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.





RARE BIRD ALERT for 2 BLACK-NECKED STILTS and 2 AMERICAN AVOCETS in
Chilliwack on May 11; a BAR-TAILED GODWIT at 96th Street on Boundary Bay
from May 8-10; a BLACK PHOEBE at Everett Crowley Park in Vancouver on May 8
and 9; a possible LITTLE STINT in Chilliwack on May 4; and single WESTERN
SCRUB-JAYS, both present for months, in Maple Ridge and at Terra Nova Park
in Richmond.





Sightings for Wednesday, May 11th



At Blaine, WA, at least 80 COMMON TERNS and 50 CASPIAN TERNS were seen
around the marina on Semiahmoo Spit.



In the Chilliwack area, 2 BLACK-NECKED STILTS and 2 AMERICAN AVOCETS, both
extremely rare migrants, and a PECTORAL SANDPIPER, not quite so rare, were
found along Gibson Road near Prairie Central Road. Not far away, along
Chilliwack Central Road near Annis Road, the FOY (first of year) WILSON's
PHALAROPE and RED-NECKED PHALAROPE were seen in wet fields, as were a
SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER and a SOLITARY SANDPIPER.



The Hope Airport just west of Hope continued to produce rare birds,
including 3 VESPER SPARROWS, 8 DUSKY FLYCATCHERS, and a CALLIOPE
HUMMINGBIRD.





Sightings for Tuesday, May 10th



The BAR-TAILED GODWIT near the foot of 96th Street in Delta, first seen on
May 8th, was found again and photographed. One PACIFIC GOLDEN-PLOVER was
still in a field on Westham Island in Delta.



The long-staying WESTERN SCRUB-JAY was reported for the first time in a
while from Terra Nova Park in Richmond.



Two female PURPLE MARTINS and two YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS were at Iona
Island in Richmond.





Sightings for Monday, May 9th



A GREEN HERON was seen at Jericho Park in Vancouver, and another one at the
Maplewood Conservation Area in North Vancouver.



The BLACK PHOEBE was still present at Everett Crowley Park in Vancouver.



Two CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRDS were seen near the Hope Airport.





Sightings for Sunday, May 8th



A BLACK PHOEBE, the second one this spring, was seen and photographed near
Avalon Pond in Everett Crowley Park in Vancouver.



A BAR-TAILED GODWIT, almost unknown in spring, was reported from near the
foot of 96th Street in Delta.



Fourteen GRAY-CROWNED ROSY-FINCHES on Burnaby Mountain in Burnaby were very
unusual, as were two more on Sheridan Hill in Pitt Meadows.



Fifty WHIMBREL from fields along 8th Avenue east of 176th Street in Surrey,
a regular spring location, were the first report from that spot this year.
Meanwhile, 2 LONG-BILLED CURLEWS appeared near the north end of Hale Road in
Pitt Meadows. A GREEN HERON was reported from Surrey Lake Park in Surrey.



This was the last day for the WHITE-THROATED SPARROW on Bowser Avenue in
North Vancouver.



At the Hope airport, a LEWIS'S WOODPECKER, 2 VESPER SPARROWS and 12
TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRES were of interest.





Sightings for Saturday, May 7th



Four PACIFIC GOLDEN-PLOVERS seen with BLACK-BELLIED PLOVERS on Westham
Island, near the entrance to the Reifel Bird Sanctuary, were a rare spring
report.





Sightings for Friday, May 6th



A MARBLED GODWIT at Beach Grove in Delta and 2 NASHVILLE WARBLERS at
Belcarra were notable for the Vancouver area. At the Hope airport, which is
now getting almost daily coverage, the highlights were a CALLIOPE
HUMMINGBIRD and 20 (!) TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRES.





Sightings for Thursday, May 5th



At Joe Brown Park in Surrey, a DUSKY FLYCATCHER was the highlight of a small
fallout of migrants. Another DUSKY FLYCATCHER and 6 NASHVILLE WARBLERS were
noted near the Hope airport.



Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver produced a high count of 7 TOWNSEND'S
SOLITAIRES and the FOY OLIVE-SIDED FLYCATCHER, and a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW
on Bowser Avenue in North Vancouver was noteworthy.





Sightings for Wednesday, May 4th



Around Vancouver, a WESTERN TANAGER at Cecil Green Park and 2 WESTERN
WOOD-PEWEES near the Maplewood Conservation Area were FOY (first-of-year)
reports.



At Harrison Hot Springs, a VESPER SPARROW, 2 YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRDS, a
WHITE-THROATED SPARROW, and 15 TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRES were all noteworthy.



A bird believed to be a LITTLE STINT was seen in Chilliwack, near the
intersection of Annis and Chilliwack Central Roads, but could not be
confirmed.





Sightings for Tuesday, May 3rd



A SOLITARY SANDPIPER along Prairie Central Road near Gibson Road in
Chilliwack was the only sighting of note, other than the long-staying
WESTERN SCRUB-JAY in Maple Ridge, now present in that area for almost a
year.





Sightings for Monday, May 2nd



Another NASHVILLE WARBLER was at Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver.



A late immature GLAUCOUS GULL was seen along Luckakuck Way in Chilliwack.



At the Hope airport, a VESPER SPARROW, 2 MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS, and an amazing
25 TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRES were noteworthy.





Sightings for Sunday, May 1st



A NASHVILLE WARBLER and 3 TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRES was reported from the
Maplewood Conservation Area in North Vancouver; 2 more solitaires were at
Burnaby Mountain Park in Burnaby. A further 2 NASHVILLE WARBLERS and 8
TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRES were at the Hope Airport just west of Hope.



In the Chilliwack area, a SOLITARY SANDPIPER on Maguire Road and a
YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD on Gibson Road were noteworthy.



At Blackie Spit in Surrey, the first PURPLE MARTIN for the spring at that
colony was reported.







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