June 24

At the last minute on the morning of June 24, Ryan Tomlinson and I decided
to head N. to BC's Peace River area. Our gear was packed into the car and we
were on the road by 11:00 AM. Our birding stops along the way were limited.
Three Lewis's Woodpeckers were seen flycatching from Ponderosa Pines along
the S. shore of Kamloops Lake. At the 100 Mile House Marshes we were pleased
to see many ducks, Yellow-headed Blackbirds, 5 Black Terns and a Common
Loon. On to Williams Lake and the Scout Island Nature Sanctuary, where we
had 2 AMERICAN WHITE PELICANS, a singing Veery, broods of Wood Ducks and a
Red-necked Grebe on a nest. We needed a stretch and a walk between Quesnel
and Prince George, so we decided to spend 20 minutes birding on the Stone Ck
FSR. We were happy to get a great look at a RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER in the
aspens right beside Hwy 97. Other birds seen or heard along this road
included 5 American Redstarts, 2 singing WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS, Dusky
Flycatcher, Hermit Thrush, Rufous Hummingbird, MacGillivray's Warbler. Our
goal was to make it to Prince George on the first night, however, since I
was full of energy we continued all the way to Dawson Creek (1100 km from
Kelowna and 14 hours!), where we slept in the car on the side of the road
for a precious 2 hours.

June 25

The morning sun woke us early at 3 AM! Excited to go birding we raced into
Dawson Ck for a much deserved coffee at Tim Horton's. Our first stop was not
very exciting; Pouce Coupe Regional Park. Here we head Red-eyed Vireo,
White-throated, Clay-colored and Fox sparrows and a few other song birds. We
found our first "Northeastern" birds along the Tate Ck Road; ALDER
FLYCATCHER, Least Flycatcher and a singing TENNESSEE WARBLER.

We spent a considerable amount of time around Swan Lake, found SE. of Dawson
Ck, near Hwy 2. Along the access road to the campground we were very happy
to find a CONNECTICUT WARBLER. The bird was singing in pole stage Tremling
Aspen. We enjoyed nice looks at the bird. Once in the campground, a male
BALTIMORE ORIOLE was stunning. Three fledgling BLUE JAYS were hopping
through some small bushes, being mobbed by Cedar Waxwings, Yellow Warblers
and American Redstarts. At the bridge over the Tupper River we enjoyed a
singing male PURPLE FINCH, our first BLACK-AND-WHITE WARBLER of the trip,
and a YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER. A BC bird for me, BLUE-HEADED VIREO was also
found along Swan Lake Road. The sedge marshes at Swan Lake produced another
BC bird for me and a lifer for Ryan, a NELSON'S SHARP-TAILED SPARROW. Many
Black Terns flew over the lake and a breeding plumage SWAMP SPARROW was a
nice treat.

A fast trip along One Island Lake Road produced another CONNECTICUT WARBLER
and our only BLACKPOLL WARBLER, a male singing feet in front of us. After a
stop at the grocery store in Dawson Creek we met the local expert, Mark
Phinney at McQueen's Slough. Mark gave us detailed maps on how to find all
our target species. His knowledge was greatly appreciated, and we found
almost everything we were after. At McQueen's Slough we enjoyed typical
marsh species, Black Tern, Marsh Wren, Swamp Sparrow, Eared Grebe, Wilson's
Snipe etc.

In the evening we returned to the Tupper River Bridge, near Swan Lake, and
found our target; EASTERN PHOEBE. Two were nesting under the bridge. I was
happy to find a Yellow Warbler nest with 4 eggs. We set up camp at the
Sudeten Campground, near Swan Lake and found a male MOURNING WARBLER right
beside our tents! Lifer for Ryan.

June 26

Today we enjoyed some amazing birding. Following Mark's advice, we headed W.
of Dawson Ck to the Brassey Creek Road. I vaguely remembered the road being
a warbler heaven from my only other trip to the area in 1994 and my memory
served me correct. A male CONNECTICUT WARBLER sang loudly from the aspens
near the beginning of the road. We found an saw a male PHILADELPHIA VIREO
very well as it sang in the aspens. Only a few meters down the road we
heard, and then saw an OVENBIRD, as it sang. Through the mixed spruce/aspen
forest we heard Blackpoll, Tennessee, Mourning, Orange-crowned, Yellow,
"Myrtle", American Redstart, White-throated Sparrow, Rose-breasted Grosbeak.
On a steep hillside we found a singing male MAGNOLIA WARBLER and soon after,
a singing male CANADA WARBLER. Right where Mark said they would be we heard
a BLACK-THROATED GREEN WARBLER. White-winged Crossbills were singing
everywhere. A Boreal Chickadee called, the only for the trip. On a side road
we saw our first Black-throated Green Warbler, a male with food for young.

