British Columbia (western Canada), September 2006
Species List (continued...)
The following abbreviations are used throughout:
VI = Vancouver Island
Van = Vancouver area (i.e. coastal region between Vancouver and Boundary Bay)
Int = Interior, i.e. anywhere inland of Vancouver
Click on the photos to see a larger (and sometimes less heavily cropped) version.
CORVIDS, STARLINGS, HOUSE SPARROW, VIREOS and FINCHES
Black-billed Magpie Pica hudsonia
Int – 22 seen at 7 sites, the majority in the central area. Best count 10 Kelowna 19th.
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| Black-billed Magpie, Marble Canyon Provincial Park, 14th September 2006 |
Gray Jay Perisoreus canadensis
Int – 3 Emerald Lake 16th, 2 Takakkaw Falls 17th, 5 Banff National Park (in Alberta) 17th.
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Gray Jay, Emerald Lake, 16th September 2006 |
Gray Jay, Takakkaw Falls, 17th September 2006 |
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| Gray Jays, Banff National Park, 17th September 2006 | |
Steller's Jay Cyanocitta stelleri
VI – Total of 17 about half of which were seen during my brief visit to the west of the island (Ucluelet/Tofino area) 11th.
Int – 3 near Revelstoke 15th, 3 Hemlock Grove 15th, singles at 5 sites 14th-17th.
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| Steller's Jay, Hemlock Grove, 15th September 2006 | |
Clark's Nutcracker Nucifraga columbiana
Int – 1 near Marble Canyon Provincial Park 14th, 6+ between Lillooet and Lytton 14th, 1 Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, Golden 16th, 1 between Princetown and Hope 19th. After a promising start in the Lytton area I expected to find lots of these in the Rockies, but this was unfortunately not to be. Although I was able to stop and look at the first, albeit with craned neck and rain-filled objectives, every one of these was seen from a moving vehicle (car or gondola!).
American Crow Corvus brachyrhynchos
Int – Common. Best counts 20 Golden 16th, 30 Bobolink Meadows 19th.
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| American Crow, Marble Canyon Provincial Park, 14th September 2006 |
Northwestern Crow Corvus caurinus
Van – Apparently the crows in this area belong to this species, although hybrids may occur. All were identified on range alone and I don't claim any special ability to separate American and Northwestern Crows on any other feature! Common. Best counts 40 Iona Beach 7th, 100 Boundary Bay 8th.
VI – Common. Best counts 30 Victoria 9th, 30 Rathrevor Park 11th.
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| Northwestern Crow, Iona Beach, 7th September 2006 |
Northwestern Crow, Esquimalt Lagoon, 9th September 2006
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| Northwestern Crow, Island View Beach, 10th September 2006 |
(Common) Raven Corvus corax
Van – 1 Ladner Harbour Park 8th. This species seems so much more approachable in North America than in Europe (based on this trip and one previous trip to California).
VI – A total of 22 seen including 6 Cowichan Bay and 5 Somenos Marsh 10th.
Int – A total of 72 seen including 15 Wilmer Bird Sanctuary 18th.
(European) Starling Sturnus vulgaris
Van – One of the first species seen with 1 Vancouver Airport 7th. Common at Westham Island (hundreds) and Boundary Bay.
VI – Common.
Int – Hundreds at Ashcroft 14th.
House Sparrow Passer domesticus
Van – 30 Westham Island 8th when also seen at Reifel.
VI – Seen at Clover Point, Victoria and Island View Beach.
Warbling Vireo Vireo gilvus
Van – At least 1 MacDonald Road, Vancouver Airport 7th. One of the first passerines to be seen and it would have certainly received far more attention if I had realised it would be the only one all trip.
American Goldfinch Carduelis tristis
Van – 2 MacDonald Road, Vancouver Airport 7th, 10 Boundary Bay 9th.
VI – 4 Island View Beach 10th, 1 Cowichan Bay 10th, 5 Island View Beach 13th.
Int – 2 Vaseux Lake 19th, 6 Bobolink Meadows 19th.
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American Goldfinches, Boundary Bay, 9th September 2006
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| American Goldfinch, Rathrevor Park, 11th September 2006 |
(Red) Crossbill Loxia curvirostra
Int – At least 1 male Okanagon Falls area 19th.
Gray-crowned Rosy-Finch Leucosticte tephrocotis
Int – 4 Kicking Horse Mountain Resort, Golden 16th. This was a species I had very much hoped to see although I didn't have any sites for them. I figured that the Gondola trip at Kicking Horse was the easiest way to get to high enough ground to stand much of a chance of finding them. Although it was technically successful, views were unsatisfactory, consisting of a silhouetted flock of 4 flying behind me while we were eating in the restuarant at the top of the Gondola. I'm not counting them, though I don't think there was anything else they could have been.
Purple Finch Carpodacus purpureus
Van – 1 MacDonald Road, Vancouver Airport 7th, 4 Boundary Bay 8th.
VI – 50 Island View Beach 10th (consisting almost entirely of brown females/immatures, just one red male), 1 Rathrevor Park 11th, 2 Englishman River Estuary 11th, 30 Rathrevor Park 13th.
Interesting that virtually all the Purple Finches seen were brown female or immature birds whilst with House Finch there was a good proportion of red males.
| Purple Finches, Island View Beach, 10th September 2006
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| Purple Finches, Englishman River Estuary, 11th September 2006 |
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House Finch Carpodacus mexicanus
Van – 4 Reifel 8th, 30 Boundary Bay 9th.
VI – 1 Nanaimo 10th, 8 Island View Beach 13th.
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| House Finches, Reifel Migratory Bird Sanctuary, 8th September 2006 | |
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| House Finches, Boundary Bay, 9th September 2006 | ||
Pine Grosbeak Pinicolor enucleator
Int – 3 Emerald Lake 16th, 5+ Emerald Lake (but in a different place and probably involving different birds) 17th. Much more satisfying than the grotty escaped individual I saw in the UK in July.
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| Pine Grosbeak, Emerald Lake, 16th September 2006 |
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