Subject: Lost Lagoon, Vancouver BC 2/03/96
Date: Feb 03 23:35:39 1996
From: Michael Price - mprice at mindlink.bc.ca


Hi Tweets,

First, saddened to read you're off line for several months, Dennis;
everyone will miss your erudition, wit, and particularly your sharing. Many
thanks.

A count at Lost Lagoon in Stanley Park today showed some startling changes
in the usual species' numbers.

Conditions: Temp 2 Celsius; Wind variable 0-5 km/hr; Barom. falling; Cloud
initially high cirrus bands thickening to moderate overcast; Lagoon 90%
ice-covered, most birds concentrated into open lead on NE side. The Arctic
High, which had dominated with clear and cold weather for more than a week,
broke down as a Pacific Low moved in from the west, with rain and warmer
air.

Average winter numbers or range in parentheses.

Great Blue Heron 3
Mute Swan (I) 5 (10)
Canada Goose 127
Wood Duck 29 (9)
Mallard 1,685 (450-500)
Eurasian Wigeon 1 m
American Wigeon 37
Canvasback 33 (65-80)
Ring-necked Duck 5
Greater Scaup 44 Lesser Scaup 286 (avg 4,500)
Common Goldeneye 229
Bufflehead 10
Ruddy Duck 2
Bald Eagle 2 1a 1jv
Cooper's Hawk 1
Buzzard Sp. 1 (prob. Red-tail)
American Coot 26
Mew Gull 2 ad
Ring-billed Gull 11
California Gull 1 ad Herring Gull 2 (0) ad
'smithsonianus'
Thayer's Gull 2 (0) ad
Western Gull 2 (0) ad 'occidentalis'
Glaucous-winged Gull 445 (75-120)
Western X Gl.-winged 29 (10) conservative estimate
Rock Dove 12
Northwestern Crow 186
Common Raven 1
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 1 Black-capped Chickadee 2
Bushtit 4
Winter Wren 1
American Robin 5
Varied Thrush 1 m
European Starling 38
Rufous-sided Towhee 2 m,f
Fox Sparrow 4 3 sooty, 1 grey-hd
Song Sparrow 4
Dark-eyed Junco 6 all 'oreganus-type'
Red-winged Blackbird 7 2f, 3m ad, 2m 1st yr
House Finch 2
Pine Siskin 1
House Sparrow 4

Raccoon 7
Grey Squirrel (black morph) 3
Grey Squirrel (grey morph) 2
Red Squirrel 1
Dog (leashed) 11
Dog (unleashed) 9

Of interest:

When the Lagoon freezes over, it becomes a roost site for larger numbers of
gulls and gulls that normally do not frequent the lagoon.

Many of the Mallards very wary, indicating wild birds that normally winter
away from humans.

Wood Duck increase may be due to birds moving out to the coast as their
ponds and sloughs in the Fraser Valley freeze up. Likewise Mallards.

2 Black-capped Chickadee males in territorial ('cheeseburger') song. Male
House Finches in full song.

Cheers,

Michael Price "Are you being brilliant or are you going berserk?
Vancouver BC Canada At first, sometimes, it may be hard to tell."
mprice at mindlink.net -New York Times headline