Hi Tweets,

Well, anything's possible, even that the birding community of Vancouver BC
may one day be as interested in its urban Peregrines as most other cities
are in theirs. Toward that eventual interest, just to inform that the
Peregrine Falcon which spends the winter roosting on the N side of the
Granville 2000 building, the office hi-rise at the N end of Granville Street
in downtown Vancouver BC, is back for what the umpteenth (must be at least
eleventh or twelth) consecutive winter. This may be the bird known as
'Josephine' in the early 'Eighties (looks a bit small for a female to my
eye, but that may just be a matter of a bird out of normal context).

Best place to view it is from Promenade walkway on the E side of Canada
Place immediately to the W. Look back at the N side of the building. About
halfway up is a row of louvred panels with cement edgings below them. The
bird usually parks itself on one of the last two right-hand panels. Best
time is late afternoon.

Average arrival is Week 2 of October; average departure Week 1 or 2 of April.

* * * *

Meanwhile the New Westminster peregrine is a real boomer, and usually works
over the pigeons in the early morning. Several mornings this week I've sat
in the local Starbuck's getting my morning kickstart before heading up the
street to the office, and watched it putting the blocks to them.

A couple mornings ago, a little male Black Merlin came streaking in to
strafe them. The triumph of Hope over Ambition. Or maybe Temper over
Judgement. Anyway, when you're a pigeon, all hands are turned against you.

A trickle of Merlins and Cooper's Hawks through New Westminster, all
crossing the river, NW->SE, at least during the lunch-hours I take (weather
allowing) at a picnic table overlooking the Fraser. I'm surprised at how
little southbound migrational activity there has been along the river. A
small flock of small Calidris shorebirds and a few yellow-legs back in July,
a trickle of juvenile Ring-billed Gulls out to the coast, but that's been
about it.


* * * *


Lots of Snow Geese and a few Canada's heading over at night during the week
with a few flocks in the daytime today after the torrential monsoon-type
rains (the storm track has moved S right on schedule) of the morning
stopped. All very high and flying ESE, not directly S as one might assume
birds headed for the Reifel Refuge or Skagit Delta would be headed while
over the city. Do they have another destination in mind?

* * * *

Oh yeah, forgot to mention last Sunday at Iona Is.

On the SE settling pond at the Iona Treatment Plant, there were 3 Thayer's
Gulls (2 ad Bsc, 1 Bsc1) and a Herring Gull (ad Bsc), while on the Outer
Pond to the W of the Plant were c75 American Coot, 58 Ruddy Duck, 8 Canvasback.

Michael Price If asked "What is Man?" a biologist might
Vancouver BC Canada answer, "Well, 99% a Chimpanzee..."
mprice at mindlink.net -The Economist