Birders,

This morning (July 20) Connor, my little brother, and I headed N. to Salmon
Arm to see what the shorebird habitat was like. The weather was sunny and
very hot, as has been the rule for the last two weeks.

Our first stop was along the Old Okanagan Hwy, S. of Vernon for Rock Wren.
As soon as we stopped I heard a ROCK WREN calling and soon after saw it
perched on a rock beside the road. Moments later it flew across the road and
joined a female and 3 fledgling Rock Wrens. It was a lifer for Connor.

We continued driving N. to Salmon Arm and birded two locations along the
waterfront:

Dog Park at the foot of Narcisse Road

Canada Goose 80
Gadwall 30
Northern Shoveler 10
Wood Duck 30
Cinnamon Teal 2
Common Merganser 3
Green-winged Teal 5
Great Blue Heron 15
Osprey 3
Bald Eagle 3
Long-billed Dowitcher 7
Lesser Yellowlegs 1
Least Sandpiper 1
Wilson's Snipe 4
Killdeer 5
Sora 2
Black-capped Chickadee 3
Bank Swallow 5
Yellow-headed Blackbird 5
California Gull 2
Ring-billed Gull 15
Western Grebe 100
Pied-billed Grebe 1
Common Yellowthroat 5
Yellow Warbler 1
American Coot 25
European Starling 5

Christmas Island

Western Grebe 60 with many chicks
CLARK'S GREBE 1 ad. paired with WEGR. Had one chick.
Horned Grebe 2
Pied-billed Grebe 4
Red-necked Grebe 1
Canada Goose 50
Gadwall 80
Greater Scaup 5
Lesser Scaup 2
Common Goldeneye 3
Redhead 4
Hooded Merganser 6
American Wigeon 2
Wood Duck 12
Ring-billed Gull 2000 (colony. many chicks and ad. were very aggressive).
Bonaparte's Gull 1 ad.
Merlin 1
Red-tailed Hawk 1
Osprey 4
Willow Flycatcher 4
Common Yellowthroat 5
Yellow Warbler 1
Red-eyed Vireo 2 males
American Goldfinch 2
Red-winged Blackbird 5
Yellow-headed Blackbird 10
Cedar Waxwing 1
American Crow 15
Song Sparrow 3
Great Blue Heron 5
Gray Catbird 2
Ring-necked Pheasant 1
Killdeer 4

As usual the sheer number of birds along the foreshore in Salmon Arm was
impressive. Shorebird habitat hasn't quite developed yet, but the water is
dropping so soon enough it will get good.

On the way home we stopped at Rose's Pond on the Vernon Commonage. The
surprise there was a male WHITE-WINGED SCOTER, heading into eclipse plumage.
Also present was a Wilson's Phalarope, some Barrow's Goldeneye, Ring-necked
Ducks, and Turkey Vultures.

That's all for now,

Chris Charlesworth
Avocet Tours
725 Richards Road
Kelowna, BC, Canada
V1X 2X5
www.avocettours.com

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