Vancouver Day 8

Chestermans Beach

49.113377, -125.890608

Once again we spent the morning birding the beaches between Ucluelet and Tofino. Since the rain and gloom of the previous day had now cleared we decided to go back to Chestermans Beach to try and see the Black Turnstones again. This time we headed straight to the north end of the beach, but sadly we were unable to find the turnstones again.

Highlights

Wandering Tattler - Although we couldn’t find any Turnstones this morning, we did have a bumper crop of Wandering Tattlers, with five all together on the rocks where the Turnstones had been. The fact that the Turnstones had moved on and the Tattlers had arrived clearly demonstrates how the waders were moving through the area.

-Wandering Tattler

-Western Sandpiper

Species List:

Chestermans Beach: Surf Scoter, Semipalmated Plover, Black Oystercatcher, Wandering Tattler, Western Sandpiper, Sanderling, Least Sandpiper, Dunlin, Glaucous-winged Gull, Northwestern Crow, American Robin, Savannah Sparrow,

  

Long Beach - North End

49.071232, -125.781722

We had an inshore pelagic booked for the afternoon, but we still had some time left over during the morning. A report of a Slaty-backed Gull at the north end of Long Beach presented an intriguing prospect, so we headed down to investigate. The north end of Long Beach was very similar to the south end, in that it was a sandy beach dotted with rocky outcrops, with tall conifer trees on all sides. As before, there were mixed sized flocks of waders trotting around the beach which we were able to look at, as well as a number of large gulls on the beach. We did find the ‘Slaty-backed Gull’ but after discussion with a number of local birders it seems more likely that it is actually an aberrant American Herring Gull.

Highlights

Semipalmated Sandpiper - The last wader that we could have expected to see, but had not yet connected with was Semipalmated Sandpiper. Today we finally spotted a group of about 10 birds within the mixed flocks of waders that were dotted around the beach. As a species that we should expect to see in Western Europe, it was good to be able to compare them with the Sanderlings that were also on the beach there.

-Black Oystercatcher

-Western Sandpiper

-Semipalmated Sandpiper

Species List:

Long Beach - North End: Green-winged Teal, American Wigeon, Surf Scoter, Red-breasted Merganser, Great Northern Diver, Brandt’s Cormorant, Mew Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, American Herring Gull, Western Gull, Black Oystercatcher, Grey Plover, Killdeer, Semipalmated Plover, Western Sandpiper, Semipalmated Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Sanderling, Dunlin, Steller’s Jay, Varied Thrush, Violet-green Swallow, Orange-crowned Warbler, Savannah Sparrow,

Jamie’s Whaling Station - Inshore Pelagic

49.150909, -125.898614

We had tried, desperately, to organise an offshore pelagic to try and see Albatrosses, but sadly due to the short notice of the trip we had been unable to find anywhere that wasn’t already booked up. We took the best option, so it seemed, which was an inshore pelagic, where we ended up doing almost the exact same route as the previous day except without stopping for any marine mammals. The sole aim of the cruise was to try and find birds.

The vessel was more substantial than the previous day, and the boat was full of people. We made our way round the islands in much the same way that we had done yesterday, but there seemed to be a fewer birds around. Perhaps the clearer conditions had sent birds out to sea, because the number of auks was way down. Perhaps in hindsight it would have been better to have done a Bear Watching cruise instead, but hindsight is a wonderful thing. It’s obviously worth saying that we still saw a lot of cool birds, and had an enjoyable time.

Highlights

Tufted Puffin - The reason most people were on this tour seemed to be to see Tufted Puffin. Although we had seen them yesterday it was nice to be able to share their excitement again when we saw them again flying around the boat. The boat was higher off the water so we were able to get better, if not more distant views, than we had got yesterday.

Gray-bellied Brant Goose - Although we had seen distant Brants throughout the trip, today we saw numerous birds migrating close to the boat. We also had a single bird perched up on one of the islands.

