This is Wayne Weber with Nature Vancouver's Rare Bird Alert for Thursday,
December 24th, 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 last May, in
the 21900 block of the Lougheed Highway in Maple Ridge, and a ROCK WREN on
December 5 at Point Roberts, WA.

Another WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, the first for the Sunshine Coast region, was
present from mid-November at least through December 24th along Gower Point
Road near Kelly Road in Gibsons.


Sightings for Thursday, December 24th

A LINCOLN'S SPARROW, a CEDAR WAXWING, and 10 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS were
seen near the foot of 64th Street in Delta, and 2 SAVANNAH SPARROWS along
64th near 34B Avenue.

The WESTERN SCRUB-JAY was still being seen along Gower Point Road in
Gibsons.


Sightings for Wednesday, December 23rd

The Maplewood Conservation Area in North Vancouver produced a SNOW GOOSE and
a SPOTTED SANDPIPER, both unusual in that area.

In Langley, a NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL was found at night along 208th Street
near 102B Avenue.


No sightings reported for December 21st or 22nd


Sightings for Sunday, December 20th

Foul weather resulted in a total of only 115 species on the Vancouver
Christmas Bird Count, the lowest in at least 30 years, with no unusual
species reported. The Squamish Christmas Bird Count ion the same day tallied
58 species, also very low.


Sightings for Saturday, December 19th

A NORTHERN PYGMY-OWL was seen at the parking area for the Grouse Mountain
Skyride in North Vancouver, and a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE was seen at an
undisclosed location in Burnaby.


Sightings for Friday, December 18th

The WESTERN SCRUB-JAY was still being seen in Maple Ridge.

An AMERICAN BITTERN was seen on the north side of Burnaby Lake in Burnaby.

A WESTERN SCREECH-OWL, increasingly rare in the Vancouver area, was reported
from Walnut Grove Park in Langley.


Sightings for Thursday, December 17th

The Christmas Bird Count at Pemberton recorded a respectable 55 species,
including 5 CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS and 2 BEWICK'S WRENS, both unusual in that
area.


Sightings for Wednesday, December 16th

The Christmas Bird Count at Whistler, north of Vancouver, tallied a very low
37 species, but 3 WHITE-TAILED PTARMIGAN seen right in town were unusual.


Sightings for Tuesday, December 15th

The WESTERN SCRUB-JAY was seen again on Gower Point Road in Gibsons.


No sightings reported for December 13th or 14th


Sightings for Saturday, December 12th

The WESTERN SCRUB-JAY which has been present since May was still being seen
in the 21900 block of the Lougheed Highway in Maple Ridge. Coincidentally,
another WESTERN SCRUB-JAY, reportedly present for up to a month, was
confirmed near the intersection of Gower Point Road and Kelly Road in
Gibsons, a first record for the Sunshine Coast.


No sightings reported for December 11th


Sightings for Thursday, December 10th

A GOLDEN EAGLE was seen and photographed along 112th Street south of Highway
99 in Delta. Nearby, on 88th Street, a GYRFALCON was observed.


Sightings for Wednesday, December 9th

An immature GYRFALCON was seen along 104th Street in Delta, near Boundary
Bay.

A TOWNSEND'S WARBLER, rare in winter, was seen in the 2100 block of 28th
Street in West Vancouver.


Sightings for Tuesday, December 8th

A SPOTTED SANDPIPER, rare in winter, was reported from the Maplewood
Conservation Area in North Vancouver.

Three different GYRFALCONS were seen along the north side of Boundary Bay in
Delta.


Sightings for Monday, December 7th

Two SANDHILL CRANES were seen on the airstrip north of the campground at
Lighthouse Marine Park in Point Roberts, Washington, a very unusual
location.

The BARN SWALLOW was seen again today at the Alaksen National Wildlife Area
in Delta.


Sightings for Sunday, December 6th

An immature GYRFALCON was seen near the foot of 64th Street on Boundary Bay
in Delta, and killed a duck. Nearby were 3 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, rare in
winter.


Sightings for Saturday, December 5th

A ROCK WREN at Lighthouse Marine Park in Point Roberts, Washington was very
unusual and a first record for Point Roberts.


Sightings for Friday, December 4th

A flock of 16 SURFBIRDS and 40 BLACK TURNSTONES was seen on the east side of
Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver, and an AMERICAN DIPPER was in Capilano
Canyon there.

The 5 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE were still present along the English Bay
shoreline north of the Burrard Bridge in Vancouver.

A late BARN SWALLOW and 2 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS were seen at the Alaksen
National Wildlife Area in Delta.


No sightings reported for Thursday, December 3rd


Sightings for Wednesday, December 2nd

Bird seen at Mount Seymour Provincial Park in North Vancouver included a
BOHEMIAN WAXWING, 6 PINE GROSBEAKS, 2 WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS, 50 RED
CROSSBILLS, and an AMERICAN DIPPER (!) in a roadside ditch near the sand
shed.

A TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE and 4 RED CROSSBILLS were reported from the Maplewood
Conservation Area in North Vancouver.

Twenty BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS on the beach near the mouth of Cypress Creek in
West Vancouver was a high number.


Sightings for Tuesday, December 1st

Four PINE GROSBEAKS were seen along the Hollyburn trail in Cypress
Provincial Park, West Vancouver. Also, the PINE GROSBEAK in Vancouver's
Queen Elizabeth Park was seen for the fourth time in five days.

A LONG-BILLED CURLEW and 9 MARBLED GODWITS were on the east side of Blackie
Spit in Surrey.

The GYRFALCON was again on the tower west of the foot of 96th Street in
Delta, where it has been quite regular since November 1.



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