OK Dennis, I'll jump in with two possible sightings that need backup
information.

I've just spent some time at our summer cottage on Cultus Lake; almost on
the Canada/US border 70 miles east of Vancouver. I suspect that the area is
part of a north-south migration route as I've often seen terns heading south
in fall and if you look at a map there seems to be a natural corridor to the
northern interior of BC.

Two weeks ago I caught a 10-second glimpse of a swift. Too large for Vaux
so my immediate reaction was Black until I noticed a substantial patch of
white on the belly area. No binos handy to get a good look, so; I was
either fooled by the light, had a part-albino Black Swift or it was a
White-throated. The nearest colonies of Whited-throated that I know of are
in the Okanagon. Are there any south of us in Washington State? I seem to
remember reading that these birds travel up to 200km in search of food.

This evening I was watching a couple of Common Nighthawks when an odd
swallow caught my eye. This time I grabbed the binos fast enough to catch a
fly-past of three Purple Martins. I'd second-guess this observation if I
hadn't spent an hour last week studying the Purple Martins at Maplewood
Flats. Any way, are there any other reports of Purple Martins away from the
coast in Washington State?



Eric Greenwood
Vancouver, B.C.
egreenw at intranet.bc.ca