This is Wayne Weber with the Vancouver Natural History Society's
Rare Bird Alert for Sunday, December 4, 2005, sponsored in part by
the Wild Birds Unlimited stores in Vancouver and North Vancouver.
This message was updated at 2 PM on December 5th.
The RBA phone number is 604-737-3074.


RARE BIRD ALERT for a KING EIDER.


Sightings for Sunday, December 4

At the foot of 72nd Street on Boundary Bay in Delta, birds seen included
3 SNOWY OWLS, a first or second-year GLAUCOUS GULL, a
WESTERN MEADOWLARK, and 4 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS.

A male REDHEAD was seen in a pond just east of the Maritime Museum
in Vancouver.

At White Rock, about 20 LONG-TAILED DUCKS and hundreds of RUDDY
DUCKS were seen offshore near the pier.


Sightings for Saturday, December 3

The immature male KING EIDER was relocated about 3 PM off Ferguson
Point on the west side of Vancouver's Stanley Park. If you cannot find
the bird here, check SURF SCOTER flocks elsewhere along the English
Bay shoreline at such places as Kitsilano Beach or Spanish Banks in
Vancouver, or the foot of 25th Street in West Vancouver.


Sightings for Friday, December 2

Not far outside the Vancouver area, a FLAMMULATED OWL died after
hitting a window in Sardis, in the Chilliwack area. This is believed to
be the first coastal record of this species in BC, and the latest fall
record or, if you prefer, the first winter record.

In the vicinity of the town pier in White Rock, 6 EARED GREBES, 22
LONG-TAILED DUCKS, an adult WESTERN GULL, and a WILLET
were seen. Not far away, a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE was reported
from near the intersection of Martin Road and Prospect in White Rock.

At the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta, up to 4 SNOWY OWLS are being
seen, with one or more of them occasionally being seen across the
Fraser River at Garry Point in Richmond. Four BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-
HERONS, 2 adults and 2 immatures, are also being seen
daily, as are two NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS.


Sightings for Thursday, December 1, 2005

The second-year male KING EIDER was seen about noon today off West
Spanish Banks in Vancouver, for the first sighting in almost 2 weeks. It
was seen from the last parking lot before the road goes up the hill toward
The University of BC. If you cannot find the bird here, check SURF SCOTER
flocks elsewhere along the English Bay shoreline at such places as Kitsilano
Beach or the west side of Stanley Park in Vancouver, or the foot of 25th
Street in West Vancouver.

At the foot of 72nd Street on the Boundary Bay shoreline in Delta, 3
SNOWY OWLS, a SHORT-EARED OWL, 4 YELLOW-RUMPED
WARBLERS, and a NORTHERN SHRIKE were seen.


Sightings for Wednesday, November 30

At the foot of 72nd Street in Delta, 5 SNOWY OWLS, 3 SHORT-EARED OWLS,
and a first- or second-year GLAUCOUS GULL were reported.

Another SNOWY OWL was present all day on a building at 13700 International
Place in Richmond, near the intersection of No. 6 Road and Westminster
Highway.


Sightings for Tuesday, November 29

At the Maplewood Conservation Area in North Vancouver, a RING-NECKED
DUCK and a LESSER YELLOWLEGS were reported.

In the Ladner area of Delta, a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE was
seen in a field near Highway 17, just south of the Massey Tunnel.


Sightings for Monday, November 28

A search for SNOWY OWLS turned up a total of 6 birds-- 2 near the foot
of 72nd and 2 near the foot of 64th Street in Delta, one at Brunswick
Point in Delta, and one more on the west side of Sea Island in Richmond.
Also of interest was an AMERICAN BITTERN at Brunswick Point.

Near the base of the Roberts Bank jetty in Delta, an ORANGE-CROWNED
WARBLER was seen.


Sightings for Sunday, November 27

A BOHEMIAN WAXWING was present for much of the day near the SW
corner of the Maplewood Conservation Area in North Vancouver.

One SNOWY OWL was seen near the foot of 72nd Street on Boundary
Bay in Delta, another was partway out the Tsawwassen ferry jetty, and
a third was seen perched on a house in the 5700 block of 132A Street
in the Panorama Ridge section of Surrey.

Other birds seen near the foot of 72nd Street included a GLAUCOUS GULL, 8
SHORT-EARED OWLS, 12 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, 4 WESTERN
MEADOWLARKS, an AMERICAN KESTREL, and 2 BARN OWLS. 3
MARBLED GODWITS were seen near the foot of 104th Street, and a
pair of GREAT HORNED OWLS were hooting at Delta's Beach Grove
Park.

At the Tsawwassen Jetty in Delta, a HORNED LARK, a SNOW BUNTING,
a WILLET, and 4 BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS were seen.

In West Vancouver, several SURFBIRDS were seen on the Grebe Islet off
Lighthouse Park, and an ANNA'S HUMMINGBIRDS in the Caulfield area.


Sightings for Saturday, November 26

An AMERICAN AVOCET was present at the mouth of the Serpentine River on
Mud Bay in Surrey, and a late WILSON'S WARBLER was seen in the hedgerow
along 72nd Street in Delta.


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/


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