This is the Okanagan Valley, British Columbia, Rare Bird Alert
(250-491-7738).

Sightings for Sunday, February 9th - 9:00 AM update

**RARE BIRD ALERT for LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL (Vernon)

Featured birds include:

GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE (Kelowna)

Other birds mentioned:

Golden Eagle
Bald Eagle
Western Bluebird
RED-BREASTED MERGANSER
GREAT GRAY OWL
RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET
Northern Flicker (Yellow-shafted form)
Tundra Swan
American Dipper
Dark-eyed Junco (Slate-colored form)
Three-toed Woodpecker
GLAUCOUS GULL
Thayer's Gull
Trumpeter Swan
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Northern Pygmy-Owl
Pileated Woodpecker
White-breasted Nuthatch
GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE


Sightings for Feb 9

In Vernon, the first winter LESSER BLACK-BACKED GULL was relocated at the
mouth of Vernon Creek at approx. 8 AM (DC).

On Feb 8, 4 GOLDEN EAGLES and 7 BALD EAGLES were along Hwy 3 in the
Similkameen Valley, S. of Cawston (CC,m.ob).

Two WESTERN BLUEBIRDS were at the Haynes Lease Ecological Reserve, near Road
22, N. of Osoyoos (CC,m.ob).

At 4 PM on Friday, Feb 7th, 2 GREATER-WHITE FRONTED GEESE were in a field
near Robert Lake in Kelowna (LR,m.ob). The birds were in the field,
surrounded by a white wooden fence, on the W. side of Valley Road, just
before Robert Lake.


Sightings for Feb 6

On Okanagan Lake, seen from Stewart's Vineyard, N. of Sunnyside in Westbank,
the male RED-BREASTED MERGANSER was again reported. At the same location was
a "YELLOW-SHAFTED" FLICKER (GW,m.ob)

At the Maude Roxby Bird Sanctuary, 15 TUNDRA SWANS were seen in Mud Bay
(BC).

Along Mission Ck, upstream from Casorso Road, in Kelowna, a single
RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET foraged with BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES and 2 AMERICAN
DIPPERS fed in the cold waters (CC).

Reported on Feb 5, the GREAT GRAY OWL was seen at the McCulloch Nordic Cross
Country Ski Trails, S. of Kelowna. The bird was seen along the Log Cabin
Trail, near the first intersection with the Jackrabbit Trail (BT,JT,DW). A
THREE-TOED WOODPECKER was observed along the Chickadee Loop (DW,JL).

A "SLATE-COLORED" JUNCO was reported at Mill Ck Regional Park, in the
Ellison area of Kelowna on Feb 4 (ST).


Sightings for February 2

An adult GLAUCOUS GULL, 3 ad. THAYER'S GULLS and an ad. TRUMPETER SWAN were
seen at the Maude Roxby Bird Sanctuary, in Kelowna (CC,RT).

S. of Kelowna, in Okanagan Mountain Park, 2 NORTHERN PYGMY-OWLS, a
WHITE-BREASTED NUTHATCH and a PILEATED WOODPECKER were observed (CC,RT).

In the Joe Rich area, E. of Kelowna, three CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEES were
along Philpott Road, 3.8 km from Hwy 33, near the mailboxes (CC,RT).

The male GREAT-TAILED GRACKLE continues along Hwy 97 at Cooper Rd in Kelowna
(CC).



Observers - BC - Bill Cutfield; CC - Chris Charlesworth; BT - Bitten
Tisdale; JT - Jim Tisdale; DW - Don Wilson; JL - Judy Latta; ST - Scott
Thompson; RT - Ryan Tomlinson; LR - Lesley Robertson; DC - Don Cecile; GW -
Gwynneth Wilson.;

If you have any questions about Okanagan Valley birding, contact Chris
Charlesworth (250) 718-0335, Dick Cannings at (250) 496-4019 ,or Phil Gehlen
(250) 542-8053.

This update has been sponsored by the TUMBLEWEED NATURE STORE at 67 Front St
in Penticton.

Thanks for calling the bird alert and happy birding.

TRANSCRIBED BY:

CHRIS CHARLESWORTH
AVOCET TOURS
725 RICHARDS ROAD
KELOWNA, BC, CANADA
V1X 2X5
c_charlesworth at avocettours.com
WWW.AVOCETTOURS.COM

_________________________________________________________________
STOP MORE SPAM with the new MSN 8 and get 2 months FREE*
http://join.msn.com/?page=features/junkmail