This is Wayne Weber with Nature Vancouver's Rare Bird Alert for Thursday,
December 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.



I apologize for the long gap in updates of this Rare Bird Alert. The reason
is that I was in hospital for most of November, at first waiting for, and
then recuperating from, coronary bypass surgery which took place on November
15th. We did not have a "backup" person to update the RBA, a situation which
we will try to rectify ASAP. Thank you for your patience, and we will make
every effort to update the RBA at least 3-4 times per month from now on.





RARE BIRD ALERT for up to 18 SNOWY OWLS at and near the foot of 72nd Street
on Boundary Bay in Delta, with scattered individuals elsewhere; a TROPICAL
KINGBIRD along 96th Street in Delta, last seen there on November 27th; and a
CAVE SWALLOW, the first for BC, at Iona Island from November 11th to 18th,
but not seen since.



OUT-OF-TOWN RARE BIRD ALERT for a CITRINE WAGTAIL near Courtenay, BC, only
the second for North America, found on November 14th and still being seen
somewhat regularly through December 5th. For updates on this bird, please
check the Vancouver Island e-mail group at
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/BCVIBIRDS . Also on Vancouver Island, near
Victoria, up to 22 BROWN PELICANS have been present for more than a week in
the Victoria Inner Harbour, and a BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER has been seen near
the Swan Lake Nature Centre from October through December 5th.





Sightings for Thursday, December 6th



A SNOWY OWL was found at Elgin Heritage Park in Surrey, as were 8 RED
CROSSBILLS and 6 EVENING GROSBEAKS.





Sightings for Wednesday, December 5th



Four REDHEADS (three males and a female), rare at any time in the Vancouver
and Abbotsford areas, were seen at Willband Park in Abbotsford.





Sightings for Tuesday, December 4th



At least 60 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS were seen along the Boundary Bay dike
east of the foot of 64th Street in Delta.





Sightings for Monday, December 3rd



Birds observed at the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta included 2 female PINE
GROSBEAKS along the East Dike trail, 9 SANDHILL CRANES, and 3 BLACK-CROWNED
NIGHT-HERONS. The latter two species are seen on a daily basis at Reifel.





Sightings for Sunday, December 2nd



The immature GOSHAWK was noted again at the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta,
as were 8 COMMON REDPOLLS and up to 5 NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWLS.





Sightings for Saturday, December 1st



The adult NORTHERN GOSHAWK was reported again from the Maplewood
Conservation Area in North Vancouver.





Sightings for Thursday, November 29th



Another SNOWY OWL was photographed near Broughton and Haro Streets in the
West End of Vancouver.





Sightings for Wednesday, November 28th



Twenty COMMON REDPOLLS were seen near the Piper Road spit on the north side
of Burnaby Lake in Burnaby.





Sightings for Tuesday, November 27th



The TROPICAL KINGBIRD on 96th Street near Boundary Bay was last seen and
photographed on this date.





Sightings for Monday, November 26th



A NORTHERN GOSHAWK was seen at the Reifel Bird Sanctuary and a GOLDEN EAGLE
at the foot of 72nd Street, both in Delta.





Sightings for Sunday, November 25th



The TROPICAL KINGBIRD was seen again along 96th Street south of Hornby Drive
in Delta, north of Boundary Bay. Not far away, at the foot of 72nd Street,
up to 19 SHORT-EARED OWLS, 14 SNOWY OWLS, an AMERICAN BITTERN, 2
ORANGE-CROWNED and 3 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, and 75 AMERICAN PIPITS were
seen.



Two SNOW BUNTINGS appeared at Blackie Spit in Surrey.



Three GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE and 3 CACKLING GEESE were in Lost Lagoon
in Vancouver's Stanley Park.



A COMMON REDPOLL was seen with PINE SISKINS at the Maplewood Conservation
Area in North Vancouver.





Sightings for Saturday, November 24th



Birds seen at Iona Island in Richmond included a GRAY-CROWNED ROSY FINCH, a
HORNED LARK, 5 BARN SWALLOWS, and 3 WESTERN MEADOWLARKS.



A SWAMP SPARROW was found by two observers at the Maplewood Conservation
Area in North Vancouver.



Birds noted in the Pitt Meadows area included 30 EURASIAN COLLARED-DOVES on
McKechnie Road, 12 WESTERN MEADOWLARKS on Hale Road, and 2 AMERICAN KESTRELS
on Thompson and Neaves Roads.





Sightings for Thursday, November 22nd



A total of 18 SNOWY OWLS-- about half of the high count for last winter--
could be seen along the Boundary Bay shoreline from the foot of 72nd Street
in Delta. Also here were at least 6 SHORT-EARED OWLS, and an AMERICAN
KESTREL, locally rare, was near the intersection of 96th Street and Hornby
Drive in Delta.





Sightings for Tuesday, November 20th



The CLIFF SWALLOW and 5 BARN SWALLOWS continued to be seen over the outer
pond at Iona Island in Richmond.



An adult NORTHERN GOSHAWK, possibly the same one present last winter, was
observed at the Maplewood Conservation Area in North Vancouver.



Another SNOWY OWL was reported, this one from Price Street, on the north
edge of Deer Lake Park in Burnaby.





Sightings for Monday, November 19th



The 5 BARN SWALLOWS at Iona Island in Richmond were accompanied on this date
by a CLIFF SWALLOW, instead of the CAVE SWALLOW which had been there for
most of the previous week. Both the CAVE SWALLOW and today's CLIFF SWALLOW
were well documented by photos.





Sightings for Sunday, November 18th



The CAVE SWALLOW, first reported on November 11th, was last seen on this
date over the outer pond at Iona Island in Richmond, accompanied by 5 BARN
SWALLOWS.





Sightings for Saturday, November 17th



A SNOWY OWL appeared in North Vancouver, on Strathaven Drive near the Mount
Seymour Parkway.





Sightings for Friday, November 16th



The TROPICAL KINGBIRD, present for several weeks along the north side of
Boundary Bay in Delta, was seen along 96th Street south of Hornby Drive.



Five BARN SWALLOWS were over the outer pond at Iona Island in Richmond, and
a SNOW BUNTING was seen along the Iona Island South Jetty.





Sightings for Thursday, November 15th



Four SNOWY OWLS, 3 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, and a flock of 550 TRUMPETER
SWANS were reported, all in the vicinity of 34th Street in West Delta.







For a summary of extremely rare bird sightings throughout British Columbia,
check "British Columbia Bird Alert" by Russell Cannings and others 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