Hi Tweets,

First there were the posts from Harry Nehls and Don Cecile and others about
the Canada Goose migration well under way and wondering if I'd missed them
overflying Vancouver. Well, they decided to put me out of my misery this
afternoon.

A flock of about 500 Dusky's went over my house about 100 meters up, in
line-abreast in a line almost half a kilometer long. In the late afternoon,
when Ken and Kris Klimko and myself were at Ferguson Point in Stanley Pk
looking for the Elegant Terns reported earlier--no luck BTW, but lots of
Harlequin Ducks on the W side of the park and over at Ambleside--another
flock of about 200 birds came out of Georgia Strait from the NW.
Higher-pitched calls and much more vocal than a flock of the local golfers
and Lost Lagoon layabouts moving from the roosting lake/pond to the courses
and park lawns where they spend the day.

Then a couple of days ago, I saw the post from Patrick Sullivan listing the
birds he saw at Ocean Shores, I noted 'Snow Goose 2' and thought, yes
they're due any time, but we already had one go-round on the subject so bite
your tongue on remarking about 'scout' Snow Geese, Mr P.

But walking home from the store tonight, the sky sounded as if at least half
of it was covered by Snow Geese coming in from the NW, very high up and
circling. They're back.

Finally, there was a very large flock (400-500) of Band-tailed Pigeons
circling over the Broadway and Alma section at the W edge of Kitsilano.
There's a few Sharp-shinned and Cooper's Hawks and Merlins around the
neighborhood right now; the pigeons seemed to be in bunched panic flight.

Michael Price We aren't flying...we're falling with style!
Vancouver BC Canada -Buzz Lightyear, Toy Story
mprice at mindlink.net