50.719915,
-120.525394
We stayed in Kamloops overnight and early morning drove to the
north side of the town to a small reserve on the shore of Kamloops Lake and the
Tranquille River. Our key target for the site was Lazuli Bunting but we knew
that we could well be too early for them, which sadly turned out to be the
case. We had good numbers of warblers in the bushes alongside the lake and the
fields were very productive for sparrows and meadowlarks. We birded along the
lake shore for a short distance until our progress was cut short by the river.
A lot of the grassland on the north side of the reserve was private, which was
frustrating as it looked really promising habitat.
Highlights
Lewis’s Woodpecker - The
undoubted highlight and definite compensation for dipping the bunting was this
stunning Woodpecker. All bunting frustration was quickly forgotten when we
picked out this bird perched up in a tree adjacent to the road. This area is
the northern limit of this species range, and we thought we were too early to
catch one. We were thrilled with this individual!
Wolf - Our wolf
encounter yesterday was more than we could ever had dream of, so when we had
two together this morning, wandering around in the open we were on cloud nine!
From the behaviour that we saw it appeared to be two lone individuals randomly
encountering each other, with one clearly behaving submissively to the other.
There was also an Elk wandering around at the back of the same field.
Vaux’s Swift - Just
as we were leaving the site we spotted a handful of these fluttering swifts
flying overhead amongst the Hirundines. Their flight style was completely
different to the swifts we were used to seeing in Europe.
-Wolf
-Orange-crowned Warbler
-Lewis Woodpecker
Species List:
Cooney Bay: Canada
Goose, Mallard, Gadwall, Shoveler, American Wigeon, Bufflehead, Lesser Scaup,
Goosander, Great Northern Diver, Osprey, Red-tailed Hawk, Bald Eagle, Turkey
Vulture, Wilsons Snipe, Spotted Sandpiper, Feral Pigeon, Collared Dove, Vaux’s
Swift, American Kestrel, Downy Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Lewis’s
Woodpecker, American Crow, Black-billed Magpie, Barn Swallow, Tree Swallow,
Cliff Swallow, American Robin, European Starling, Western Kingbird, Hammond’s
Flycatcher, Audubon’s Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, Western Meadowlark,
Brewer’s Blackbird, House Finch, Spotted Towhee, White-crowned Sparrow, Song
Sparrow, Vespers Sparrow, Wolf, Coyote,
Elk,
Goose Lake
Road
50.5919556,-120.3871536
We left the lakeside mid-morning, with the intention of
beginning our long journey back in good time to get the ferry and hopefully
make it onto Vancouver Island before dark. Just south of Kamloops was another
site that we had marked out with potential for Lazuli Bunting, so we decided to
have a look. As with the White Lake Grasslands site two days ago, this site was
little more than a road through some suitable grassland habitat, but we were
able to enjoy some nice birding as we drove slowly along.
Highlights
Sandhill Crane -
After seeing the stupidly tame birds at Reifel it was nice to spot a flock of
14 flying high overhead whilst we were driving along. As crazy as the Reifel
birds were, there’s nothing that really compares to seeing a flock of migrating
birds.
Mountain Bluebird - Although
not a new species for the trip, seeing these birds again was just as special as
the first time. They really are so blue, no photo or painting would ever do
them justice. We found a pair occupying a roadside nest box so we were able to
get some really nice views, from a distance.
Calliope Hummingbird
- Our final hummingbird lifer for the trip, although it would have been
nice to see it better, it was still a cracking male. If it had turned around
fully we would have been able to see its stunning pink throat, but sadly it
kept its back to us the whole time.
-Vesper Sparrow
-Killdeer
-Calliope Hummingbird
-Sandhill Crane
-Mountain Bluebird
-Anna's Hummingbird
Species List:
Goose Lake Road: Canada
Goose, Mallard, Lesser Scaup, Ring-necked Duck, Barrow’s Goldeneye, Bufflehead,
Red-tailed Hawk, Bald Eagle, Turkey Vulture, Sandhill Crane, Killdeer, American
Kestrel, Northern Flicker, Calliope Hummingbird, Northern Raven, American Crow,
European Starling, Tree Swallow, Mountain Bluebird, Say’s Phoebe, Ruby-crowned
Kinglet, Red-winged Blackbird, Brewer’s Blackbird, Western Meadowlark,
Audubon’s Warbler, Chipping Sparrow, Vespers Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Yellow-bellied Marmot, Yellow-pine Chipmunk,
Route 1 -
Trans Canada Highway
50.667337,
-120.460992
Once we had wrapped up the Kamloops area we began our
journey back towards Vancouver, where we would then get our ferry to Vancouver
Island in the early evening. It was a warm afternoon, and we drove through some
stunning scenery making the three hour trip more bearable. We arrived back in
Vancouver mid-afternoon and went straight to the ferry terminal.
Highlights
Swainson’s Hawk -
Basically the only reason to include the section of the trip was the fact that
we had the most insane encounter with a stunning, presumable adult, pale phase
bird flying incredibly low over the car. It was so low it could have been
clipped if we were a large lorry, but it did mean that we got the most insane
views.
Species List:
Route 1 - Trans
Canada Highway: Red-tailed Hawk, Swainson’s Hawk, Osprey, American Kestrel,
Northern Raven, Northwestern Crow, European Starling,
Ferry;
Horseshoe Point - Nanaimo
49.373796,
-123.271675
Our journey to the island was completed during the last
hours of daylight. We boarded around 18.00, and spent the journey across the
strait on the front of the ferry looking out for seabirds. The ferry took just
short of two hours, so allowed us plenty of time to scan for birds. The scenery
was fantastic, mind blowing stuff, as it had been for much of the trip. Once we
reached Nanaimo it was all but dark, and we lost our car on the boat…
Highlights
Grebes & Divers -
On multiple occasions during our journey across we encountered large groups
of divers enjoying a feeding frenzy at the surface. All three species;
Red-throated, Great Northern and Pacific were in tow, all of them in stunning
summer plumage. There were also a number of Grebes in the flocks, including our
first Western Grebes of the trip.
Dall’s Porpoise - We
were hoping to enjoy a few cetacean encounters during our time on the island,
and we got off to a good start with a handful of sightings of these large
porpoises during our journey. The strait was completely flat, so any emerging
fins stood out a mile off, making it much easier to pick up the animals
locations.
-White-winged Scoter
-Western Grebe
-Dall's Porpoise
Species List:
Ferry; Horseshoe
Point - Nanaimo: Canada Goose, Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Pintail,
Goosander, Western Grebe, Pacific Diver, Red-throated Diver, Great Northern
Diver, Double-crested Cormorant, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Bald Eagle,
Caspian Tern, California Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Mew Gull, Pigeon
Guillemot, Feral Pigeon, Northwestern Crow, Dall’s
Porpoise,
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