This is the Vancouver Natural History Society's Rare Bird Alert for
Tuesday, April 26, sponsored in part by the Wild Birds Unlimited
stores in Vancouver and North Vancouver. This message was
updated at 9 AM, April 27. The RBA phone number is (604) 737-3074.

RARE BIRD ALERT: The BAIKAL TEAL near Kent, WA,
present since mid-December, has not been reported since April 19. For
further updates on this bird, please phone the Washington State
RBA at (206) 281-9172, or check the TWEETERS E-mail group.


Sightings for Tuesday, April 26

At Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver, the first CASSIN'S VIREO
of the year was reported, along with a HUTTON'S VIREO and a BARRED
OWL.

Another CASSIN'S VIREO was seen at Burnaby Mountain Park in
Burnaby near the Horizons Restaurant, as were a TOWNSEND'S
SOLITAIRE and 4 RED CROSSBILLS.

A WILSON'S WARBLER and many RED CROSSBILLS were near Lost
Lagoon in Vancouver's Stanley Park.

At Beach Grove Lagoon, at the east end of 12th Avenue in Delta, were
12 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS.


Sightings for Monday, April 25

Five PURPLE MARTINS were at Blackie Spit in Surrey.

Many migrant songbirds were at Burnaby Mountain Park, including two
first-of-year WESTERN TANAGERS, two TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRES,
A NASHVILLE WARBLER, a WILSON'S WARBLER, and at least 150
YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS.

A pair of BLUE-WINGED TEAL were seen in Pitt Meadows along Rannie
Road near Pitt Lake, and a pair of CINNAMON TEAL were in a field east
of Neaves Road and south of the North Alouette River.

A BAIRD'S SANDPIPER, also a first for the year, was at Iona Island
in Richmond, as were 40 SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS and
Hundreds of LEAST SANDPIPERS. Other shorebirds of note
included a SEMIPALMATED PLOVER near the base of the Roberts Bank
Jetty in Delta, and at least 300 SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS near
the foot of 96th Street on Boundary Bay in Delta.

At Maplewood Conservation Area in North Vancouver were at least
30 RED CROSSBILLS, plus a TOWNSEND'S WARBLER and 3
BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS.


Sightings for Sunday, April 24

At Point Roberts, Washington, a very early OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER
was seen near the cemetery at the east end of APA Road, near Lily Point.
Also at Point Roberts, off Lighthouse Marine Park, were 8 RHINOCEROS
AUKLETS, 4 MARBLED MURRELETS, and at least 8 HARBOR
PORPOISES.

In the Boundary Bay area of Delta, sightings included a SANDHILL
CRANE in flight along 72nd Street; 2 HERMIT THRUSHES, 50
YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, and 10 ORANGE-CROWNED
WARBLERS in the wooded area north of the Boundary Bay airport; 2
CINNAMON TEAL near the foot of 64th Street; 24 GREATER
WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, 4 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, and
many other shorebirds near the foot of 96th Street; and a TOWNSEND'S
SOLITAIRE and nesting GREAT HORNED OWLS at Beach Grove Park.

A SOLITARY SANDPIPER was still at Iona Island, as were 3 BLUE-
WINGED TEAL, the year's first, and 2 LESSER YELLOWLEGS.

At Queen Elizabeth Park were a very early WESTERN WOOD-PEWEE,
2 HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHERS, and a PACIFIC-SLOPE
FLYCATCHER.

At the Tsawwassen ferry jetty in Delta were 24 CASPIAN TERNS and a
RHINOCEROS AUKLET.

Four VAUX'S SWIFTS seen near 3rd Avenue and 8th Street in New
Westminster were the first of the spring.

At the Maplewood Conservation Area in North Vancouver were a NASHVILLE
WARBLER, 4 OSPREYS, and 17 PURPLE MARTINS.


Sightings for Saturday, April 23

At Burnaby Mountain Park in Burnaby, numerous migrants were seen
including the first-of-year NASHVILLE WARBLER and MACGILLIVRAY'S
WARBLER, 4 TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRES, a HAMMOND'S FLYCATCHER,
an OSPREY, and a TURKEY VULTURE.

Birds were thin in Vancouver's Queen Elizabeth Park, but did include single
HAMMOND'S and PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHERS and 2 HUTTON'S
VIREOS.

In West Vancouver, a pair of GREEN HERONS were nesting on the island
in the duck pond at Ambleside Park, and several BLUE GROUSE were
heard hooting in Cypress Provincial Park.

At the Iona Island sewage ponds in Richmond were a SOLITARY SANDPIPER
and 8 CINNAMON TEAL.

An out-of-place YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD was at the pond in
Vanier Park in Vancouver, and an OSPREY was seen along the Pitt River
near DeBouville Slough in Coquitlam.


Sightings for Friday, April 22

At Point Roberts in Washington, 2 RHINOCEROS AUKLETS were seen
off Lighthouse Marine Park, a BLACK OYSTERCATCHER and 61 BLACK TURNSTONES
along the south beach just east of the marina, and a
HUTTON'S VIREO was singing near Lily Point.

The first PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER of the spring appeared in South
Surrey.


Sightings for Thursday, April 21

A LONG-BILLED CURLEW was seen at Iona Island on the flats just
north of the South Jetty, and another LONG-BILLED CURLEW was seen
in a field in Pitt Meadows, east of Neaves Road and south of the North
Alouette River.


Sightings for Wednesday, April 20

At Maplewood Conservation Area in North Vancouver, 3 PURPLE
MARTINS and a BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER were seen.





If you have any questions about birds or birding in the Vancouver area,
please call Wayne at (604) 597-7201, Viveka at 531-3401, or Larry at
465-1402. Thank you for calling the Vancouver Rare Bird Alert, and good
birding.



For further information about birding in the Vancouver area, log onto
the Vancouver Natural History Society's website at
http://www.naturalhistory.bc.ca/VNHS/


This message was recorded, transcribed, and distributed by Wayne Weber
for the Vancouver Natural History Society.

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