Birders,

I decided to go birding at about 11 this morning. I checked Belgo Pond in
Kelowna first and was happy to see a Solitary Sandpiper, 3 Spotted
Sandpipers and 5 Killdeer, a MacGillivray's Warbler, 8 Yellow Warblers, a
Common Yellowthroat and numerous Cedar Waxwings there. I heard a Virginia
Rail calling in the marsh at the E. end of the lake.

Next I checked the mud flats at the S. end of Duck Lake. This lake is found
on the N. side of Kelowna, along Hwy 97, about 5 km N. of the airport. I
had:

Western Sandpiper 4
Semipalmated Sandpiper 2
Least Sandpiper 10
Lesser Yellowlegs 1
Killdeer 12
Great Blue Heron 2
Northern Rough-winged Swallow 15

I then went up Beaver Lake Road, in hopes of finding a Rusty Blackbird. No
luck on the blackbird, but I did find some BOREAL CHICKADEES along Dee Lk
Road and a male PINE GROSBEAK near Dee Lake as well. My list for the Beaver
Lk Rd / Dee Lk Road area was as follows:

Osprey 2
Northern Flicker 3
Hammond's Flycatcher 1 fresh plumage bird
Eastern Kingbird 2
Warbling Vireo 8
Clark's Nutcracker 1
Common Raven 3
Black-capped Chickadee 15
Mountain Chickadee 10
Boreal Chickadee 3
Red-breasted Nuthatch 13
Pygmy Nuthatch 2
Brown Creeper 1
House Wren 1
Golden-crowned Kinglet 2
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1 fledgling
Swainson's Thrush 3
American Robin 5
Cedar Waxwing 2
Orange-crowned Warbler 1 first fall male "Orestera" race
Nashville Warbler 1 calling
Yellow-rumped Warbler 10
Townsend's Warbler 5
Northern Waterthrush 3
MacGillivray's Warbler 1
Wilson's Warbler 1 male
Spotted Towhee 1
Chipping Sparrow 2
Vesper Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 5
Lincoln's Sparrow 1
Dark-eyed Junco 16
Western Meadowlark 1
Pine Grosbeak 1 male
Red Crossbill 8
Pine Siskin 3
American Goldfinch 1

Not a bad list for a warm August day. As always I am amazed at how quickly
Western Kingbirds depart after breeding. It was only about 5 days ago when
they were everywhere....none seen over the past couple of days however. The
young must just hop out of the nest and start flying south with the parents.

Bye for now,

Chris Charlesworth
Avocet Tours
Kelowna, BC
www.avocettours.com

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