Hi Tweeters,

Neil J. Fergusson says:

(snips)
>I thought [Snoqualmie] was pretty far west for an EAKI. The farthest west
>I have previously seen them is around Ellensburg. Any similar experiences
>in W. WA ?

How about extreme southwestern BC, even closer to the coast?

We have sparse but regular north- and southbound migrations of both Eastern
& Western Kingbirds (EAKI & WEKI) through Vancouver BC in late May, with
EAKI arriving 5.27 avg., 5.10 this year, and WEKI on 5.07 avg., 5.09 this
year, with 1 known breeding pair returning to its last year's site on 5.12
this year. EAKI is a regular nester in small numbers (10--15 prs) in Pitt
Meadows, a valley about 20 km to the NE of downtown VCR, and at Colony
Farms, slightly closer; both have lots of rough pasturage with sloughs &
ditches. WEKI's presence in VCR is usually finished by early to mid-June.
The first nesting WEKI *ever* for VCR BC were at Colony Farms *way* up on a
high tension tower just last year, and this year they're even higher on the
same tower. Fall migration is EAKI only, and seems desultory, just a few
birds pottering about--for some reason, they always seem to me to be
uncomfortably out-of-place, as though they had nowhere better to use as a
migration route. There's only one fall record for WEKI as far as I know.

In migration they both tend to show up in the agricultural river- and valley
bottom lands, rough pasture, dry fields, etc., with the WEKI showing a
preference for drier fields than the EAKI. Both are common in the Dry
Interior to the E (which, after all is just a northward extension of the
Great Basin), and WEKI breeds as far N as the Chilcotin Basin N of Williams
Lake. Not sure how far N in BC that EAKI goes. Anyone out there in
Tweeterland know?

Michael Price
Vancouver BC Canada
michael_price at mindlink.bc.ca