Birders,

The male MCKAY'S BUNTING which was seen on the Iona Island south jetty
near the Vancouver, BC airport from December 4 through 8 (and then
disappeared for the next few days), was seen again yesterday and
today, December 14 and 15. It has been with a group of 4 to 6 SNOW
BUNTINGS, and on a few occasions, a bird has been seen which may be a
female MCKAY'S BUNTING (not yet confirmed).

If anyone is thinking of looking for the McKay's, be warned-- it is a
long shot. Although the bird was present on the jetty at least briefly
every day from Dec. 4 through 8, it did not spend more than 15 minutes
on the jetty on any one day, and the chance of being in the right
place at the right time on this 2.3-mile-long jetty is slim. On the
one day that I looked for the buntings-- December 9-- none were seen
on the jetty, despite up to 20 birders being out there all day.

On Dec. 14, the bird was on the jetty for an hour, from about 1:30 to
2:30 PM. Today, Dec. 15, it was there from about 3:40 to 3:55 PM, but
was missed by birders earlier in the day. The McKay's Bunting, and the
Snow Buntings that it hangs out with, are believe to be spending most
of their time along the west dyke of Sea Island, which is part of the
Vancouver Airport and off-limits to birders. The buntings have been
seen several times arriving from or heading off to the direction of
the airport.

Updates on the bird will be included on the Vancouver RBA, which is
forwarded to TWEETERS and BIRDWEST E-mail groups, or can be accessed
by phoning (604) 737-3074. Once again, the bunting is being seen
occasionally, but it is definitely a long shot, especially for some
one coming from any distance.

I am attaching a message from John Fitchen about an unsuccessful
search that he made for the bunting on December 10, and I can confirm
the accuracy of the information in his message.

Good luck and good birding!


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




----- Original Message -----
From: <Jfitchen at aol.com>
To: <obol at lists.orst.edu>
Sent: Friday, December 10, 2004 9:31 PM
Subject: [obol] Vancouver BC McKay's Bunting--No.


Hello Obol,

Iain Tomlinson and I drove up to Vancouver BC yesterday in hopes of
finding
the MCKAY'S BUNTING reported at the south jetty of Iona Island near
the
Vancouver, BC airport. The bird had been seen for five consecutive
days beginning
last Saturday (Dec. 4) through Wednesday (Dec. 8). We arrived at the
site at
1:30 p.m. Thursday and walked the jetty until dark (4:00 p.m.), then
again today
from 8:00 a.m. (first light) until 2:00 p.m. A total of about 12
birders
were on the jetty and the bird was not seen by anyone, making two
days
in a row with no sightings.

Here are the things we learned from being there and from talking to
local
birders:

1. There are probably two McKay's Buntings, one adult male and one
adult
female.

2. The McKay's are associated with a flock of 5 or 6 Snow Buntings.

3. The birds have been seen mostly between the first "hut" (a
pedestrian
shelter about one mile out the jetty) and the second hut (another
mile or so out
the jetty), but occasionally further out near a large shovel
repairing the
jetty.

4. Most sightings have been between 10:00 a.m. and 11:00 a.m., but
the birds
have been seen as late as 2:00 p.m.

5. Walk on top of the jetty, since you can see more of the habitat
and
because the service road is off-limits during the repair work.

6. Two-way radios or other forms of electronic communication would be
very
helpful as the jetty is about 2 miles long and it's easy to get out
of earshot.

7. The wisdom of the locals is that despite two days of no sightings
of the
birds, they are likely to reappear since the jetty is an annual
wintering site
for Snow Buntings and the McKay's are with a flock of Snows.

If anyone is sanguine enough to take up the chase and needs
directions or
other info, please contact me off-list (Ph: 503-775-0928; e-mail:
jfitchen at aol.com).

Partial compensation for missing the buntings were great looks at a
winter
male LONG-TAILED DUCK at point-blank range--no great shakes for
Vancouver, but a treat for us Portland types.

Cheers,

John Fitchen
Portland