Andy S. wrote -

>
> I had expected to see Hermit Warblers, as I usually do, but encountered
> none. I did note, however, numerous singing Nashville Warblers in even-aged
> lodgepole pines at the 4,500-5,000' level on the road to Bird Creek
> Meadows. I found Nashville Warblers using this habitat in lodgepoles west
> of Glenwood on Mt. Adams east slopes several years ago also. After
> observing eastern Nashville Warblers in Manitoba boreal thickets (Riding
> Mtn. Nat'l Park), it occurs to me these Mt. Adams Nashvilles are more akin
> to their eastern cousins in terms of habitat choice as opposed to the
> brushy hillside birds that most western Nashvilles seem to choose. Maybe
> these birds beg for DNA analysis. There is some talk of splitting these two
> subspecies.

Just completed 3 weeks of glorious birding around southern BC and Alberta. One
of the more curious encounters was a singing male Nashville Warbler in the
Englemann Spruce/Sub-Alpine Fir forest above Kootenay Summit which lies halfway
between Salmo and Creston in the W. Kootenay district of s.e. BC (pass level
1770 metres or 5800 feet) on June 21. Even local birders were stunned by this
one. Perhaps we should not have been so surprised judging by Andy's comments.
However, the habitat seems atypical of this species. Also present were nominate
White-crowned Sparrows, Z. l. leucophrys, a black-lored race which sings a
louder song with more clear notes than either gambelii or pugetensis birds and
tends to be sung on a descending scale.

For those Tweets who may northbound through BC the next while, at Ashcroft
Manor just south of Cache Creek there was a pair of Vaux's Swifts going to and
fro from the south chimney on the manor house on the afternoon of July 5. Likely
babes on the inside of the flue.

And finally, I would urge anyone who has not had the experience to travel to
the shortgrass prairies. The bird contigent is interesting and beautiful. A
short list in no taxonomic order of specialties from southeast Alberta (during a
damp spring) included:

W. Meadowlark - in numbers higher than we are used to.
Chestnut-collared Longspur - abundant in preferred true grassland with a
scattering of sagebrush. Males like to sing from the top of the
sagebrush.
McCown's Longspur - not as abundant as CCLO and seems to prefer tilled fields.
Sprague's Pipit - myself and others were wondering what Canyon Wrens would be
doing flying overhead on the bald prairie until we twigged that Sprague's
Pipits were in display flight. They would stay aloft for 30 minutes at a time
at incredible heights out of binocular range singing constantly.
Baird's Sparrow - an interesting grassland sparrow preferring moister draws
with a sweet, slower and lower Savannah sparrow-type song. Didn't take long
to determine that the white-edged scaps which give it the Least Sandpiper
type of "suspender straps" was the best discriminator since some birds are
not all that buffy on the face.
Loggerhead Shrike - one of the trip highlights was finding a nest of six
ready-to-fledge young in a small cottonwood... one of the few trees around
in a virtually treeless environment.
Marbled Godwit - a common bird of the grasslands. Young downy birds were on the
loose everywhere. The grasslands can be noisy with these critters about.

...and W. and E. Kingbirds, Am. Avocets, Black-necked Stilts, Willets, etc.
etc. There is a feeling of inconspicuousness which takes hold when one is out
on the seeming vastness of the prairies with only you, the wind, and a few
pronghorn antelope around which is good for the soul.

- Jack







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Jack Bowling
Prince George, BC
jbowling at direct.ca