Species List:

Jamie’s Whaling Station - Inshore Pelagic: Gray-bellied Brant Goose, Harlequin Duck, Surf Scoter, Pacific Diver, Great Northern Diver, Red-necked Grebe, Great Blue Heron, Brandt’s Cormorant, Pelagic Cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Bald Eagle, Black Oystercatcher, Black Turnstone, Wandering Tattler, Arctic Tern, Glaucous-winged Gull, Western Gull, Mew Gull, Pigeon Guillemot, Marbled Murrelet, Rhinoceros Auklet, Tufted Puffin, Belted Kingfisher, Northwestern Crow, Barn Swallow, Violet-green Swallow, Sea Otter, Steller’s Sea-Lion, Harbour Seal,

Ucluelet - Amphrite Point

48.922435, -125.540562

Our last stop before we began our journey back to Nanaimo, and off the island, was at Amphrite Point at Ucluelet. If there were any lingering Surfbirds, we were told, this would be as good a place as any to look. The rocky shoreline was pretty expansive and there was plenty of habitat for potential rocky coastline waders. We spent some time scanning the rocks, but to no avail. Behind the beaches were the tall conifer forests that we had become accustomed to seeing, with warblers and other passerines singing from within the shrubbery. Because we were a little pushed for time, to ensure that we were back for our ferry we were not able to stay too long here, but it was a nice place to spend our last hours birding on the island.

Highlights

Black Turnstone - We had encountered these cracking birds three times before we bumped into a flock of seven here. These were by far the best though, showing very nicely in clear sunshine, they were brilliant. So much for our chances of finding one in the spring being slim, as we were told on many occasions…

Swainson’s Thrush - In the bushes behind the footpath we could hear a strange call. When we eventually tracked down its source we were surprised to find a pair of Swainsons Thrushes. These are not common in this area, so we were pretty thrilled. Fortunately we were able to get good views of them, ruling out Hermit Thrush.

-Black Turnstone

Species List:

Amphrite Point: Pacific Diver, Pelagic Cormorant, Brandt’s Cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Bald Eagle, Black Oystercatcher, Black Turnstone, Wandering Tattler, Glaucous-winged Gull, Northwestern Crow, American Robin, Swainson’s Thrush, Golden-crowned Kinglet, European Starling, Orange-crowned Warbler,

Vancouver Day 7

Long Beach - South End

49.014623, -125.673001

We continued our journey across the island from first light, driving from Port Alberni towards Tofino. We had seen via eBird that there was a Long-billed Curlew at the south end of Long Beach on the Pacific coast, so we made that our first stop on our tour of the beaches between Ucluelet and Tofino. We arrived in gloomy conditions with soft rainfall. There was a surf competition taking place at the beach, which shattered the otherwise tranquil setting, with Varied Thrushes singing in the background once again.

The beach itself was indeed very long, all sandy with rocky outcrops at the south end, and the north end out of sight in the gloom. There were small numbers of waders around the beach, as well as gulls on the beach and rocky outcrops. Large flocks of Scoters, Grebes and Divers could be seen bobbing around on the waves just offshore.

Highlights

Long-billed Curlew - The bird we had come to the site for was still in place, in the company of three Hudsonian Whimbrels. They were all happily wandering around the beach, giving excellent views. The bird looked more like a Whimbrel than a Eurasian Curlew, with short squat legs, but with an enormous great bill on its face.

Marbled Godwit - We decided not to twitch a Marbled Godwit in Victoria, on the south of Vancouver Island, and so we had written off our chances. It was a pleasant surprise when we arrived at the beach to find one pottering about with the Whimbrels.

Black Oystercatcher - Like any other oystercatcher in terms of structure and behaviour, but completely black! We found them common across the west coast but we were always excited to see them.

-Marbled Godwit

-Long-billed Curlew

Species List:

Long Beach - South End: Surf Scoter, White-winged Scoter, Western Grebe, Red-necked Grebe, Pacific Diver, Great Northern Diver, Western Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Long-billed Curlew, Hudsonian Whimbrel, Marbled Godwit, Western Sandpiper, Semipalmated Plover, Black Oystercatcher, Rufous Hummingbird, Northern Raven, Northwestern Crow, Varied Thrush, American Robin, Orange-crowned Warbler, Fox Sparrow, Harbour Seal,

Chestermans Beach

49.113377, -125.890608

The next beach we called at was Chestermans Beach, further north towards Tofino than long beach, and according to my research, the best chance we had for a late Black Turnstone, a species we really wanted to see. The beach was once again sandy, with rocky outcrops at either end with a rocky island in the middle that was sadly private. The tide was some way out when we arrived, and the beach was busy with tourists and dog walkers. It was not ideal for looking for birds.

However, that did not seem to bother the birds that much, with a large flock of waders feeding away at the strand line; composed of Western Sandpiper, Least Sandpiper, Dunlin, Semipalmated Plover and Sanderling. There were numerous mixed flocks at various points along the beach, all of them feeding along the strand line.