We made a quick side trip into Alberta and took a gravel road, that
parallelled the BC border N. The highlight was another Connecticut Warbler
which we had amazing looks at. Also in AB we had Yellow-bellied Sapsucker,
Rose-breasted Grosbeak, Alder Flycatcher, Tennessee Warbler, Purple Finch,
Fox Sparrow (red form) and many others.

In the evening we drove around through fields in search of Upland
Sandpipers, but found none. On a small "prairie" slough we had Horned Grebe,
Hooded Merganser, Northern Shoveler, Redhead, Coots, Green-winged Teal,
Blue-winged Teal, Ruddy Duck, Gadwall, Mallard, and Killdeer. A brief stop
back at Swan Lake produced 30 FRANKLIN'S GULLS feeding on the wing over the
water. As darkness fell we went to a wetland N. of Dawson Ck in search of
Yellow Rail. We didn't find them, but did have nice looks at more Nelson's
Sharp-tailed Sparrows.

June 27

We packed up camp and were on the road by 4 AM. Our destination was Fort St.
John, an hour to the north. Upon arrival our first stop was Beatton
Provincial Park. We had a fabulous time in the park. The gate was locked so
we had to walk in, but that produced more birds. While walking down the road
we found Ovenbird, Black-and-white Warbler, Northern Waterthrush, Yellow
Warbler, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Tennessee Warbler, American Restart, Eastern
Phoebe, White-throated Sparrow, Baltimore Oriole, Rose-breasted Grosbeak,
Hermit Thrush, Gray Jay, White-winged Crossbill. In a small grove of spruce
we found one of our two targets for the park; CAPE MAY WARBLER. The bird was
a male and was singing. We had amazing scope views of it! Great tip from
Chris Siddle, former Fort St. John resident. We did miss the Bay-breasted
Warbler though. On the lake a flock of 300 Bonaparte's Gulls were seen.

After our birding at Beatton Park, we briefly visited my uncle who lives in
the area. He gave us directions and detailed maps on how to get to Boundary
Lake, on the BC / AB border, E. of Fort St. John. On the way we enjoyed
Cliff Swallows, nesting on cliffs, an unusual sight these days. In a spruce
bog, where I found one 9 years ago, a PALM WARBLER was singing and seen very
well. Another Connecticut Warbler was heard in the aspens here. Along an
access road to the lake we heard a VEERY, rare in the area. The lake was
covered in birds; 15 WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS, 6 TRUMPETER SWANS (2 ad. and 4
chicks), Redhead, Canvasback, Bufflehead, Greater Scauo, Lesser Scaup, Ruddy
Duck, Northern Pintail, Horned Grebe, American Wigeon, Mallard, Ring-necked
Duck, Gadwall and Eared Grebe. At least 100 Black Terns were flying over the
water. We found a patch of sedge near the lake shore and found an amazing 7
sparrow species there. The highlight undoubtedly, were 2 LE CONTE'S SPARROWS
which we viewed at point blank through the scope. They obviously had a nest
in the area. Also there were 3 NELSON'S SHARP-TAILED SPARROWS, a Fox
Sparrow, 2 SWAMP SPARROWS, a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW, 2 Clay-colored Sparrows
and 2 Lincoln's Sparrows. It was time to head back to my uncle's where we
enjoyed a shower and a great sleep.

June 28

We left Fort St. John at 8:30 AM and headed for home. On the way we made a
quick stop at Peace Island Park, S. of F.S.J and had a male CANADA WARBLER
with food, a beautiful male MAGNOLIA WARBLER and a male CALLIOPE
HUMMINGBIRD. Our next stop was in the Pine Pass, W. of Chetwynd. Here, we
had a Townsend's Warbler, 2 Magnolia Warblers, a Blue-headed Vireo and lots
of White-winged Crossbills. Our only other interesting bird on the way home
was a Red-breasted Sapsucker, just N. of Quesnel, on Olson Road. The bird
was feeding young at a nest. We arrived in Kelowna at 11:30 PM and realized
we had put on 3360 km this trip!

Thoughts

This trip to the Peace River was amazing. Any birders who want a real taste
of eastern birding should definitely head up to the area in NE British
Columbia. On our drive home we were awestruck by the variety of habitats and
scenery one can see in a single day! We started our day in the boreal forest
/ aspen parklands and prairie habitat in the Peace River, drove through the
Rocky Mountains, and eventually ended up in the dry semi-arid desert habitat
of the Okanagan Valley, before it was completely dark. Where else in North
America can a birder see a Canada Warbler, and a Lewis' Woodpecker and in
the same day (breeding at least) ? Our total species count for the Peace
River area was 127, and we added about 20 more on the drive to and from the
area. I already miss the long daylight hours, songs of the White-throated
Sparrows, and rolling hills of the Peace River country. I'm sure we'll
return some day soon.


Chris Charlesworth
Kelowna, BC, Canada
www.avocettours.com

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