Birders,

This weekend I led a group of up to 14 birders on an owling trip in the
South Okanagan region of BC. As we drove south on Saturday the wind howled
and the rain, at times, poured out of the sky. We met at our motel, Holiday
Park Resort, in Ok Falls and then departed for a quick dinner. In that time,
the skies cleared and the winds dropped, making for a great evening,
although chilly at times.

March 22

Don Wilson, Hank Vanderpol and I left Kelowna at about 12 30 PM and drove
south, making a brief stop in Summerland at Powell Beach Park, where 2
LEWIS' WOODPECKERS were seen.

White Lake Road

The wind kept birds quiet along White Lake Road, although in the sage brush,
a few WESTERN and MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS were observed. The ponds at and near
the St. Andrews Golf Course had 2 BARROW'S GOLDENEYE, 4 RING-NECKED DUCKS, 3
GREEN-WINGED TEAL and a few MALLARDS. Raptors were taking advantage of winds
along the route and we saw a ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK, 5 RED-TAILED HAWKS, 1 male
NORTHERN HARRIER, 1 AMERICAN KESTREL and an adult GOLDEN EAGLE.

Our owling began at about 7 PM. Our first stop was for screech-owl along
McLean Ck Road, near Ok Falls. We could not coax the owl to call, but a
large, silent silhouette drifted overhead, a GREAT HORNED OWL.

Along the Shuttleworth Creek Road we were able to attract a NORTHERN
SAW-WHET OWL at km 6. The bird was initially heard "tooting" a distance to
the S. in a wooded draw. After some imitation calls and squeaking the bird
came in and emitted some loud calls, but was not seen. At km 24 a BOREAL OWL
was heard distantly. We played a tape and soon after one of the birders saw
the bird fly overhead. We were able to get great flight looks at the Boreal
Owl in the flashlight. The bird then sat beside the road in a spruce and
broke into full "song", something never heard before by many birders on this
tour. We retraced our steps back to km 13 and took the Venner Meadows Road
to km 14 and heard another NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL. We searched intently for
the bird, but we could not see it. A very successful evening of owling.

March 23

We regrouped after breakfast in the parking lot at Holiday Park at 8 30 AM.
A PILEATED WOODPECKER flew in the distance and in a large pine tree right
over the motel a MERLIN called and displayed. This bird looks to be setting
up a territory there.

Shuttleworth Ck Road

We went back up this road in the daylight hours to locate some of the
difficult to find upper-elevation birds. Our efforts were rewarded! At the
intersection of Irrigation Ck Rd and Shuttleworth Rd, we had 2 CASSIN'S
FINCHES, a female HAIRY WOODPECKER, 2 male WESTERN BLUEBIRDS, 8 PYGMY
NUTHATCHES, 4 RED CROSSBILLS and 4 MOUNTAIN CHICKADEES.

A NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL was seen on a roadside snag at km 8. The bird put on an
excellent show, responding well to my imitated calls.

At km 15 a PINE GROSBEAK, BROWN CREEPER, 2 GRAY JAYS and 2 GOLDEN-CROWNED
KINGLETS were called in, while at km 20 4 PINE GROSBEAKS were startled from
feeding on the roadside. All of the birds appeared to be females or imm.
males, however at km 23 a nice pair (male and female) of PINE GROSBEAKS were
watched at close range.

One of the main target birds of the trip, BOREAL CHICKADEE, was located at
km 22.5. Three of these birds gave excellent views, alongside MOUNTAIN
CHICKADEES, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES and GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS.

Venner Meadows Road

While searching for possible Three-toed and Black-backed woodpeckers, which
we did not find, we were very happy to find 3 male WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKERS
between km 14-15. The birds were all drumming, and one was seen in the larch
forests.

Pond S. of Oliver along Hwy 97 at Road # 20

We made a brief stop here to add some waterfowl to the list. Elke Fischer
and her sharp eyes picked out 2 ad. GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE amongst the
CANADA GEESE and AMERICAN WIGEON. Other ducks here seen included a male
LESSER SCAUP and 6 GREATER SCAUP, 2 REDHEAD, 6 BUFFLHEAD, and 4 MALLARDS.

Road 22 (Osoyoos)

Our time was limited at Road 22, but we were able to add our 5th owl species
of the trip, a BARN OWL. Other interesting additions to the list here
included 3 MARSH WRENS, 1 DOWNY WOODPECKER, 2 TREE and 50 VIOLET-GREEN
SWALLOWS, 20 WHITE-CROWNED SPARROWS, 2 SAY'S PHOEBES, 1 ad. NORTHERN SHRIKE,
7 COMMON MERGANSERS, 1 male NORTHERN PINTAIL, 15 RED-NECKED GREBES, 5 HORNED
GREBES, 2 GADWALL, 5 CALIFORNIA, 10 HERRING and 15 RING-BILLED GULLS, 1 ad
COMMON LOON and a GREAT BLUE HERON.

The trip total for everyone was approx. 82. Great trip and hope to do a
similar one next year. I will attach a photo of the group peering into the
trees at a pygmy-owl on the BCINTBIRD photo page.

Sincerely,


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

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