This is Wayne Weber with Nature Vancouver's Rare Bird Alert for Tuesday,
April 19th, 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.



We regret the long gap since the last update of the Vancouver RBA. This
resulted from my absence from the area from March 11 to 28, and from the
abrupt and totally unnecessary termination of the BCVANBIRDS e-mail group,
which wiped out the source of most of the sightings reported here. With the
establishment of a new e-mail group to replace BCVANBIRDS, hopefully we will
now have enough sightings to make the RBA worthwhile.





RARE BIRD ALERT for a SAGE THRASHER at Harrison Hot Springs on April 18 and
19; a FERRUGINOUS HAWK just east of Chilliwack on April 15 and 16; a
possible BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIORD at Cecil Green Park in Vancouver on
April 17; an UPLAND SANDPIPER at Iona Island on April 12; and three
long-staying WESTERN SCRUB-JAYS in Vancouver, one in the 2700 block of
Cambridge and two on the west side of Strathcona Park.







Sightings for Tuesday, April 19th



The SAGE THRASHER found yesterday at the boat launch parking area in
Harrison Hot Springs was still present, and a PRAIRIE FALCON was reported
flying north at this location.



Two MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS were seen along 88th Street on the north side of
Boundary Bay in Delta.





Sightings for Monday, April 18th



A SAGE THRASHER, a very rare vagrant on the southern BC coast, was found and
photographed at the boat launch parking area at the east end of Harrison Hot
Springs. This is the same location where several GRAY-CROWNED ROSY FINCHES
were seen repeatedly during the winter.



Birds seen on the Boundary Bay shoreline near the foot of 96th Street
included 30 SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS, the first of the spring, and 300
WESTERN SANDPIPERS.



The first PACIFIC-SLOPE FLYCATCHER of the year was reported from Camosun Bog
in Pacific Spirit Park, Vancouver.



Birds of interest from the Hope airport area, just west of Hope, BC included
a TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE, a SAY'S PHOEBE, and a late NORTHERN SHRIKE.





Sightings for Sunday, April 17th



A bird believed to be a male BLACK-CHINNED HUMMINGBIRD was seen at Cecil
Green Park on the University of BC campus, but could not be relocated later.



Two WHIMBRELS, at least 15 CASPIAN TERNS, and an EARED GREBE were seen in
the vicinity of the marina at Blaine, WA.





Sightings for Saturday, April 16th



The FERRUGINOUS HAWK just east of Chilliwack was still present, but flew off
to the east about 10 AM and could not be relocated.



13 MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS, a high number, were seen on the east side of Colony
Farm Regional Park in Port Coquitlam.



Twelve WHIMBRELS and two MARBLED GODWITS were seen on the tideflats just
south of the marina at Blaine, WA.



Two GRAY-CROWNED ROSY FINCHES were well described from Keats Island in Howe
Sound, a very unusual location.





Sightings for Friday, April 15th



A FERRUGINOUS HAWK was seen and photographed late in the day near the
intersection of Gibson Road and Chilliwack Central Road, a few km E of
Chilliwack, BC. This is one of fewer than 30 records for BC, and the first
ever west of the Cascades.



A single GRAY-CROWNED ROSY FINCH was seen on the north side of Iona Island
in Richmond.



At the Maplewood Conservation Area in Richmond, spring migrants included a
male MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD and 2 HERMIT THRUSHES. Eight more MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS
were seen at Boundary Bay Regional Park in Delta.





Sightings for Thursday, April 14th



A SAY'S PHOEBE, a rare spring migrant, was seen and photographed at Iona
Island in Richmond.



Another visit to 5the airport near Hope, BC produced a LONG-BILLED CURLEW,
18 MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS, 2 SAY'S PHOEBES, and 2 late NORTHERN SHRIKES. In the
Chilliwack area, a total of 40 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS at 2 locations were
unusual.





Sightings for Wednesday, April 13th



A flock of 10 LONG-BILLED CURLEWS, probably the largest flock ever seen in
the Vancouver area, was seen and photographed on the tideflats at the
Maplewood Conservation Area in North Vancouver.



A small flock of 5 GRAY-CROWNED ROSY FINCHES was seen and photographed along
the south shore of False Creek in Vancouver, east of Granville Island.



An OSPREY at Grant Narrows Park on Pitt Lake was the first one reported
there this year.





Sightings for Tuesday, April 12th



An UPLAND SANDPIPER was reportedly heard flying overhead at Iona Island in
Richmond, but was not seen. This is an extremely rare migrant anywhere west
of the Cascades, and may be the first spring migration record for Vancouver.
A HORNED LARK was also seen on Iona Island, and two LONG-BILLED CURLEWS on
the NW corner of nearby Sea Island.



Near the foot of 96th Street in Delta, shorebirds seen included a
LONG-BILLED CURLEW and 20 WESTERN SANDPIPERS, the latter being the first of
the year.



At the base of the Tsawwassen ferry jetty in Delta were the wintering WILLET
and a male EURASIAN GREEN-WINGED TEAL.



An OSPREY near 144th Street and 104th Avenue in Surrey was apparently the
first of the year, 10 days later than normal.



In Pitt Meadows, 30 BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS in as field of wet corn stubble at
the north end of Hale Road were highly unusual for that area.



At the Hope airport just west of Hope, BC, 100 km east of Vancouver,
noteworthy migrants included a male WESTERN BLUEBIRD, 7 WESTERN BLUEBIRDS, 2
SAY'S PHOEBES, 12 TURKEY VULTURES, and a late NORTHERN SHRIKE.





Sightings for Monday, April 11th



Three BONAPARTE'S GULLS at Boundary Bay Regional Park in Delta were the
first local sighting, and a MARBLED GODWIT was also there. Two CASPIAN TERNS
were at Brunswick Point in Delta.



A WESTERN SCRUB-JAY was seen in the 2700 block of Cambridge in Vancouver,
where it was last seen about 3 months ago.







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, Larry at 604-465-1402, or Viveka at
604-531-3401.



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





Wayne C. Weber

Delta, BC

contopus at telus.net