We checked the outcrop at the south end with no joy, and the island with no joy. We also met a group of birders who told us not to that you don’t see Black Turnstone in the spring. However at the northern end of the beach, not ten minutes later we got our birds…

Highlights

Black Turnstone - We managed to find a flock of five Black Turnstones foraging amongst the rocks at the north end of the beach. There was at least one bird in full summer plumage and it was stunning, but then so were they all. We were able to watch them from close range as they happily foraged around the rocks in front of us. We knew we might struggle with this species, so to even see one was a relief, but to see them this well was more than we could have hoped for.

Wandering Tattler - We moved out onto the rocks to obtain better views of the birds, and as a result we flushed a Wandering Tattler, a species we had almost completely forgotten about until then, out of the rocks. It flew a short distance before landing again, and continuing to feed in the company of the Turnstones.

-Black Turnstone

-Wandering Tattler

The Whale Centre - Cruise

49.152401, -125.904433

For our afternoon we had booked a whale watching cruise from Tofino with ‘The Whale Centre’, so we made tracks towards Tofino late morning for lunch and our cruise at 13. 00. The boat for the cruise was fairly small and lightweight, but the skipper we had made the trip better than we could ever have imagined. For anyone planning a Whale Watching Cruise, try to get Howie as skipper and you won’t regret it.

The trip spent three hours travelling round the inshore islands looking at the marine wildlife in the area. We got to see large numbers of Auks and Cormorants, as well as the mammals that make the area so popular as a tourist destination. We got to see everything that we could have wanted during the trip!

Highlights

Gray Whale - The main target species of the cruises are the Gray Whales that summer in the waters around Vancouver. Due to Howie’s keen eye and experience we managed to see around 20 different animals, including the first mothers and calves of the season. Some of them were extremely close to the boat, giving unbelievable views.

Sea Otter - The animal we really wanted to see was the Sea Otter, but were not sure what our chances would be. We did not expect to be shown a raft some 70 different animals sheltering in a rocky outcrop, but that’s what we got! They were a much bigger animal than we were expecting, and they were really quite shy, we had expected them to be more inquisitive like the seals and sea-lions that we also saw on the trip.

Auks - Many of the islands that we passed were breeding sites for a number of different Auk species. By far the most common species that we encountered were Marbled Murrelet and Pigeon Guillemot, but we also had nice views of Rhinoceros Auklet, flight views of Cassin’s Auklet and the first Tufted Puffins of the season. We had no idea if we would be too early for Puffin, so we were pleased to get these ones, picked out, of course, by Howie.

-Cackling Goose

-Gray Whale

-Sea Otter

-Steller's Sea Lion

-Californian Sea Lion

-Harbour Seal

-Tufted Puffin

-Rhinoceros Auklet

Species List:

The Whale Centre - Cruise: Cackling Goose, Greater White-fronted Goose, Harlequin Duck, Surf Scoter, Red-necked Grebe, Pacific Diver, Red-throated Diver, Great Northern Diver, Pelagic Cormorant, Brandt’s Cormorant, Double-crested Cormorant, Bald Eagle, Black Turnstone, Black Oystercatcher, Hudsonian Whimbrel, Long-billed Dowitcher, Marbled Murrelet, Rhinoceros Auklet, Pigeon Guillemot, Tufted Puffin, Cassin’s Auklet, Mew Gull, Western Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Belted Kingfisher, Northwestern Crow, Sea Otter, Californian Sea-Lion, Steller’s Sea-Lion, Harbour Seal, Gray Whale,

Jamie’s Rainforest Inn

49.121683, -125.889604

We were recommended by some local birders that the estuary behind Jamie’s Rainforest Inn was a good spot for roosting waders, so we had a look in the evening once we had finished our cruise. It conveniently matched with the high tide times, so we were able to see plenty of roosting waders on the saltmarsh.

Highlights

Roosting Waders - There were probably less than 1000 birds roosting on the saltmarsh, it was still nice to be able to filter through the masses looking for something different, although we were not successful in finding anything. There was still a nice variety of commoner waders that we had grown used to seeing, especially given that once we return to Europe we won’t be seeing many of them.

