Subject: Morning in Prince George
Date: Sep 22 14:05:05 1999
From: Jon. Anderson and Marty Chaney - festuca at olywa.net


Hi folks,

I had the opportunity to spend this morning with fellow Tweeter
Jack Bowling. I'd been 'up north' with a post-season review of the
Fraser River sockeye run, and the chance to view +/- 70,000 fish on
their spawning grounds on the Stellako River, down from Francois
Lake.

What wonderful country!! Spruce and pine and aspen and cottonwood.
Highbush cranberries and wild raspberries and black bears. And, of
course, great people. Jack graciously agreed to meet me for break-
fast, a too-short morning walk-about at Cottonwood Park in P.G.,
which is at the confluence of the Nechako and the Fraser, and then
drove me out east of town to Tabor Lake. Jack complained that all the
passerines had already flown south, but I can only reflect on a morning
in the field in an area I'd never birded before, on a fine fall day, with
an excellent guide.

I also had a few minutes yesterday, while walking for about 2 kilometers
along the Stellako, to look for birds, but the roar of the water allowed
for few birds heard and just as few were seen in the late morning and
early p.m.

My "North-Central B.C." List included:

Common Loon - 4 on Francois Lk
Red-necked Grebe - Tabor Lk
Canada Geese - "honkers" - moffitti?
Green-winged Teal - Tabor Lk
Mallard - Cottonwood Park, Tabor Lk
N Shoveler - Tabor Lk
Am. Wigeon - Tabor Lk, Fraser Lk
Ring-necked Duck - Tabor Lk
Hooded Merganser - Nechako River, Tabor Lk
Common Merganser - Nechako, Stellako R
Bald Eagle - Fraser Lk, Tabor Lk, Nechako R
Red-tailed Hawk - Ridge above Stellako R
Kestrel - near Vanderhoof
Coot - near Vanderhoof
Killdeer - Cottonwood Park on riverbank
Lesser Yellowlegs - Cottonwood Park on riverbank
Ring-billed Gull - Fraser Lk, Cottonwood Park on riverbanks
Herring Gull - Cottonwood Park on riverbanks
Rock Dove - Prince George, Vanderhoof
Belted Kingfisher - Stellako, Nechako Rivers
Hairy Woodpecker - common in Cottonwood park
Steller's Jay - along Stellako R
Black-billed Magpie - Cottonwood park along river
Am. Crow - ubitquitous
Raven - Stellako R, Tabor Lk
Black-capped Chickadee - common in Cottonwood park
Mountain Chickadee - Stellako River
Red-breasted Nuthatch - Stellako R, Tabor Lk
Winter Wren - Stellako R
Golden-crowned Kinglet - Stellako R
Ruby-crowned Kinglet - Tabor Lk, Cottonwood park
Am. Robin - Abundant in Cottonowood park
Cedar Waxwing - small flocks in Cottonwood park
Starlings - ubitquitous
Yellow-rumped Warbler - Stellako R, Tabor Lk, Cottonwood Park
Jack saw another warbler at Cottonwood Park - species?
Common Yellowthroat - Tabor Lk
Song Sparrow - Stellako River, Tabor Lake
"Cismontanus" Junco - Tabor Lk
Rusty Blackbird (?) - Tabor Lake - too far off for good ID
Pine Siskin - Stellako R, Tabor Lk
?? Crossbill - Stellako R, Tabor Lk
House Sparrow - Prince George

Also, saw:
2 black bear - 'grazing' in a hayfield near Fraser Lake
Mule Deer - Forked horn buck
Red Squirrels - T. hudsonicus - so much like the Chickarees I'm
used to here in the 'south'

Once again, many thanks to Jack Bowling - far Northern Tweeter
Extrordinaire - for some great Canadian hospitality, and a great
morning of birding!

Jon. Anderson
Olympia, Washington
festuca at olywa.net