Hi Tweets,

A quick thrash down to Stanley Park in Vancouver BC late this aft, warm and
sunny. Oh, my, what an interesting two hours. Got to see a few rarities
which have been around a while, to find one more, and to see an *amazing*
scaup fly-in to Lost Lagoon.

The Alternate-plumaged male COMMON EIDER Somateria mollissima, race v-nigra,
was in a large mixed flock of mostly Surf Scoters Melanitta perspicillata on
the W side of Stanley Park, just beyond the small rocky breakwater at the W
end of the Second Beach Pool, and in the bay between the pool and Ferguson
Point to the N, easily visible from the seawall at ranges from 10-40 meters.

The HARRIS'S SPARROW looks like a Basic 1 (First-winter) bird. About 3.30 PM
PST, it was the the E side of the Stone Bridge at the W end of Lost Lagoon,
and today was feeding on the ground in the shrubbery on the Lagoon side of
the path and was most visible not from the main path over the bridge, but
from a point about 2-3 meters along the Lagoon walk from the point where it
joins the main Bridge path. Also present here were tons of Oregon-type
Dark-eyed Juncos Junco hyemalis, including one 'cismontanus' male; a
grey-headed and -mantled Fox Sparrow Passerella iliaca, possibly
altigavens-type as well as the pied albino 'Sooty' Fox, race fuliginosa, and
a conventional Sooty-type; two Basic 1 White-crowned Sparrows Zonotrichia
leucophrys; one Basic 1 Golden-crowned Sparrow Z. atricapilla; several Song
Sparrows Melospiza melodia; and Red-winged Blackbirds Agelaius phoenicius.

Took two circuits of the Lagoon, but *finally* found the female TUFTED DUCK
Aythya fuligula dozing on Lost Lagoon in a small flock of Lesser Scaup A.
affinis in front of the float moored along a small promenade with railing
just below the Stanley Park Bus Loop, *not* in the 'Scaup Bay' section of
the E end of the Lagoon where the scaup and the Ring-necked Ducks A.
collaris usually hang out, which is the conventional meaning of the E end.

In the large flock of Lesser Scaup at the E end of Lost Lagoon, there were 2
REDHEAD A. americana, an adult and a subadult male and 9 Ring-necked Ducks
(7 Def-Alt males, 2 females). A male-female pair of Hooded Mergansers
Lophodytes cucullatus were just out from shore along the NE side, both
beautiful in his striking, her demure way.

About 4 PM, a series of incredibly *huge*, literally sky-darkening flocks of
LESSER SCAUP flew in from their feeding areas at the S end of Campbell
Street in E Vancouver; *conservatively* there were 15,000-20,000 birds
total. Half landed until most of the W half of the Lagoon was covered with
8-10,000 birds, the *other* half flew on, perhaps to feeding areas off Point
Grey and Iona Island. I've never seen anything like it there. Is there
anybody studying Lesser Scaups out there that can comment on the massive
increase in numbers at this site over the last decade? Especially when the
numbers of most sea-ducks and grebes seem to be headed down the toilet?
Incidentally, one female and one male at the E end, had red plastic
neck-rings; they weren't associating with each other when I saw them, being
about 150 meters apart in a large flock. Anyone know who may be working with
these critters? One behavioral note: as soon as these massive numbers of
birds landed, they *all* began drinking like crazy, as though their first
drink of the day.

A woman has trained a number of Great Blue Herons to feed from her hand;
today, four of them were standing around on the path among the raccoons,
crows, gulls and squirrels as peope had to walk around them to get past.
This human habituation may not be an entirely bad thing for these herons:
normally, when they nest, they'll abandon a colony with very little contact;
these might be so used to peope that come nesting time, they'll stay put
instead of abandoning.

Over at Devonian Park at the Stanley Park entrance across Georgia Street,
Stump, the legless Glaucous-winged Gull Larus glaucescens, now in his 4th
winter there, was on the grass beside the little display pond and a
dark-brown-faced female wigeon (no 'd', guys) which *might* be a hybrid was
in the usual wigeon flock on the lawn; her face is too cold a brown to be a
standard Eurasian Wigeon Anas penelope, but too brown to be a female
American Wigeon A. americana.

