This is Wayne Weber with Nature Vancouver's Rare Bird Alert for Tuesday,
August 25th, sponsored in part by Wild Birds Unlimited, with stores in
Vancouver and North Vancouver. The RBA telephone number is (604) 737-3074.

If you wish to leave a rare bird report, please press the star button at the
end of this message to go back to the menu, press "2" for the rare bird
reporting line, and follow the instructions given there.


RARE BIRD ALERT for a WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, probably present since May, on the
Lougheed Highway in Maple Ridge.


No sightings reported for Tuesday, August 25th


Sightings for Monday, August 24th

A BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER, a very rare fall migrant, was seen at a distance
on the turf farm on the west side of 72nd Street in Delta. Nearby, at the
foot of 96th Street, two RED KNOTS and a WESTERN KINGBIRD were seen.

A RED-NECKED PHALAROPE and a NASHVILLE WARBLER were seen at the Reifel Bird
Sanctuary in Delta.


Sightings for Sunday, August 23rd

A flock of 36 SURFBIRDS was seen with other shorebirds near the tip of
the Iona Island south jetty in Richmond. Other shorebirds of interest
included
a MARBLED GODWIT and a LONG-BILLED CURLEW at Blackie Spit in Surrey,
and another MARBLED GODWIT, a RED KNOT, and a RUDDY TURNSTONE
near the foot of 96th on Boundary Bay in Delta.

Bird seen near the pier at White Rock included 2 COMMON TERNS, 200
BONAPARTE'S GULLS, and 2 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES.


Sightings for Saturday, August 22nd

The WESTERN SCRUB-JAY was seen again in the 21900 block of Lougheed
Highway in Maple Ridge.

A GRAY CATBIRD was banded at the Colony Farm banding station in
Port Coquitlam.

A RED-NECKED PHALAROPE was at the Beach Grove lagoon on the west side of
Boundary Bay in Delta, and a SOLITARY SANDPIPER was seen again at Elgin
Heritage Park in Surrey.


Sightings for Friday, August 21st

Five BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS and a BANK SWALLOW were reported from Iona
Island in Richmond.

A juvenile STILT SANDPIPER and a GREEN HERON were at Elgin Heritage Park
in Surrey.

A WESTERN KINGBIRD was at the foot of 96th Street in Delta.


Sightings for Thursday, August 20th

Near the foot of 96th Street on Boundary Bay in Delta were many shorebirds
including two RED KNOTS, a STILT SANDPIPER, a RUDDY TURNSTONE, and
two unseasonable DUNLIN.

At the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta were a STILT SANDPIPER, 6 SEMIPALMATED
SANDPIPERS, a RED-NECKED PHALAROPE and 3 SANDHILL CRANES. Nearby,
3 early PACIFIC GOLDEN-PLOVERS were reported from fields near River Road
and 34th Street in Delta.


Sightings for Wednesday, August 19th

An ASH-THROATED FLYCATCHER, very rare anywhere in B.C., was seen and
photographed near the main parking area at Serpentine Fen in Surrey, and
an OSPREY at the same locality was also noteworthy.

At the Maplewood Conservation Area in North Vancouver, a NORTHERN
WATERTHRUSH was a rare migrant.


Sightings for Tuesday, August 18th

Birds seen at the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta included a STILT SANDPIPER,
4 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES, and a GREEN HERON.

A CHIPPING SPARROW at Burnaby Mountain Park in Burnaby was a rare
species for the area.

The two SOLITARY SANDPIPERS were again at Elgin Heritage Park in Surrey,
along with 4 other shorebird species.


Sightings for Monday, August 17th

Two SOLITARY SANDPIPERS were seen at the pond at Elgin Heritage Park, on
Crescent Road in Surrey.


Sightings for Sunday, August 16th

The WESTERN SCRUB-JAY was seen again in the 21900 block of the Lougheed
Highway in Maple Ridge.

At least 7 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES and 40 LESSER YELLOWLEGS were seen
at the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta. Also in Delta, near the foot of 96th
Street on Boundary Bay, were a SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER, 3 PECTORAL
SANDPIPERS, 20 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, and 3 LONG-BILLED CURLEWS.

Four BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS and an OSPREY were seen along the Tsawwassen
Ferry jetty.

At Iona Island in Richmond, on the west side of the SW sewage pond, a HOUSE
WREN appeared to be feeding nestlings, for a rare and very late breeding
record.

At Deer Lake in Burnaby were 27 PURPLE MARTINS, 2 OSPREYS, and 5 HOODED
MERGANSERS, among a total of 43 species.

A GRAY-CROWNED ROSY FINCH was seen from the Peak Chairlift near the top of
Whistler Mountain at Whistler.


Sightings for Saturday, August 15th

Three EASTERN KINGBIRDS and three late BULLOCK'S ORIOLES were at
Colony Farm Park in Port Coquitlam.

Near Agassiz, 24 TURKEY VULTURES were seen feeding on salmon
carcasses along the Fraser River.


Sightings for Friday, August 14th

A HOUSE WREN at the Iona Island sewage ponds in Richmond was unusual.
Also here were a BANK SWALLOW, 3 PECTORAL SANDPIPERS, and 4 BAIRD'S
SANDPIPERS.

A RED KNOT was seen with about 2000 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS near the foot
of 96th Street in Delta, and the MARBLED GODWIT and LONG-BILLED CURLEW
were seen again at Blackie Spit in Surrey.


Sightings for Thursday, August 13th

A juvenile FRANKLIN'S GULL was reported from Iona Island in Richmond.

A GREEN HERON and 6 EASTERN KINGBIRDS were at Colony Farm Park in
Port Coquitlam.


Sightings for Wednesday, August 12th

A MARBLED MURRELET in Burrard Inlet off the Maplewood Conservation Area
In North Vancouver was unusual, an indication of this species' decline in
recent
years.


Sightings for Tuesday, August 11th

A LONG-BILLED CURLEW and a MARBLED GODWIT had returned to Blackie Spit
in Surrey, presumably for the winter. Also in Surrey, 2 GREEN HERONS were at
a
pond near 148th Street and 104th Avenue.

The pair of EURASIAN WIGEON were seen again in the slough west of 112th
Street in Delta.

The WESTERN SCRUB-JAY was seen again in the 21900 block of the Lougheed
Highway in Maple Ridge. It seems to be seen most often there in the
early evening.

A GREEN HERON was at Jericho Park in Vancouver, and a BAIRD'S SANDPIPER
at the Maplewood Conservation Area in North Vancouver


Sightings for Sunday, August 9th

A WHITE-TAILED PTARMIGAN and 2 SOOTY GROUSE were seen on a hike to the
top of Mount Cheam near Chilliwack.

The first PARASITIC JAEGER of the fall was seen from a ferry off the mouth
of the
Fraser River.




A brief account of 31 of the best birding locations in the
Vancouver area can be found on the Nature Vancouver website at
http://www.naturevancouver.ca/Birding_Birding_Sites



If you have any questions about birds or birding in the Vancouver
area, please call Wayne at 604-597-7201, Viveka at 604-531-3401, or
Larry at 604-465-1402.

Thank you for calling the Vancouver Rare Bird Alert, and good birding.


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