Subject: Re: Barn Swallow migration
Date: Sep 10 01:46:22 1997
From: Michael Price - mprice at mindlink.bc.ca


Hi Tweets,

Though to my knowledge only one person has birded the Fraser Canyon north of
Hope BC during the southbound migration, it's clear from the 20+ flocks of
kestrels and large numbers of Sharp-shinned and other hawks, vast waves of
juncos and other passerines, and other stuff that he saw that there is a
*major* raptor and passerine migration route within a 4-hour drive of
Vancouver BC without having to leave Class 1 highways at any point (The
Trans-Canada Highway, Hwy 1, goes N through it). It's so narrow, and walled
in so precipitously through much of its length, that it's a natural
migration chokepoint (there's an orchard in North Bend, across the river
from Boston Bar that sounds like it may be a pretty darn fine migrant trap).
Yet there seems to be almost no records from it at all, let alone dedicated
migration monitoring records.

Hard to believe, but it seems to be virtually virgin birding territory in
spite of its easy accessibility. I'd bet that any raptor species which shows
up at the Rocky Point site at the S end of Vancouver Island will show up
here, possibly in bigger numbers, too, since they wouldn't have to cross
water and it's straight S rather than S-by-W for many of the Interior
species. If I had a car, it'd sure be one of the places I'd head for in
August and September.

I'd be looking for a *honkin'* great swallow migration through it from the
Cariboo and Chilcotin.

Michael Price The Sleep of Reason Gives Birth to Monsters
Vancouver BC Canada -Goya
mprice at mindlink.net