Birders,

Sitting here in Greater Vancouver, I got tired of waiting for the
spring migrants to show up, so I decided to do a one-day blitz of one
of my favorite birding areas, the Nicola Valley near Merritt, BC,
on April 22.

I birded from before dawn (5:30 AM) to after dusk (9:00 PM, by which
time the snipe had stopped winnowing). I tallied 89 species, but I
wasn't trying to do a "big day"-- I was trying to document spring
migration, and look for early arrival dates for a few species. The
areas visited included Sunshine Valley Road and other areas between
Lower Nicola and Canford; Spences Bridge (to check for White-throated
Swifts); Nicola Lake; Beaver Ranch Flats (also known as Guichon
Flats); and the south end of Stump Lake. All of these are along
Highway 8 west of Merritt, or Highway 5A east and northeast of
Merritt.

Here are some highlights from the trip-- unusual species, early
dates, or other interesting notes:

RED-NECKED GREBE-- The south end of Stump Lake was choked with
waterbirds, as usual, but late in the evening, it literally echoed
with the calls of this species. There were at least 25 or 30 Red-necks
present, mostly in pairs, of which several were actively courting. The
habitat looks much better than in previous years for nesting grebes--
either the bulrushes have grown up, the lake level has dropped, or
both.

AMERICAN WHITE PELICAN-- I lucked into a flock of 8 White Pelicans
asleep in shallow water near the west end of Nicola Lake. A couple of
birds woke up and preened briefly, but the others just stayed asleep.

MUTE SWAN-- The infamous Nicola Valley MUTE SWAN was seen
among other waterfowl at the south end of Stump Lake.This bird has
been in the area at least 10 years now, except for brief periods in
the
winter when it leaves. It was not mute, either-- several times it
called
softly, perhaps hoping for a mate that has never appeared?

DIURNAL RAPTORS-- I tallied 7 species, with numbers as noted below:

Osprey 19
Bald Eagle 5
Northern Harrier 1 (Beaver Ranch Flats)
Sharp-shinned Hawk 1 (Shackan Campground)
Swainson's Hawk 1 (Highway 5A just E of Merritt)
Red-tailed Hawk 1
American Kestrel 12

This is a rather different mix of species than was reported along
Highway 5A by Rick Howie on April 18, but then his route barely
overlapped mine.

Most of the OSPREYS were on their nest sites, although a few
regularly-used nests appeared vacant, and a few still had incubating
CANADA GEESE sitting on them.

The SWAINSON'S HAWK, one of the earliest I've ever seen in the valley,
was sitting on a telephone pole on Highway 5A, about 7 km east of
downtown Merritt, and allowed very close approach. This was probably
a migrating bird-- I've only once or twice ever seen a Swainson's
along
this stretch of highway before, in hundreds of visits.

VIRGINIA RAIL-- Three birds responded to a tape in a marsh on Highway
8, about 38 km east of Spences Bridge. I've had late March arrival
dates for rails, so they had likely been there a few weeks.

AMERICAN AVOCET-- Two birds were standing on an island in the marsh
at Beaver Ranch Flats, where they've nested for the last couple of
years. One bird showed much more extensive pinkish-buff on the head
and breast than the other one.

LEAST SANDPIPER-- Four birds, on the same island at Beaver Ranch
Flats as the Avocets. My earliest ever Nicola Valley arrival date for
this species by a week.

LONG-EARED OWL-- One heard calling at an undisclosed location north
of Merritt.

WHITE-THROATED SWIFT-- I made a long side trip from Canford to
Spences Bridge to see if they were there, but they were-- at least 4,
and possibly 6 birds. (They were hard to count among the hordes of
wheeling VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS.) I first discovered swifts at this
cliff, along Highway 8 about 1 km east of Spences Bridge, in 1975, and
they've been there ever since, but I've never seen more than 6 birds
there. This locality is barely outside the Nicola Valley (about 0.5 km
from the river mouth), but I'm sure they do some feeding over the
lower part of the river.
Although White-throated Swifts sometimes reach the Okanagan Valley
in late March (e.g., this year I saw about 40 at OK Falls on March
28), they seem to arrive much later at Kamloops and points north. This
was my earliest Nicola Valley date, but also the first time I've
checked the cliffs in April.

WILLIAMSON'S SAPSUCKER-- 2 males, 1 female along the
Sunshine Valley Road west of Lower Nicola. Rare and local in the
valley.

SAY'S PHOEBE-- One was singing at the Canford bridge over the Nicola
River on the Sunshine Valley Road. This is a rare species in the
Nicola Valley, and this is the only regular breeding spot I know
about.

ROCK WREN-- One was singing its heart out on the rock bluffs beside
Highway 8, 6 km west of Lower Nicola. The habitat here looks great,
but I've never seen a ROCK WREN here before. This species seems
uncommon in the valley, despite lots of apparently suitable habitat.

This was also my earliest spring record for the valley by a whopping
17 days. Although Rock Wrens usually arrive in the Okanagan in late
April (and occasionally winter there), repeated visits to favored
spots in the Nicola Valley have failed to produce any Rock Wrens
earlier than May 9 in the past.

WESTERN BLUEBIRD-- A male was seen briefly near a green nestbox on
Highway 8, 7 km west of Lower Nicola (Number 54, for the record). This
was only my third record ever for Western Bluebird in the valley,
although the species reportedly nested in this part of the valley for
a couple of years in the early 1990s. .

YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD-- This species was back in force. Twelve
males were in a small flock of blackbirds at the Huber place on
Highway 5A east of Quilchena, and at least 30 were in the marsh at
Beaver Ranch Flats. However, they still have a way to go to reach
typical breeding numbers.

Mammals observed included Beaver, Red Squirrel, Yellow Pine Chipmunk,
Yellow-bellied Marmot, and Coyote.

A great day of birding in gorgeous weather (clear all day, high about
22 degrees C, and winds light in the morning and moderate in the
afternoon), and some interesting and unusual finds!

Good luck and good birding,

Wayne C. Weber
Delta, BC
contopus at telus.net