This is Wayne Weber with Nature Vancouver's Rare Bird Alert for Saturday,
March 31st, 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 is a major SNOWY OWL flight year, with recent reports of up to 18 birds
near the foot of 72nd Street on Boundary Bay, plus several more in the
Brunswick Point area of Delta. Birders and photographers are asked to
observe SNOWY OWLS from a respectful distance, and to make every effort not
to flush or frighten off the owls. At least some of these owls are expected
to remain into early or mid-April.



RARE BIRD ALERT for SNOWY OWLS at numerous localities, especially along
Boundary Bay and at Brunswick Point in Delta.



Out-of-town RARE BIRD ALERT for a HOARY REDPOLL seen at the Hope Airport,
just west of Hope, with 52 COMMON REDPOLLS on March 17th.







Sightings for Saturday, March 31st



Three MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS and a NORTHERN SHRIKE were seen at Colony Farm
Regional Park in Port Coquitlam.



A EURASIAN GREEN-WINGED TEAL seen near the south end of Green Lake in
Whistler, on Highway 99 north of Vancouver, was believed to be the first
ever for that area.





Sightings for Thursday, March 29th



The immature GYRFALCON which had been seen near Highway 17 in Delta was
reported today along 33A Avenue east of 34th Street in Delta.





Sightings for Wednesday, March 28th



Another EURASIAN GREEN-WINGED TEAL, present for several weeks, was seen in
the Beach Grove lagoon at the north end of Boundary Bay Regional Park in
Delta.





Sightings for Tuesday, March 27th



The drake EURASIAN GREEN-WINGED TEAL was seen again at the foot of Piper
Road on Burnaby Lake in Burnaby, as was a hybrid EURASIAN x AMERICAN
GREEN-WINGED TEAL, about 150 VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS, and 50 TREE SWALLOWS.



A male MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD was seen along the airport fence near the west end
of Ferguson Road on Sea Island, Richmond.





Sightings for Monday, March 26th



At Colony Farm Regional Park, on the Port Coquitlam side near Shaughnessy
Street, were a SORA, 2 VIRGINIA RAILS, and 2 COMMON REDPOLLS.



Two SANDHILL CRANES were near the north end of 224th Street in Maple Ridge,
an area where they have attempted to breed in the past.





Sightings for Sunday, March 25th



A GYRFALCON, probably a different one than the bird being seen in West
Delta, was photographed along the north side of Boundary Bay in Delta.





Sightings for Saturday, March 24th



The NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD present for some time in Squamish was still being
seen in the 37900 block of 3rd Avenue, about a block from the public
library.



The GYRFALCON in Delta was seen again, this time along 41B Street south of
Deltaport Way.

Also in Delta, at least 18 SNOWY OWLS were counted along the Boundary Bay
dyke west of 72nd Street.



The EURASIAN GREEN-WINGED TEAL was still present at the foot of Piper Road
on Burnaby Lake in Burnaby.



At the racetrack in Vancouver's Hastings Park, 2 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED
GEESE, 5 CACKLING GEESE, and an out-of-place SNOW GOOSE were feeding on the
grass with CANADA GEESE.





Sightings for Friday, March 23rd



The GYRFALCON was perched on a power pylon north of Highway 17 and east of
52nd Street in Delta. Also in Delta, 12 SNOWY OWLS were seen at the foot of
52nd Street, and a WILLET and 4 BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS were seen near the base
of the Tsawwassen ferry jetty.





Sightings for Thursday, March 22nd



The drake EURASIAN GREEN-WINGED TEAL was still present near the foot of
Piper Road on Burnaby Lake in Burnaby. A flock of 20 COMMON REDPOLLS and an
early RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD were present nearby at the Burnaby Lake Nature
House.



A SNOWY OWL was seen in flight near 55th Avenue and Victoria Drive in
Vancouver, perhaps a sign that the owls are starting to migrate back to the
Arctic.





Sightings for Tuesday, March 20th



The immature GYRFALCON was seen again near the intersection of 56th Street
and Highway 17 in Delta.



The SAY'S PHOEBE was seen for the fifth consecutive day near the Shadbolt
Centre at Deer Lake Park in Burnaby.





