This is Wayne Weber with Nature Vancouver's Rare Bird Alert for Monday, July
27th, 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 and a singing INDIGO BUNTING, present from
at least July 22 to 27, near the intersection of 176th Street and Barnston
Way in Surrey.


Sightings for Monday, July 27th

The INDIGO BUNTING was seen again near 176th Street and Barnston Way in
Surrey, as were 2 LAZULI BUNTINGS.


Sightings for Sunday, July 26th

The male INDIGO BUNTING and a LAZULI BUNTING were seen again by several
observers near 176th Street and Barnston Way in Surrey.

The WESTERN SCRUB-JAY was seen again in the 21900 block of Lougheed Highway
in Maple Ridge. Also here were 11 COMMON NIGHTHAWKS and a BLACK SWIFT.
Several more BLACK SWIFTS were seen near 144th Street and 104th Avenue in
Surrey.

Four GRAY-CROWNED ROSY FINCHES were seen again at the same location on Mount
Seymour in North Vancouver.


Sightings for Saturday, July 25th

Two GRAY-CROWNED ROSY FINCHES were seen near a small snow patch on Mount
Seymour in North Vancouver.


Sightings for Friday, July 24th

The INDIGO BUNTING was seen again near 176th Street and Barnston Way in
Surrey.

In North Vancouver, two RED-EYED VIREOS and a BARRED OWL were seen at the
Maplewood Conservation Area.


Sightings for Thursday, July 23rd

The INDIGO BUNTING was seen again near 176th Street and Barnston Way in
Surrey.

Five BULLOCK'S ORIOLES and an EASTERN KINGBIRD were seen at Colony Farm
Regional Park in Port Coquitlam.


Sightings for Wednesday, July 22nd

A male INDIGO BUNTING was found in a large vacant lot near the intersection
of 176th Street and Barnston Way (just north of Highway 1) in Surrey, and
was singing persistently. A pair of LAZULI BUNTINGS were also in the area
and were believed to be nesting.


Sightings for Tuesday, July 21st

Shorebirds seen at Blackie Spit in Surrey included 200 BLACK-BELLIED
PLOVERS, a LONG-BILLED CURLEW, 2 WHIMBRELS, a SANDERLING, 10 DUNLIN, 11
SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS, and 200 WESTERN SANDPIPERS.


There were no reports for Monday, July 20th


Sightings for Sunday, July 19th

Eight EASTERN KINGBIRDS, including a pair with 3 fledged young, were seen at
Colony Farm Regional Park in Port Coquitlam.


Sightings for Saturday, July 18th

The first HEERMANN'S GULL of the season was seen from a BC ferry off the
Sandheads light at the mouth of the Fraser River.

At Blackie Spit Park in Surrey, birds seen included 5 SHORT-BILLED
DOWITCHERS,
8 CASPIAN TERNS, a MOURNING DOVE, and numerous PURPLE MARTINS around
the nest boxes.

Several MERLINS, perhaps consisting of adults and young fledged nearby, were
seen near 20th Street and St. Georges Avenue in North Vancouver.


There were no reports for Friday, July 17th


Sightings for Thursday, July 16th

Fifteen MARBLED MURRELETS, a very high number for this now-rare species,
were seen at Porteau Cove Provincial Park on Highway 99 north of
Horseshoe Bay.

A GREEN HERON was seen along Hayward Street below the Ruskin Dam,
and a singing GRAY CATBIRD at the west foot of Donatelli Street near
the Fraser River, both in the Ruskin area east of Vancouver.


Sightings for Wednesday, July 15th

Six BLACK TURNSTONES at the Tsawwassen ferry terminal in Delta were the
first
report of the fall migration.


Sightings for Tuesday, July 14th

The WILLET at the base of the Tsaw3wassen ferry terminal in Delta, which has
wintered there for more than a decade, was seen for the first time since
May.


Sightings for Monday, July 13th

A HOUSE WREN was reported from the Bowen Island lookout in Cypress
Provincial
Park, West Vancouver, a very unusual locality.


There were no reports for Sunday, July 12th


Sightings for Saturday, July 11th

Six COMMON NIGHTHAWKS, a high number for the Vancouver area, were
seen at McLean Park, in Port Coquitlam near Prairie Avenue and Coast
Meridian Road. Another COMMON NIGHTHAWK was seen at Horseshoe Bay.
This species is now rare in the Vancouver area.


Sightings for Friday, July 10th

Two LAZULI BUNTINGS and a MOURNING DOVE were seen at the Northview
Golf Course on 168th Street in Surrey.


Sightings for Thursday, July 9th

A WESTERN SCRUB-JAY is being seen regularly in the 21900 block of Lougheed
Highway in Maple Ridge. This is one of fewer than 10 records for BC. The
bird
May have been present since May, but at first was not identified with
certainty.

An early SEMIPALMATED PLOVER and many other shorebirds were seen at the
Beach Grove Lagoon in Delta, near the east foot of 12th Avenue on Boundary
Bay.

Four MERLINS, presumably a family group, were seen near 17th Avenue and
131st
Street in the Ocean Park area of Surrey.


There were no sightings for Wednesday, July 8th


Sightings for Tuesday, July 7th

Just outside the Vancouver area, several birds of interest were seen near
the US/
Canada border south of Abbotsford. These include a pair of WESTERN KINGBIRDS
at Zero Avenue and 288th Street; a CHIPPING SPARROW at the south end of
Clearbrook
Road; a EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE at the south end of Gladwin Road; a HOUSE
WREN
at 4th Avenue and Riverside Road; and a BARRED OWL in Aldergrove Lake
Regional Park in Langley.


Sightings for Monday, July 6th

Many EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES, including at least one juvenile which was
photographed, were seen along 96th Street just south of Highway 99 in
Delta.


Sightings for Sunday, July 5th

Three VIRGINIA RAILS-- an adult and two juveniles-- were seen in the west
marsh at Jericho Park in Vancouver.


Sightings for Saturday, July 4th

Two EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES were seen along 104th Street south of Highway
99 in Delta, and a GREAT HORNED OWL was at Ladner Harbour Park, also in
Delta.


Sightings for Friday, July 3rd

A pair of EURASIAN WIGEON, extremely unusual in summer, were seen in a ditch
just
west of 112th Street in Delta.

At least 500 WESTERN SANDPIPERS were seen near Brunswick Point, at the west
end of River Road in Delta.



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