford!

On May 28th, Ten Birders on a BCFO field trip found a Light morph adult Ferruginous Hawk at 8:30 am on Beaver Lake Road in Kelowna.

The bird was flying North at Kilometer 2 just before the log yard on the East side of the road.

The bird was reported by Logan Lalonde, one of the co-leaders with Don Wilson of the BCFO - Kelowna field trip.

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*Late report RBA:  An adult Light morph Ferruginous Hawk was also seen on May 16th by Rick Toochin. The bird was flying North over Separation Lake in Knutsford,  alongside a Light morph Rough-legged Hawk and a Swainson's Hawk.

A Roughie and a Ferruginous in this area, at this time of year, are both fantastic birds!

It is great to hear about both these BC Ferruginous Hawk sightings, in the month of May!

Loggerhead Shrike May 26th Hope Airport

Another Loggerhead Shrike was found by Gord Gadsden at Hope Airport. For more details click here

RBA: May 24 - LOGGERHEAD SHRIKE in Revelstoke

Catherine Craig found a single Loggerhead Shrike at 6:15 am on the grassy flats south of Machete Island in Revelstoke near the Airport on May 24th!!

This is the third Loggerhead Shrike for that exact location in 6 years!

RBA: BROWN THRASHER in Kootenay National Park, May 21

A Brown Thrasher was observed and photographed in the Kootenay River Day Use Area at Kootenay National Park north of Radium at 8 AM on May 21 (Frank Chappell, et al) and was not seen since.

This is the 37th record for the province of BC.

Brown Thrasher. Kootenay National Park. May 21 (Frank Chappell).

RBA: HAWAIIAN PETREL off the West Coast of Vancouver Island - May 19th

At 3pm on May 19-2015, Ilya Povalyaev, Mike & Sharon Toochin, Peter Candido, Gary Rosenberg and Paul Lehman and his WINGS tour group, saw a Hawaiian Petrel as it crossed the bow of their Princess cruise ship. The bird was approximately 27 km SW of the Brooks Peninsula (49.91 N, 128.13 W).

Map to approx location HERE

They noted the high arcing flight typical of Pterodroma petrels. It had pointed wings, a long attenuated tail and was gleaming white below and very dark above (darker than Cookilaria petrels). No photos were obtained.

This record also appears in:
Lehman, P. 2016. Pelagic Birds from Cruise Ships Along the Pacific Coast: Southern California to Southwestern Alaska, 1995-2016. North American Birds. 69(3): 316-341.

RBA: GREEN-TAILED TOWHEE in Golden - May 18th

On May 18th Doug Leighton found a Green-tailed Towheer at his home near Golden. This was a one day wonder and was last seen feeding at 6 PM on the 18th.

This is the 11th record for BC.

Green-tailed Towhee. Golden, May 18 (Doug Leighton).

White-faced Ibis in Revelstoke - May 17th

On May 17, Wayne and Brent Diakow found an adult White-faced Ibis in Revelstoke. The bird was seen at 10:40 am when it flew in and landed in the marsh just north of the Revelstoke airport. The bird was not seen since.

May 13 - Aug 10: A dozen White-faced Ibis at Separation Lake near Kamloops

Rick Howie reports a group of a dozen WHITE-FACED IBIS at Separation Lake, located south of Kamloops along Hwy 5A. The birds were feeding at the north end of the lake where a road will allow fairly close access, though please be careful not to flush the birds. Rick saw the ibis at about 4 PM on May 15.

Update: These birds were originally located by Chris Chutter on May 13th, but the sighting may not have been known to many. As of May 24 two birds were seen at Separation Lake in Knutsford. As of May 25 two Ibises were present at Separation Lake in Princeton off Summerland Rd. On August 10 an  observer saw 4 Ibises at the main parking lot at Beaver Ranch Flats (on Hwy 5A - North of Merritt near Quilchena).

The birds have not been seen since August 10th.

White-faced Ibis at Separation Lake, near Kamloops. Part of flock of 12. May 15 (Rick Howie).

RBA: Ross's Goose in Ladner May 10 -16th

RBA: On May 10, 2015, Ben Keen found a single Ross's Goose with a flock of 57 Snow Geese (with one dark morph) right in the farmer's field just south of the parking lot at Brunswick Point in Ladner!

As of  10:00 am on May 16th the bird was last seen in the grassy field on river road just east of the plowed field by the Brunswick Point parking lot with a flock of 50+ Snow Geese (with 1 juvenile blue goose). The bird was relocated by Steve Ansell the morning of May 11th and multiple observers thereafter. The bird is easily viewed with bins (when in field near road).  A Scope is required when the bird is in distant fields.

There has been no sightings since May 16th.

*In this photo by Brian Stech you can see the bird is close to the road in a grassy field and easily viewed by bins. 
All identifying characteristics are clearly visible in this photo: 
bright white bird, small size, stubby small pink bill and prominent dark eye.*

 *In this in-flight photo (L) by Peter Candido and flock photo (R) by Ben Keen, you can see the overall size and 
beak difference of the Ross's Goose as compared to the larger Snow Geese!* 

Great Egret at Brunswick Point in Ladner!

On May 7, 2015,  Richard Swanston found a single Great Egret at Brunswick Point. The bird was first seen at the bay on the high but falling tide on the Eastern side of Brunswick Point. It was later chased off by a Bald Eagle and went to the far Southern area of the marsh. After this, another Bald Eagle chased it off to the far South West corner of the marsh.

Update **The bird was later relocated at the SW point of  Brunswick Point marsh but has not been relocated as of May 8. **

Photo: Richard Swanston