49.377398,
-123.193738
As had been the issues with a number of other sites, the
lingering snow made access difficult. Our only target here was Gray Jay, but
sadly we were unable to find any. The Hollyburn lodge is a wooden cabin buried
in the forests on the side of the mountain before the summit. It seemed to be
the most reliable spot in the park for the Jays so that’s where we headed, and
whilst we did have some nice species, our time there was definitely hindered by
the fact that most of the forest was all but inaccessible. The thawed edges
around the car park were the most productive areas, with a number of commoner
species feeding around them.
Highlights
Sooty Grouse - As
we were driving up the long and winding road to the park, we drove past a very
smart female Sooty Grouse on the side of the road. Sadly the light was far too
poor for photos but it still provided us with our best views of this species to
date. It trotted along the side of the road alongside the car for a short while
before it scuttled into the undergrowth.
-Oregon Junco
Species List:
Cyprus Provincial
Park - Hollyburn Lodge: Sooty Grouse, Northern Flicker, Red-breasted
Sapsucker, Steller’s Jay, Northern Raven, American Robin, Hermit Thrush,
Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Violet-green Swallow, Red-breasted Nuthatch,
Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Wilsons Warbler, Oregon Junco, White-crowned
Sparrow, Golden-crowned Sparrow,
Colony Park
Farm
49.238027,
-122.790915
Our last destination for our time in Vancouver was the
popular birding destination Colony Park Farm, just to the east of central
Vancouver. We chose to save this site til last because it seemed to have a good
record of migrant spring Lazuli Buntings, which we hoped we might see. Sadly
though we were unable to find any buntings, but did have a really enjoyable last
few hours birding, with a number of new species for us and the trip.
We parked on the side of the road at the eastern entrance to
the park. The warmer weather really benefited our birding, with a good number
of birds actively feeding from the vegetation. The footpath then led us through
some fields littered with shrubbery and marshy ponds, before we took a loop
path alongside the river, through the allotments, along the side of the road,
then through some woodland and back to the river. The variety of habitats that
we travelled through gave us constant anticipation for something new, and we
did get a few new migrants during our time here.
We spent the remainder of the morning here before we had to
head off back to the airport for an afternoon flight. It was an excellent site,
and had we more time it would have been nice to make a few visits.
Highlights
Black-headed Grosbeak
- There were a number of scarce migrants that we missed, but fortunately
this was not one. We managed to pick up a stunning male singing from the top of
a small tree near the edge of the river. Black-headed Grosbeak was another of
the many species we thought we were too early for, so we were thrilled to
connect with.
Northern Mockingbird
- We had managed to find a few scarcities during out time here, but this
was the first rare bird for the Vancouver area that we found ourselves. We
picked it up hunting over the scrub, but it was distant and we struggled to see
anything on it except that it had copious amounts of white in its wing and tail.
Record shots revealed a rather plain face, ruling out a shrike species, which
had been our initial suspicions. It was only once we returned to the book that
we worked out what we had seen. A pretty cool encounter for our last day!
Purple Martin -
Our last new species in Vancouver was this very impressive bird. We had
searched Hirundine flocks for them, assuming that we were overlooking them.
That was until we saw one and realised just how big they were. They were really
impressive birds, more like a swift in size than a martin.
-Lincoln's Sparrow
-Northern Mockingbird
-Black-headed Grosbeak
-Purple Martin
Species List:
Colony Park Farm: Wood
Duck, Gadwall, Mallard, Hooded Merganser, Ring-necked Pheasant, Pied-billed
Grebe, Great Blue Heron, Sharp-shinned Hawk, Bald Eagle, Red-tailed Hawk,
Glaucous-winged Gull, Eurasian Collared Dove, Mourning Dove, Anna’s
Hummingbird, Rufous Hummingbird, Northwestern Crow, Rough-winged Swallow,
Purple Martin, Tree Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, Barn Swallow, Black-capped
Chickadee, American Robin, Northern Mockingbird, European Starling, Orange-crowned
Warbler, Common Yellowthroat, Audubon’s Warbler, White-crowned Sparrow,
Golden-crowned Sparrow, Savannah Sparrow, Song Sparrow, Lincoln’s Sparrow,
Spotted Towhee, Black-headed Grosbeak, Red-winged Blackbird, Brown-headed
Cowbird, House Finch, Purple Finch, Pine Siskin, American Goldfinch,
No comments:
Post a Comment