Subject: Iona Settling Ponds, July 23 1998
Date: Jul 23 23:21:53 1998
From: Michael Price - mprice at mindlink.bc.ca


Hi Tweets,

Very quiet at the settling ponds tonight. Major highlight was a
comparatively massive (~50) arrival of juvenile RING-BILLED GULLS Larus
delawarensis at the coast from their Interior nesting sites, so there's a
datum-date to help establish their migration chronology (Ring-bills *have* a
migration chronology? but, they're so, so.... well, *familiar*). Minor
highlight was the OSPREY Pandion haliaetus trundling upriver over the N Arm
of the Fraser River; I wonder, are they nesting somewhere on the S side of
Point Grey? That's a hell of a long commute from Maplewood, at least 15-18
km (~10-12 mi.).

Clear, with a cool SE wind, a change in the weather maybe, as a weak cold
front passes through.

Great Blue Heron 10 some in family groups?
Canada Goose 12
Gadwall 11 2f 9y
Mallard 6 3f 3y
Northern Shoveler 7 2m (1a, 1jv), 5f (2a 3jv)
*Osprey* 1 ad
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 looked like ad f
Red-tailed Hawk 2 ad with *very* fresh, begging juv
Killdeer 18 9 on NE pond
Spotted Sandpiper 2 1a 1chk (3 juvs gone?)
Semipalmated Sandpiper 5 4 Alt, 1jv
Western Sandpiper 82 all Alt, no juv
Least Sandpiper 5 all Alt, no juv
Ring-billed Gull ~250 200 Alt 1-2, Def Alt, ~50 jv
Glaucous-winged Gull 4 alt
Rock Dove 2
Northwestern Crow ~300
Tree Swallow 4 1a m, 1f, 2 jv
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 2
Barn Swallow 8
Cliff Swallow 2
Marsh Wren 1 singing m
American Robin 3 3m
European Starling ~500 95% pre-Basic 1
Cedar Waxwing 2
Common Yellowthroat 2 1 singing m
Spotted Towhee 2 2 singing m
Savannah Sparrow 13
Red-winged Blackbird 11
Brown-headed Cowbird 2 2jv
House Finch 8 2 singing m
American Goldfinch 2

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)