This is Wayne Weber with Nature Vancouver's Rare Bird Alert for Wednesday,
November 30th, 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.





This has become a major SNOWY OWL flight year, with reports of up to 14
birds near the foot of 72nd Street on Boundary Bay, plus 5 or 6 more in the
Brunswick Point area of Delta. Birders and photographers are asked to
observe SNOWY OWLS from a respectful distance, to make an effort not to
flush or frighten off the owls, and to speak to anyone who appears to be
crowding an owl too much.





RARE BIRD ALERT for a male PAINTED BUNTING in West Vancouver, last seen on
November 23, and SNOWY OWLS at numerous localities in the area.





Sightings for Wednesday, November 30th



Three COMMON REDPOLLS were with a flock of PINE SISKINS at Burnaby Mountain
Park in Burnaby.



Another COMMON REDPOLL was heard flying overhead in the Lynn Valley district
of North Vancouver, and 35 EVENING GROSBEAKS were also seen in the area.





Sightings for Tuesday, November 29th



Another GYRFALCON was seen hunting waterfowl at Serpentine Fen WMA in
Surrey, and along 140th Street, just across Highway 99. A flock of 63
EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES was also at the north end of 140th Street, and 30
CACKLING GEESE were nearby along 40th Avenue (Mud Bay Road).



In Delta, a very late SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHER was seen in a field with other
shorebirds near 88th Street at Highway 10.





Sightings for Monday, November 28th



Ten SNOWY OWLS were reported in Delta along Boundary Bay between 72nd and
88th Streets.





Sightings for Friday, November 25th



A large flock of birds off Point Grey in Vancouver, visible with a spotting
scope from Cecil Green Park on the UBC campus, included 600 COMMON MURRES,
20 MARBLED MURRELETS, 5 ANCIENT MURRELETS, and a RHINOCEROS AUKLET. Nearby
at Jericho Park was another MARBLED MURRELET and a VIRGINIA RAIL in the
marsh.



Birds noted at the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta included two BLACK-CROWNED
NIGHT-HERONS, 7 SANDHILL CRANES, 2 SNOWY OWLS, 3 VIRGINIA RAILS, and 3
EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES. Nearby at Brunswick Point were 4 more SNOWY OWLS.



A NORTHERN SHRIKE and 2 WESTERN MEADOWLARKS were at Boundary Bay Regional
Park in Delta.





Sightings for Wednesday, November 23rd



The PAINTED BUNTING which has been coming to a feeder near Lighthouse Park
in West Vancouver was last reported on this date.



A blue-phase SNOW GOOSE was seen at the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta.





Sightings for Tuesday, November 22nd



Another SNOWY OWL was found in Vancouver, along the 3300 block of 28th
Avenue west of Dunbar Street.





Sightings for Monday, November 21st



A GYRFALCON and two AMERICAN BITTERNS were seen along the west dyke of Lulu
Island near Blundell Road in Richmond.





Sightings for Sunday, November 20th



The PAINTED BUNTING was still being seen at a feeder in West Vancouver, and
a WESTERN GULL was at Ambleside Park, also in West Vancouver.





Sightings for Saturday, November 19th



The adult male PAINTED BUNTING was still coming regularly to a feeder near
Lighthouse Park in West Vancouver.



At least 4 SNOWY OWLS were being seen along the Boundary Bay shoreline in
Delta between 64th and 72nd Streets, as were 5 or more SHORT-EARED OWLS. Two
AMERICAN TREE SPARROWS were seen along the dyke east of 72nd Street, and a
COMMON REDPOLL was briefly seen at the foot of 72nd.



Large flocks of shorebirds could be seen at high tide in fields along 64th
and 72nd Streets in Delta, which included some late stragglers: a
SEMIPALMATED PLOVER and a PACIFIC GOLDEN-PLOVER near the intersection of
64th Street and 28th Avenue, and two immature SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS in
different localities.





Sightings for Friday, November 18th



The PAINTED BUNTING was coming regularly to a feeder in West Vancouver.



A WESTERN TANAGER at Cecil Green Park on the University of BC campus in
Vancouver was extremely late.



Fourteen SNOW BUNTINGS, the largest flock reported yet, were on the south
side of the Tsawwassen ferry jetty in Delta.





Sightings for Thursday, November 17th



A male PAINTED BUNTING, extremely rare anywhere in BC, was first reported in
West Vancouver near Lighthouse Park.





Sightings for Wednesday, November 16th



An AMERICAN TREE SPARROW was seen with other sparrows along the Boundary Bay
dyke just east of 72nd Street in Delta.



Another COMMON REDPOLL was reported from the Walnut Grove area of Langley,
near 204th Street and 92nd Avenue.





Sightings for Tuesday, November 15th



Five MARBLED MURRELETS were seen again from Klootchman Park in West
Vancouver.



Birds of note seen at Point Roberts, WA included a SNOWY OWL, 70 BRANT, 13
BRANDT'S CORMORANTS, and a EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVE (rare at Point Roberts).



On Mud Bay Road (40th Avenue) in Surrey were a flock of 40 BROWN-HEADED
COWBIRDS and a late YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER.





Sightings for Sunday, November 13th



One SNOWY OWL was seen at the end of the short Sea Island west jetty in
Richmond, viewable with a scope from the gravel parking area at the NW
corner of Sea Island. A COMMON REDPOLL flew over the base of the Iona Island
jetty.



Three RHINOCEROS AUKLETS and 4 MARBLED MURRELETS were seen from Klootchman
Park in West Vancouver. At the Maplewood Conservation Area in North
Vancouver, an AMERICAN DIPPER was seen at the mouth of McCartney Creek, and
a BLACK OYSTERCATCHER along the shoreline.



At Brunswick Point in Delta, another SNOWY OWL was found, and 2 SNOW
BUNTINGS were on the Tsawwassen ferry jetty, also in Delta.





For a summary of extremely rare bird sightings throughout British Columbia,
check "British Columbia Bird Alert" by Russell Cannings at
<http://bcbirdalert.blogspot.com> http://bcbirdalert.blogspot.com .





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>
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

<mailto:contopus at telus.net> contopus at telus.net