Birders,

Tim Leahy of Wisconsin and I birded the Central and North Okanagan valley
today. We started along McCulloch Road at K.L.O Creek where VAUX'S SWIFTS
were soaring overhead..Tim's 698th ABA bird. We made numerous stops along
the following 28 km of road and had various looks at many
species....OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH, and CASSIN'S
VIREO..Tim's 699th ABA bird!

We then made the 24 km drive up to Big White noting PINE GROSBEAK, FOX
SPARROW, BOREAL CHICKADEE, CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE, GRAY JAY,
WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, and a male THREE-TOED WOODPECKER along the way. The
amount of construction at Big White is baffling! We then drove back to
Kelowna via Hwy 33, adding WHITE-THROATED SWIFT and LEWIS'S WOODPECKER along
the way.

At Robert Lake the usual water birds were present including a late"ish"
PECTORAL SANDPIPER, AM. AVOCETS, and loads of WILSON'S PHALAROPES. On the
way to Vernon, WESTERN BLUEBIRD, WESTERN KINGBIRD and a few other sp. were
added to the day list. The Kelowna dump produced RING-BILLED, HERRING,
CALIFORNIA and a second yr. GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL.

Once in Vernon we headed for Swan Lake. An ominous sky looked promising for
BLACK SWIFT but we had to work for that bird. After about an hour of
scanning one appeared low overhead..Tim's 700th ABA bird and my work was
done. Congrats to Tim for hitting this formidable landmark. As we scanned
for swifts we noted many raptors including TURKEY VULTURE, GOLDEN EAGLE,
BALD EAGLE, SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, RED-TAILED HAWK, SWAINSON'S HAWK and a huge
surprise...a BROAD-WINGED HAWK!! Before the bird disappeared I noted the
pale underwing outlined in black, the broad black and white bands on the
tail and the bird's overall smaller size and quicker wingbeats. What a great
bird. On L & A Cross Road we picked up a LONG-BILLED CURLEW as it flew
overhead calling loudly.

Here's our list:

Common Loon
Red-necked Grebe
Eared Grebe
Western Grebe
Great Blue Heron
Turkey Vulture
Canada Goose
Gadwall
Mallard
Blue-winged Teal
Cinnamon Teal
Northern Shoveler
Green-winged Teal
Redhead
Lesser Scaup
Bufflehead
Barrow's Goldeneye
Hooded Merganser
Ruddy Duck
Osprey
Bald Eagle
Sharp-shinned Hawk
BROAD-WINGED HAWK
Swainson's Hawk
Red-tailed Hawk
Golden Eagle
American Kestrel
Ring-necked Pheasant
California Quail
Sora
American Coot
Killdeer
American Avocet
Spotted Sandpiper
Long-billed Curlew
Pectoral Sandpiper
Wilson's Snipe
Wilson's Phalarope
Ring-billed Gull
California Gull
Herring Gull
Glaucous-winged Gull
Black Tern
Rock Pigeon
Mourning Dove
Black Swift
Vaux's Swift
White-throated Swift
Calliope Hummingbird
Rufous Hummingbird
Belted Kingfisher
Lewis's Woodpecker
Red-naped Sapsucker
Hairy Woodpecker
Three-toed Woodpecker
Northern Flicker
Pileated Woodpecker
Olive-sided Flycatcher
Western Wood-Pewee
Hammond's Flycatcher
Dusky Flycatcher
Pacific-slope Flycatcher
Say's Phoebe
Western Kingbird
Cassin's Vireo
Warbling Vireo
Gray Jay
Black-billed Magpie
American Crow
Common Raven
Tree Swallow
Violet-green Swallow
N. Rough-winged Swallow
Bank Swallow
Cliff Swallow
Barn Swallow
Black-capped Chickadee
Mountain Chickadee
Chestnut-backed Chickadee
Boreal Chickadee
Red-breasted Nuthatch
House Wren
Winter Wren
Marsh Wren
Golden-crowned Kinglet
Ruby-crowned Kinglet
Western Bluebird
Townsend's Solitaire
Veery
Swainson's Thrush
Hermit Thrush
American Robin
Varied Thrush
Gray Catbird
Cedar Waxwing
Orange-crowned Warbler
Nashville Warbler
Yellow Warbler
Yellow-rumped Warbler
Townsend's Warbler
Northern Waterthrush
MacGillivray's Warbler
Common Yellowthroat
Wilson's Warbler
Western Tanager
Spotted Towhee
Chipping Sparrow
Clay-colored Sparrow
Vesper Sparrow
Savannah Sparrow
Fox Sparrow
Song Sparrow
Lincoln's Sparrow
White-crowned Sparrow
Dark-eyed Junco
Lazuli Bunting
Red-winged Blackbird
Western Meadowlark
Yellow-headed Blackbird
Brewer's Blackbird
Brown-headed Cowbird
Bullock's Oriole
Pine Grosbeak
Cassin's Finch
House Finch
Pine Siskin
American Goldfinch
House Sparrow

129 species...an awesome day.

Chris Charlesworth
Avocet Tours
725 Richards Road
Kelowna, BC
V1X 2X5
(250) 718-0335
c_charlesworth at avocettours.com
www.avocettours.com

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