VANCOUVER RARE BIRD ALERT
sponsored by the Vancouver Natural History Society.

Area: VANCOUVER, BC, CANADA (abbrev-VCR)
Period: SUN JUNE 11 to MON JUNE 19/95, updated weekly
Call: 604-737-9910 (hot line updated daily, or as necessary)
To report: Same
Compiler: Michael Price
Transcriber: Same
Contact: michael_price at mindlink.bc.ca
(604) 731-4715

For sick or injured birds please call:
Wildlife Rescue at 526-7275
Monika's Wildlife Shelter at 882-0908
Owl Rehabilitation Center at 946-3171


SPECIES MENTIONED:

Pacific Loon
Ring-necked Duck
Black-bellied Plover
Semipalmated Plover
Killdeer
Black Oystercatcher
Lesser Yellowlegs (southbound arr.)
Whimbrel
Western Sandpiper (southbound arr.)
Least Sandpiper
Dunlin
Wilson's Phalarope
FRANKLIN'S GULL
Bonaparte's Gull
Common Tern
Common Murre
Common Nighthawk
Black Swift
COSTA'S HUMMINGBIRD
Western Kingbird
PURPLE MARTIN
WESTERN KINGBIRD
Gray Catbird
NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD
Crested Myna
BLACKPOLL WARBLER
AMERICAN REDSTART
Western Tanager
Lazuli Bunting
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Northern Oriole

VCR Vancouver
RMD Richmond
BBY Burnaby
SRY Surrey
NW WST New Westminster
LGLY Langley
COQ Coquitlam
POCO Port Coquitlam
TSWN Tsawwassen
MPL RDG Maple Ridge


TUES JUN 20
Has the southbound migration begun? An influx of shorebirds to the Iona
Settling Ponds in RMD on Monday June 19 included 11 WESTERN SANDPIPERS, 4
LEAST SANDPIPERS, 7 LESSER YELLOWLEGS, and 4 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS; 3 male
YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS were also at the ponds.

When at the settling ponds, please be very cautious along the W side of the
NW pond where there is a KILLDEER NEST containing several eggs on the path
itself; the parents successfully distracted a pair of RACCOONS from the area
of the nest just a couple of days ago.


MON JUN 19
A single COMMON NIGHTHAWK was over Calverhall Pl. in N VCR, and BLACK
SWIFTS were again sweeping across the Fraser Delta; a flock of up to 50
birds were over 106th Ave. & 150th St. in SRY. A single COMMON MURRE in
alternate plumage was off TSWN in mid-Georgia Strait, perhaps signalling the
beginning of the annual movement of that species into the Strait.


SUN JUN 18 BLOY GRCA
There were several reports of BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS and GRAY CATBIRDS
today. The Oystercatchers nesting on the N side of the TSWN Ferry Terminal
Jetty are the proud parents of at least 2 young, and there are nesting
Oystercatchers on the Grebe Islets and Bird Islet, both sites off the W VCR
shoreline. A single Oystercatcher was also on the Grebe Islets.

Besides the nesting GRAY CATBIRDS on the Pitt Lake Nature Trail at the N end
of Rennie Rd. in Pitt Meadows, there were at least 3 territorial male
Catbirds along the S Dike of the N Alouette River in Pitt Meadows at roughly
0.5 km intervals E of the Neaves Rd. Bridge. An EASTERN KINGBIRD was also
along this dike.

A pair of WHIMBREL were along the Iona S Jetty in RMD, and at least 30
BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS were on the Roberts Bank foreshore N of the Roberts
Bank Coalport Jetty.

At Colony Farms in POCO, there was the nesting pair of WESTERN KINGBIRDS on
the 2nd high power pole to the W of Mary Hill Rd., and a male LAZULI BUNTING
and a single EASTERN KINGBIRD just to the W. Finally, a CRESTED MYNA was
observed entering a nest cavity at W 2nd Ave. & Wylie St. in the False Creek
area of central VCR.


SAT JUN 17
An EASTERN KINGBIRD was present today on Sea Is. in RMD along Ferguson Rd.; 2
COMMON NIGHTHAWKS were reported from LGLY near the intersection of 71st
Ave. & 200th St. The overcast weather conditions attracted a lot of BLACK
SWIFTS into the area: small flocks were reported from several locations
around the Lower Mainland, the largest being a flock of 20 over the
2100-block of W 47th Ave. and the 3600-block of W 1st Ave., both in VCR


FRI JUN 16
No local report. There has been no relocation of the male COSTA'S HUMMINGBIRD
last seen in POCO since Sunday June 11; nor has there been any relocation of
the NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD last seen on Monday June 12 at 2964 Coventry Cresc.
also in POCO, present Saturday June 10 and Sunday June 11; and there has
been no relocation of the male BLACKPOLL WARBLER seen along the Pitt Lake
Nature trail at its SE end in Pitt Meadows since its initial sighting also
on Sunday June 11.


