This is Wayne Weber with Nature Vancouver's Rare Bird Alert for Wednesday,
October 6th, 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 phone the main number again
at (604) 737-3074, press "2" for the rare bird reporting line, and follow
the instructions given there.



Our apologies for incorrect days of the week for several dates on the last
RBA message; I must have been half asleep when I sent that out. The actual
dates are all correct, and the errors have been corrected in this week's
message.





RARE BIRD ALERT for 6 CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS in North Vancouver on October 6th;
a TROPICAL KINGBIRD at the Reifel Bird Sanctuary on October 5th; a WESTERN
SCRUB-JAY in the 21900 block of the Lougheed Highway in Maple Ridge, which
has been present now for more than a year, and for two other WESTERN
SCRUB-JAYS, one on September 30th at Blackie Spit, and one on October 1st at
Cecil Green Park near the University of BC; and finally for a LARK SPARROW,
one of very few Vancouver records, which was present from September 26th to
October 1st at Colony Farm Regional Park in Coquitlam.







Sightings for Wednesday, October 6th



In North Vancouver, 6 CLARK'S NUTCRACKERS and 10 GRAY-CROWNED ROSY-FINCHES
were reportedly seen on Coliseum and Burwell Mountains.



Birds seen on Westham Island in Delta, near the Reifel Bird Sanctuary,
included 23 SANDHILL CRANES, 2 MUTE SWANS, and 2 EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES.



A late CASSIN'S VIREO was at the Maplewood Conservation Area in North
Vancouver.



Three RHINOCEROS AUKLETS were off Lighthouse Marine Park in Point Roberts,
WA.



A late SWAINSON'S THRUSH was in the Walnut Grove area of Langley.





Sightings for Tuesday, October 5th



A TROPICAL KINGBIRD was seen and photographed by several observers along the
centre dike at the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta. Also there were 2
juvenile SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPERS and about 2500 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS in
the West Field, and 19 SANDHILL CRANES nearby.





Sightings for Monday, October 4th



A SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER appeared again at the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in
Delta, with a flock of 1400 LONG-BILLED and 3 SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS.



A CLAY-COLOURED SPARROW was noted at the Iona Island sewage ponds in
Richmond.





Sightings for Sunday, October 3rd



A SWAMP SPARROW seen along the pouter dyke at the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in
Delta was the first of the fall. 28 SANDHILL CRANES were seen nearby.



Twelve EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES were seen near the railway bridge on Lynn
Creek in North Vancouver. Although reported as Ringed Turtle-Doves, they are
much more likely to have been Collared-Doves.





Sightings for Saturday, October 2nd



A SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER was seen with dowitchers in the West Field at the
Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta. Elsewhere in Delta, near the foot of 96th
Street on Boundary Bay, noteworthy shorebirds included 3 AMERICAN
GOLDEN-PLOVERS, 4 RED KNOTS, a RUDDY TURNSTONE, and a MARBLED GODWIT.





Sightings for Friday, October 1st



The LARK SPARROW at Colony Farm Regional Park in Coquitlam was last reported
on this date.



The long-staying WESTERN SCRUB-JAY in the 21900 block of the Lougheed
Highway in Maple Ridge was reported again. Another WESWTERN SCRUB-JAY
appeared at Cecil Green Park on the University of BC campus in Vancouver, as
did a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW and a late YELLOW WARBLER.





Sightings for Thursday, September 30th



The LARK SPARROW was present again at Colony Farm Park in Coquitlam, as was
the first NORTHERN SHRIKE of the fall.



A WESTERN SCRUB-JAY was seen and photographed at Blackie Spit in Surrey, for
only about the 7th record for BC and Canada.



A FRANKLIN'S GULL was seen at Garry Point on the southwest corner of Lulu
Island in Richmond.



Two late WESTERN TANAGERS were seen at Watershed Park in Delta.



A WHITE-THROATED SPARROW was seen at Terra Nova Park on Lulu Island,
Richmond.

Also in Richmond, 5 WESTERN MEADOWLARKS were at Iona Island.



A RED KNOT and 2 PACIFIC GOLDEN-PLOVERS were seen with other shorebirds near
the foot of 96th Street on Boundary Bay, Delta.



A TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, rare in fall, was seen at Burnaby Mountain in
Burnaby





Sightings for Wednesday, September 29th



The LARK SPARROW was seen for the fourth consecutive day at Colony Farm
Regional Park, near the intersection of the Mundy Creek and Sheep Paddock
Trails.



SNOW GEESE arrived en masse, with 1000 present at the Reifel Bird Sanctuary
in Delta. Also there were an astounding 4500 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS.



A WHITE-THROATED SPARROW appeared at Cecil Green Park on the University of
BC campus, Vancouver.



At the foot of 96th Street in Delta were 27 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE and
a very late N. ROUGH-WINGED SWALLOW.





Sightings for Tuesday, September 28th



The LARK SPARROW was seen again and photographed at Colony Farm Regional
Park.



In the Tsawwassen area of Delta, 40 southbound SNOW GEESE were seen flying
overhead.





Sightings for Monday, September 27th



The LARK SPARROW at Colony Farm Regional Park was seen again by several
observers.



At the University of BC in Vancouver, 2 VESPER SPARROWS, a very rare
transient, were seen near the Buchanan Building.





Sightings for Sunday, September 26th



A LARK SPARROW, one of very few records for Vancouver, was discovered on the
Coquitlam side of Colony Farm Regional Park, near the junction of the Mundy
Creek and Sheep Paddock Trails.



A flock of 25 SANDHILL CRANES near Crescent Slough in Delta, and a flock of
23 seen later the same day near Brunswick Point, may or may not have been
the same birds.





Sightings for Saturday, September 25th



A LONG-EARED OWL and an INDIGO BUNTING were captured in nets at the Colony
Farm banding station. The bunting was a male which had previously been
captured and banded during the summer.



At Iona Island, a LAPLAND LONGSPUR and 3 PARASITIC JAEGERS were seen along
the South Jetty.



Eight SANDHILL CRANES and more than 200 AMERICAN PIPITS were at Brunswick
Point in Delta.





Sightings for Friday, September 24th



An AMERICAN BITTERN was seen at Iona Island, Richmond.



Four PARASITIC JAEGERS were at Point Roberts, WA



Birds seen along the Tsawwassen ferry jetty in Delta included a RUDDY
TURNSTONE,

a SURFBIRD, and a WILLET.



At White Rock, 5 SNOW GEESE, the first of the fall, were seen on the beach.









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