-Hudsonian Whimbrel

Species List:

Jaimie’s Rainforest Inn: Bufflehead, Goosander, Short-billed Dowitcher, Long-billed Dowitcher, Greater Yellowlegs, Hudsonian Whimbrel, Western Sandpiper, Dunlin, Belted Kingfisher,

Vancouver Day 6

Westwood Lake

49.163244, -123.997469

We started our birding on the island at Westwood Lake on the outskirts of Nanaimo. There were still a few birds that we were hoping to see on the island, and this site had the potential offer quite a few of them. We worked our way clockwise around the edge of the lake, but the thick woodland made the birding difficult. However, once we were on the far side of the lake to car park there was an open track, cut through the woods for the benefit of the telegraph wires. The more open environment favoured small birds and we had much more joy with Warblers and Empidonax Flycatchers along this stretch. As the morning warmed up there was also an increase in bird activity. The walk around the site took a couple of hours, but we had walked all the way around the site by 9:30, leaving us with plenty of time to visit other sites. Westwood Lake was a really nice site, with some pleasant birding, but it’s also well used by recreational visitors. As we were leaving there we passed many joggers and dog-walkers, so it was just as well that we visited early.

Highlights

McGillivray’s Warbler - Our last west coast warbler species would always be a challenge, so we had identified a number of suitable woodland sites along the east coast of the island where we might be able to find it. We did not anticipate finding a stunning male at the first site we visited, a real cracker of a bird, and quite showy compared to the other warbler species that we had seen so far.

-Merlin

-McGillivray's Warbler

Species List:

Westwood Park Lake: Canada Goose, Wood Duck, Hooded Merganser, California Quail, Pileated Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Anna’s Hummingbird, Rufous Hummingbird, Merlin, Northern Raven, Black-capped Chickadee, Hammond’s Flycatcher, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Audubon’s Warbler, Orange-crowned Warbler, McGillivray’s Warbler, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Song Sparrow, White-crowned Sparrow, Black Squirrel,

Englishman River Park

49.2916221,-124.2767

For one reason or another, we had done exceptionally well at catching up with many of our target species for the trip. Many of the species we had planned to search for on the east coast of the island we had already seen at numerous points, but there was one species that we knew we would have to really target if we wanted to see it, and both sites we had for it were in this area. That species was American Dipper.

Because we knew that we might need to invest some time to see this bird, we decided to make it our priority, and made our way to the first site where we knew we had a chance to find one. Englishman River Park was a large area of dense woodland, with a medium sized river flowing through it. The woodland varied from tall conifer trees to short willows, so there was plenty of potential for passerines. We heard a number of different warblers, especially Townsend’s and Black-throated Gray, but they were coming from the tallest of the trees, and we failed to see either of them. There were a few other passerines in the woods as well; it was a very pleasant site for birding.

We did not know exactly where the Dipper would be, but our immediate impression was that were was only a few areas on the river that were suitable for Dippers to hunt in. We decided to head north up the river, as it seemed to follow that there would be more suitable habitat that way. Then began our journey to see American Dipper! We walked for over 10 kilometres along the river, every corner brought renewed hope and only to be subsequently disappointed. Our desire to see the bird kept us going, and by the end we had walked a considerable distance.

Highlights

American Dipper - After all the walking we finally caught up with our target bird when it appeared on the rocks in front of us. It fed happily in the open for a few minutes before it flew to the opposite bank, where it then clearly flew up to its nest. It then flew down from the nest and upriver. We finally got our bird, albeit for just a few minutes.

Pacific Wren - One of the things we expected in America was a huge abundance of wrens. However, we had struggled to find any wrens at all. A large part of the problem was our lack of knowledge of what the wrens sing like, but as we were walking along the road we finally heard a song we were sure was a Wren. We tracked the source of the call to a rather showy Pacific Wren.

-Pacific Wren

-American Dipper

-Rufous Hummingbird

Species List:

Englishman River Park: Goosander, Bald Eagle, Turkey Vulture, Pileated Woodpecker, Northern Flicker, Belted Kingfisher, Anna’s Hummingbird, Rufous Hummingbird, Red-breasted Nuthatch, American Robin, American Dipper, Northern Rough-winged Swallow, Hammonds Flycatcher, Pacific-slope Flycatcher, Orange-crowned Warbler, Audubon’s Warbler, Townsends Warbler, Black-throated Gray Warbler, Oregon Junco, Song Sparrow, California Darner,

Little Mountain

49.294641, -124.325153

With the Dipper safely under our belts we had an afternoon of exploring other sites. we had noted a small site not far from the main road that seemed promising for Sooty Grouse, so we decided to have a look, see if we could improve on the views we’d had previously. The site involved driving through the steepest suburb we could have imagined to an area of woodland on the top of a mountain. The site car park was at the summit of the mountain, and the views all around were fantastic. We had a very successful time on site, connecting with our target bird within 10 minutes.