THU JUN 15
No local report.


WED JUN 14
No local report.


TUE JUN 13
In the first full-day absence since its arrival on May 02, the male COSTA'S
HUMMINGBIRD did not appear at the feeders at 783 Dominion St. in POCO;
neither was there any relocation of the male BLACKPOLL WARBLER seen Sunday
June 11 near the southern end of the Pitt L. Nature Trail at Pitt meadows,
though there was relocation of the 3 AMERICAN REDSTARTS in the woodlot at
the beginning of the Nature Trail near the boat launch area at Grant
Narrows. These birds, 2 first-alternate plumaged males and a female are
nesting in this area, so please do not play redstart-song tapes and stay on
the trail and to avoid stressing the birds and also to avoid giving the
location of the nest away to any foraging crows or jays which may be in the
vicinity.

There have been no new reports of the NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD that was in the
vicinity of 2964 Coventry Crescent, also in POCO, from Saturday June 10 to
Monday June 12. At Surrey Bend Regional Pk. in N SRY, there was a female
AMERICAN KESTREL, and a bat was observed foraging for airborne insects with
a flock of 15 BLACK SWIFTS.


MON JUN 12 NOMO AMRE
RARE BIRD ALERT: a *NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD* has been present since Saturday
June 10 at 2964 Coventry Crescent in POCO; take Hwy 7, the Loughheed Hwy,
eastbound and turn L onto Oxford, go 2 blocks to Suffolk, turn R onto
Suffolk and go to playing field; check hedges and trees along property lines
adjacent to the school property.

There was no report today of the male COSTA'S HUMMINGBIRD at its usual
location of 783 Dominion St. in POCO.

There was no relocation today of the male BLACKPOLL WARBLER seen yesterday
Sun. June 11 along the Pitt Lk. Nature Trail near the Katzie Marsh
observation tower, but in the woodlot near the beginning of the Nature Trail
there were at least 3 and possibly up to 5 AMERICAN REDSTARTS, two males in
first alternate plumage and a female; one of the males was assisting in the
construction of a nest.

SUN JUN 11 COHU
RARE BIRD ALERT: A male *BLACKPOLL WARBLER* singing its characteristic
single-pitch song, only the second or third sighting of this species in the
GVCA, was seen and heard at Pitt Meadows today in the afternoon. The bird
was along the Pitt Lake Nature Trail which begins at the Grant Narrows boat
launch at the N end of Rennie Rd., and was in a large cottonwood just past a
line of trees that intersects the dike about 0.5 km NW of the Katzie Marsh
observation tower. As this was a single-observer sighting, it would be great
to get a confirmation sighting.

After being absent for most of the day yesterday, Sat. June 10, this morning
the male *COSTA'S HUMMINGBIRD* has resumed its visits on a 15 to 20 minute
schedule to the feeders at 783 Dominion St. in POCO in the eastern part of
Greater VCR.

At the outflow pond across the road from the Iona Is. Sewage Treatment Plant
in RMD today, there were 2 FRANKLIN'S GULLS, rare any other time but the
late summer and fall when a few juvenile or basic 1 birds make it out to the
coast; one was in definitive alternate plumage, the other in first alternate.

Two singing male AMERICAN REDSTARTS, both in first alternate plumage, were
along the Pitt Lake Nature Trail in the woodlot near the beginning of the
trail at the Grant Narrows boat launch area, and *3* GRAY CATBIRDS were in
the same area, as well as *5* NORTHERN ORIOLE pairs, and a pair of EASTERN
KINGBIRDS. In nearby Katzie Marsh, there were 5 male RING-NECKED DUCKS and a
BONAPARTE'S GULL, while a single COMMON TERN was over Pitt Lake, and 17
BLACK SWIFTS were over Pitt Polder.

A female PURPLE MARTIN was near a nest box at Maplewood Flats in N VCR, and
offshore, there was an alternate- plumaged PACIFIC LOON.

EASTERN KINGBIRDS were also at Colony Farms in Port Coquitlam, where there
is at least one nesting pair, and a single bird was at the Reifel Refuge on
Westham Is. in Ladner. Also at Reifel were 1 LESSER YELLOWLEGS and 2 DUNLIN,
likely oversummering birds. Other birds at Colony Farms today are the 2
nesting WESTERN KINGBIRDS on the 2nd large power pole to the W of Mary Hill
Rd., at least 2 singing male LAZULI BUNTINGS, and 3 BLACK SWIFTS.

On the NW settling pond at Iona Is., there were 1 alternate-plumaged
WILSON'S PHALAROPE with 3 basic- or first alternate plumaged birds, and a
male WESTERN TANAGER was Mundy Pk. in COQ.

If you have a report or a query about bird identification or Vancouver
birding please call:


Michael Price at (604)731-4715
Mark and Eleni Wynja at (604)438-6529
(Other contact names omitted on request)


Thanks for calling the Vancouver Bird Alert and Good Birding!