Birders,

The BRAMBLING at Burns Lake, B.C. (west of Prince George) that
was reported on February 5 was still there on February 13, as related
in the attached message from Jack Bowling. Please note also the
sightings of HOARY REDPOLL and NORTHERN HAWK OWL. Central B.C. may not
have a large quantity of birds in the winter, but boy does it have
quality!

Wayne C. Weber
Kamloops, B.C.
wayne_weber at bc.sympatico.ca


-----Original Message-----
From: Jack Bowling <jbowling at direct.ca>
To: ncenbird at pgfn.bc.ca <ncenbird at pgfn.bc.ca>; bcintbird at egroups.com
<bcintbird at egroups.com>
Date: Sunday, February 13, 2000 7:26 PM
Subject: [bcintbird] Brambling at Burns Lake - yes


>Myself, Cathy Antoniazzi and Jamie Fenneman drove to Burns Lake today
>to check out the Brambling. Upon arriving at the Spicer's, all was
quiet
>on the bird front, just a feisty red squirrel holding domain over the
>main sunflower feeder in the huge willow. But soon a redpoll flock of
>about 20 birds flew in and what to our surprise was with them but a
>classic Hoary in all its fine puffiness and tiny bill. A lifer for
>Jamie. Not bad for ten minutes.
>
>We checked out the neighbourhood for a while and found a couple of
>juncos nearby but no Brambling. We took Norm up on his generous offer
of
>coffee and a sit and wait routine inside since the feeders are
readily
>visible from the dining room and the -20C temperatures made it a bit
>chilly. About 45 minutes went by and we noticed a few juncos
trickling
>in including a _hyemalis_ with some western genes giving its wing
>coverts buffy edges. Cool. After about 45 minutes, there it was - a
>flash of butterscotch orange in the back edge of the willow. A
>Brambling, all right. We were not 100% sure of the sex. But checking
the
>reference books upon arrival back home, it looks like a male. The
head
>is grey but one could see blackish bases to the head feathering when
>spread. And the bill was mainly yellow with a dark tip. I took some
>print photos and will have them scanned for uploading when done with
the
>roll. The bird was viewed for about 15 minutes as it fed on the
ground.
>Interesting to note that this species starts forward motion with a
>couple of lateral head bobs like a lark or yellowlegs. Note that the
>Spicer's prefer that anyone wanting to visit phone first to ensure
they
>are home at (250) 692-7042. Other tidbits gleaned from conversation
>include the fact that their feeder hosted a White-breasted Nuthatch
the
>winter of 1998/99.
>
>Oh, we also ran into a smallish, palish (male?) N. Hawk Owl 30 km
east
>of Burns Lake on the way there in the morning which was gone when we
>drove back.
>
>Since it was a lovely sunshine-filled winter day and we had lots of
>time, we stopped by the Nautley River to see the Trumpeter Swans.
What
>do we find when we arrive but a gent dumping barrels of grain out for
a
>waiting entourage of swans. Turns out that he has been doing so at
this
>same location since 1948!! That year in the fall, he was nearby when
he
>watched a swan pitch into the field along the river. Turned out it
was
>starving so he took it to the adjacent farm where it spent the winter
in
>the chicken coop recovering. It flew off north the next spring. This
>good samaritan (we were too shy to ask his name) spent the first five
>years paying for the grain himself but a solicitation for donations
in
>the paper after the 5th winter ended that. Wildlife officers have
told
>him over the years that feeding wild animals is against the law, but
>just like Ralph Edwards, he turned the other cheek and told them -
"So
>arrest me!". He has seen the buildup of the Nautley population over
the
>years in concert with the continent-wide boom in Trumpeter numbers.
He
>said that the initial fall population of about 200 birds eventually
>disperses to nearby feeding locations and that about 40-60 overwinter
at
>the Nautley. We counted 48 adults and 2 juvies today. I bet that
there
>is some rivalry among the swans as to who stays and who has to leave
the
>feeding station! He said that the swans go through about a "mill
sack"
>(300 pounds or so) in a mild winter and up to 3 times that much in a
>cold one.
>
>
>
>Jack Bowling
>Prince George, BC
>mailto:jbowling at direct.c
>
>
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