On the seawall, it's obvious Vancouver Park Board has gone on another
tree-cutting spree along the N side of the park. Gee, gotta create those
open areas: how else is the Himalyan blackberry gonna take over the park if
all those stupid trees get in the way? Man, those guys should get a logging
licence, the number of healthy trees they cut down in an average year in
that park--no wonder there's so few cavity-nesters left in Stanley Park.

Final Lost Lagoon note: a big (~30) flock of Red-winged Blackbirds were
whooping it up, lots of male song. Unusual location: not on cattails but at
the very top of a mature 30-meter douglas-fir.


LOST LAGOON

Double-crested Cormorant 1 imm
Great Blue Heron 8 5a 3 first-yr
Canada Goose ~50
Mute Swan 6 intro's
Trumpeter Swan 2 rehabs
Wood Duck 2 in pair, *very* low number
American Wigeon 5
Mallard ~250
Northern Shoveler 2 subad m, f
Canvasback 43 31m, 12 f/imm
REDHEAD 2 1m, 1 subad m
Ring-necked Duck 9 7m, 2f
TUFTED DUCK 1 f
Greater Scaup ~30
Lesser Scaup 15-20,000 amazing!
Bufflehead 2 2m
Common Goldeneye ~150
Barrow's Goldeneye 3 3m
Hooded Merganser 2 in pair
Common Merganser 6 4m, 2f
American Coot ~150
Mew Gull 5
Ring-billed Gull 2
Glaucous-winged Gull ~60
Glaucous-winged X Western ~30
Rock Dove ~20
Red-breasted Sapsucker 1
Northwestern Crow ~75
Black-capped Chickadee 8
Chestnut-backed Chickadee 5
Winter Wren 4
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2
American Robin 12
European Starling 10
Spotted Towhee 6 4m 2f
Fox Sparrow 3 1 ptl albino, 1 'grey-head', 1 Sooty
Song Sparrow 12
Harris's Sparrow 1 Bsc 1
White-crowned Sparrow 2 Bsc 1
Golden-crowned Sparrow 1 Bsc 1
Dark-eyed Junco ~15 14 Oregon-type, 1 cismontanus
Red-winged Blackbird ~35
House Sparrow ~10


STANLEY PARK SEAWALL

Red-throated Loon 8
Pacific Loon 1
Common Loon 5
Horned Grebe 4
Red-necked Grebe 1
Western Grebe ~100
Double-crested Cormorant 6
Brandt's Cormorant 5
Pelagic Cormorant 3
Great Blue Heron 3
American Wigeon ~75
Mallard 25
Greater Scaup ~75
Lesser Scaup 6
COMMON EIDER 1 Alt m
Harlequin Duck 6 3 pair
Surf Scoter ~350
White-winged Scoter 4
Black Scoter 12
Long-tailed Duck 4 1m 2f/im
Bufflehead 7 4m 3f
Common Goldeneye 4
Barrow's Goldeneye ~300
Red-breasted Merganser 2 pair
Bald Eagle 1 ad
American Coot 20
Mew Gull 65
Ring-billed Gull 12
Glaucous-winged Gull ~75
Western X Glaucous-winged ~50
Northwestern Crow ~50
Winter Wren 6
Song Sparrow 8
House Finch 2

DEVONIAN PARK

Canada Goose 12
American Wigeon ~75
hybr. wigeon 1 f
Mallard 4 2m 2f
American Coot ~60
Mew Gull 2
Ring-billed Gull 3
Glaucous-winged Gull 8
Western X Glaucous-winged 4
Rock Dove 15
Northwestern Crow 50
American Robin 2
European Starling ~150


Cheers,

Michael Price A brave world, Sir,
Vancouver BC Canada full of religion, knavery and change;
mprice at mindlink.net we shall shortly see better days.
Aphra Behn (1640-1689)