Subject: [Tweeters] BC birding
Date: Nov 22 20:19:38 2004
From: Dennis Paulson - nettasmith at comcast.net


Hello, tweets.

This is a belated report of a few birds from this weekend.

Netta and I saw a Barn Swallow at Boundary Bay on 11/20, quite a
surprise to see it flying around above a swooping flock of Dunlins.

At Harrison Hot Springs, on the shore of Harrison Lake, Eileen Bryant
found two Snow Buntings on 11/20, and we saw them on 11/21. A male and
a female, the male was so pale it looked as they usually do later in
the winter when their brown feather tips are wearing off to give them
their black and white breeding plumage. They were very tame, allowing
pointblank photography. If anyone plans to go up there, they were on
the walk around the circular lagoon at the lake shore.

At the Harrison River north of highway 7 there were only dozens of Bald
Eagles during our visit on 11/21, but hundreds are present now; we
arrived at a low point, as people on the other side of the river had
scared many of them away. The high count was around 800. The river is
more flooded than I've ever seen it, so no sand bars near the road,
where we used to see many eagles. The eagles were viewable at the
Trapadero RV park on the road up the west side of the river, but this
was the Eagle Festival weekend, and I don't know if that private
settlement is always open to the public. You can also get to the river
at Kilby Park, to the south of the highway, and there we saw dead chum,
coho, and chinook salmon on the shore as well as a variety of birds.
Thousands of Glaucous-winged and Mew gulls are present, with a few
hybrid, Herring, and Thayer's, and it would be worth scanning the gulls
at length. The river is full of waterfowl, and both kinds of swans are
in the area. Harrison Lake is beautiful and full of dippers and
waterfowl.

Just a plug for our neighbour to the north.

Dennis
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Dennis Paulson & Netta Smith
1724 NE 98 St.
Seattle, WA 98115
206-528-1382