This is Wayne Weber with Nature Vancouver's Rare Bird Alert for Thursday,
September 3rd, 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; a BLACK TERN near the White Rock pier; two
LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS at the Maplewood Conservation Area in North Vancouver; a
VESPER SPARROW at the Iona Island sewage ponds in Richmond, and a WANDERING
TATTLER at the Iona south jetty tip, and out of town on August 29th, a BROWN
BOOBY seen on August 29th from Tower Point west of Victoria.


Sightings for Thursday, September 3rd

Two LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS and 11 VAUX'S SWIFTS were at the Maplewood
Conservation Area in North Vancouver.

The BLACK TERN was seen near the White Rock pier for the fourth day in a
row.

Birds noted at the Iona Island sewage ponds in Richmond included the VESPER
SPARROW, a YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD, and 5 BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS.


Sightings for Wednesday, September 2nd

The BLACK TERN at White Rock and the two LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS at Maplewood
were both seen again.

In Richmond, the VESPER SPARROW was still at the Iona Island sewage ponds,
and 5 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES and 2 RHINOCEROS AUKLETS were near the tip of
the south jetty.

Other birds of note included a SOLITARY SANDPIPER at the Elgin Heritage Park
pond in Surrey, 3 MUTE SWANS near the Westham Island bridge in Delta, and a
BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON, 2 BANK SWALLOWS, and 3 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES at
the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta.


Sightings for Tuesday, September 1st

The two LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS were at the Maplewood Conservation Area again.

The BLACK TERN and a PARASITIC JAEGER were seen near the White Rock pier in
White Rock.

A WANDERING TATTLER was photographed at the tip of the Iona Island south
Jetty in Richmond.

This was the last reported date for the HUDSONIAN GODWIT at the Reifel Bird
Sanctuary in Delta.


Sightings for Monday, August 31st

At White Rock, a BLACK TERN was seen with Common Terns just east of the
White Rock pier.

Two LEWIS'S WOODPECKERS, a very rare migrant, were seen at the Maplewood
Conservation Area in North Vancouver.

Birds seen at the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta included the lingering
HUDSONIAN GODWIT, 2 RED-NECKED PHALAROPES, and 9 SANDHILL CRANES.


Sightings for Sunday, August 30th

The HUDSONIAN GODWIT was present again at the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in
Delta. Elsewhere, a rare summering RED-THROATED LOON was seen off White
Rock, and a COMMON NIGHTHAWK was at the railway yards in Port Coquitlam.


Sightings for Saturday, August 29th

On Vancouver Island, a BROWN BOOBY, only the second record for B.C., was
reported offshore from Tower Point west of Victoria.

A dark-phase NORTHERN FULMAR was reported from a ferry a short distance off
the Tsawwassen ferry jetty in Delta.

Birds reported from the foot of 96th Street in Delta included 6 RED KNOTS, a
BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPER, a MARBLED GODWIT, and 50 BAIRD'S SANDPIPERS.


Sightings for Friday, August 28th

The HUDSONIAN GODWIT was seen again and photographed in the West Field at
the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta.

A VESPER SPARROW was found at the Iona Island sewage ponds in Richmond.

Near the foot of 96th Street on Boundary Bay in Delta, a BUFF-BREASTED
SANDPIPER, a MARBLED GODWIT, and 3 RED KNOTS were seen with many other
shorebirds.

A SOLITARY SANDPIPER was at Elgin Heritage Park in Surrey, and a MARBLED
GODWIT and 2 LONG-BILLED CURLEWS were at nearby Blackie Spit.

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



Sightings for Thursday, August 27th

A STILT SANDPIPER, a HUDSONIAN GODWIT, and a BANK SWALLOW were reported from
the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta.

An AMERICAN BITTERN was seen in the NW marsh at Iona Island in Richmond.


Sightings for Wednesday, August 26th

The WESTERN SCRUB-JAY was seen again in the 21900 block of 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.

Birds 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.



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