Sooty Grouse - It’s worth saying that at each site we went to where Sooty Grouse was possible we had heard a deep booming noise, the source of which we were unsure of. When we heard it again at Little Mountain we realised we had been fools, and this was clearly the noise of Sooty Grouse. The sound was coming from somewhere near to us so we continued scanning all around us, but every time we moved around the angle of the noise changed. After five minutes we managed to work out that the bird was actually calling from the tree above us. A displaying a male Sooty Grouse! It was a fairly hefty bird, how it managed to perch so high up is a mystery. It was awesome to finally be able to get a decent view of these birds.

Turkey Vulture - Because of the height of the mountain, and the fantastic views and cliff faces, we found that the Turkey Vultures were flying at eye level with us, and they were flying extremely close, offering amazing views.

Species List:

Little Mountain: Sooty Grouse, Turkey Vulture, Anna’s Hummingbird, American Robin, Audubon’s Warbler,

Englishman River Estuary

49.328693, -124.286733

As a result of our efficiency on Little Mountain we still had nearly an entire afternoon of birding the east side of the island. There were a couple of estuaries that we could check out, and since we had already birded along the Englishman River we decided to head out to the mouth of the river. We parked on the east arm of the estuary and birded around the beach and adjacent scrub. We spent a solid couple of hours birding the area. It was low tide when we arrived so most of the birds were sat out on the edge of the estuary.

-Audubon's Warbler

-Sooty Grouse

Highlights

Harlequin Duck - The only real highlight was two pairs of Harlequin Ducks that were sat out on the edge of the estuary. As always they were stunning birds, but they were distant and only really viewable through a scope.

Species List:

Englishman River Estuary: Canada Goose, Mallard, American Wigeon, Green-winged Teal, Shoveler, Bufflehead, Harlequin Duck, Surf Scoter, Goosander, Slavonian Grebe, Great Northern Diver, Pacific Diver, Bald Eagle, Turkey Vulture, Mew Gull, Western Gull, Glaucous-winged Gull, Anna’s Hummingbird, Northwestern Crow, European Starling, Savanah Sparrow, Brewer’s Blackbird,

Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park

49.320474, -124.268343

When we left the estuary we still had a good portion of the afternoon left, but we had visited all the sites that we had noted down. However as we left the estuary there was a small park that we had remembered reading about, and since we had time we decided to call in for a look. Although it was something of a spontaneous visit, we found it a brilliant site with lots of passerines in the bushes. The footpath went through open areas of scrub through to tall woodland. We found most passerines in the scrubby areas, but the thicker understorey vegetation was also extremely productive for birds.

Highlights

Hutton’s Vireo - We had been checking every Kinglet we saw for this tiny predator, and we finally struck gold. Because of the subtleties in identifying this species we were initially sceptical that we had actually got a Hutton’s, but the more we observed it moving through the bushes the more we laid any doubts to rest. It was not a species we were sure we would see, so we were very excited to connect with one.

Hermit Thrush - Thrushes were not common around Vancouver, and a pair of Hermit Thrushes that we found today was the first that we encountered during our time here. They were extremely skulky, keeping very low in the vegetation, not affording good views.

-White-crowned Sparrow

-Hutton's Vireo

Species List:

Rathtrevor Beach Provincial Park: Turkey Vulture, Northern Flicker, Merlin, Rufous Hummingbird, European Starling, American Robin, Hermit Thrush, Brown Creeper, Bushtit, Chestnut-backed Chickadee, Hutton’s Vireo, Cassin’s Vireo, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Orange-crowned Warbler, Wilsons Warbler, Purple Finch, Oregon Junco, White-crowned Sparrow, Chipping Sparrow,

Port Alberni Sewage Farm

49.255386, -124.837321

We decided that a good plan would be to make tracks on our way across to the east coast. Our plan was to call off at Port Alberni overnight, a small town mid-way across the island. The towns sewage farm looked a promising site for some good birding and was where we planned to bird in the morning. However, as it happened we had enough time to do a recce visit during the evening, so headed down to the location we had marked to see what the site was like.

Sadly though, once we reached the site we were met with a large sign with the words ‘private - no entry’ written on it. That seemed to be the end of that idea, so we had a wander around the outside of the site for half an hour or so before finding somewhere to sleep. We could then make a good start to our journey over to the western side of the island in the morning.

Highlights

Band-tailed Pigeon - We finally connected with the last of the woodland species we had not seen when three of these birds flew overhead. Sadly we never got to see them on the deck but given that we had not seen any sign of them all day, it was just nice to see them at all.

Species List:

Port Alberni Sewage Farm: Canada Goose, Great Blue Heron, Turkey Vulture, Band-tailed Pigeon,

Vancouver Day 5

Cooney Bay

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,