Sightings for Monday, March 19th



Thirty EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES, a YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, and the continuing
pair of CINNAMON TEAL were at Serpentine Fen WMA in Surrey.



In Delta, the winter-resident WILLET was noted again near the base of the
Tsawwassen ferry jetty.



In Burnaby, the SAY'S PHOEBE was seen for a surprising fourth day in a row
in Deer Lake Park near the Shadbolt Centre.





Sightings for Sunday, March 18th



At the Maplewood Conservation Area in North Vancouver were an adult NORTHERN
GOSHAWK and 2 COMMON REDPOLLS.



Another 14 COMMON REDPOLLS were still at Deas Island Park in Delta.



The SAY'S PHOEBE was still present at the Shadbolt Centre in Deer Lake Park,
Burnaby, where it was flycatching from the building itself. At Piper Road on
nearby Burnaby Lake, the male EURASIAN GREEN-WINGED TEAL was still there.





Sightings for Saturday, March 17th



The SAY'S PHOEBE was seen again at the Shadbolt Centre and at nearby Deer
Lake in Burnaby's Deer Lake Park.



Twenty COMMON REDPOLLS were seen at Terra Nova Park in Richmond, and another
10 were at Deas Island Park in Delta. Also at Deas Island Park was a RUFOUS
HUMMINGBIRD, and 17 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE were in nearby fields.



Four RED CROSSBILLS were at Ambleside Park in West Vancouver, and 8 more
were with 500 PINE SISKINS along Millstream Road in the British Properties
area of West Vancouver.



Four BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS and 3 SANDHILL CRANES were still present at
the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta.



At Serpentine Fen WMA in Surrey, a pair of CINNAMON TEAL had arrived, and a
BARRED OWL (!) was seen in the small barn there.



A HOARY REDPOLL was reported with 52 COMMON REDPOLLS at the Hope Airport
just west of Hope, BC, where a HOARY REDPOLL was also noted on February
28th.



Twenty SNOWY OWLS were still present near the foot of 72nd Street on
Boundary Bay, where they have been ever since last November.





Sightings for Friday, March 16th



A SAY'S PHOEBE, the second one of the spring, was seen by two observers
along the north side of Deer Lake in Burnaby.





Sightings for Thursday, March 15th



Eighteen SNOWY OWLS and 2 WESTERN MEADOWLARKS were seen near the foot of
72nd Street on Boundary Bay in Delta.





Sightings for Wednesday, March 14th



A flock of 35 COMMON REDPOLLS was seen at the Alaksen National Wildlife Area
in Delta, and another one was seen with PINE SISKINS in the 3600 block of
Shaughnessy Street in Port Coquitlam.





Sightings for Tuesday, March 13th



Two PINE GROSBEAKS were seen in North Vancouver near the Larson Elementary
School.



The male EURASIAN GREEN-WINGED TEAL, present for weeks, was reported again
from the Beach Grove Lagoon on Boundary Bay Regional Park, Delta.





Sightings for Monday, March 12th



The first RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD of the spring was reported in North Burnaby.





Sightings for Sunday, March 11th



The SAY'S PHOEBE was seen again at the Maplewood Conservation Area in North
Vancouver, as was a wintering SPOTTED SANDPIPER.



A NORTHERN MOCKINGBIRD was reported from the intersection of 4th Avenue and
Victoria Street in Squamish, where it has been present for several weeks.



At the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta were 2 BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERONS, 3
SANDHILL CRANES, and at least 40 swallows, all of which appeared to be
VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS. Nearby were 5 MUTE SWANS near the Canoe Pass bridge
onto Westham Island (on the way to Reifel), plus at least 40 male EURASIAN
WIGEON in a small wigeon flock at Deltaport Way and 41B Street.





Sightings for Saturday, March 10th



A SAY'S PHOEBE was seen and photographed at the Maplewood Conservation Area
in North Vancouver, and an adult NORTHERN GOSHAWK was also there.



Three TURKEY VULTURES were reported along 72nd Street in Delta, south of
Highway 10.







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 Weber at 604-597-7201, Larry Cowan at 604-465-1402, or
Viveka Ohman 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