This is Wayne Weber with Nature Vancouver's Rare Bird Alert for Saturday,
December 22nd, 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 up to 23 SNOWY OWLS at and near the foot of 64th and
72nd Streets on Boundary Bay in Delta, with scattered individuals elsewhere;
a SAGE THRASHER along the Boundary Bay dike just east of 64th Street, found
on December 9th and probably still present; and an adult LITTLE GULL seen
from Ambleside Park in West Vancouver on December 21st and 22nd.



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 20th. 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 month in
the Victoria Inner Harbour, continuing through December 22nd.





Sightings for Saturday, December 22nd



The adult LITTLE GULL was seen again with BONAPARTE'S GULLS, flying back and
forth between Ambleside Park in West Vancouver and Siwash Rock in
Vancouver's Stanley Park.





Sightings from Friday, December 21st



An adult LITTLE GULL was seen with up to 60 BONAPARTE'S GULLS off Ambleside
Park in West Vancouver.





Sightings for Thursday, December 20th



Two wintering TOWNSEND'S WARBLERS were reported: one near the Commercial
Drive Skytrain station in Vancouver, and another in the 3000 block of
Spuraway Avenue in Coquitlam.





Sightings for Wednesday, December 19th



The SAGE THRASHER was still being seen just east of the foot of 64th Street
in Delta.





Sightings for Tuesday, December 18th



The BULLOCK'S ORIOLE on Champlain Crescent in Vancouver was seen and
photographed again.



In Burnaby, a male TOWNSEND'S WARBLER was coming to a feeder in the 5500
block of Monarch Street in Burnaby.





Sightings for Sunday, December 16th



The Vancouver Christmas Bird Count recorded 133 species, including 11
WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS at Burnaby Lake, and a TOWNSEND'S WARBLER at nearby
Warner Loat Park;

a CLAY-COLOURED SPARROW in West Vancouver; a BULLOCK'S ORIOLE at a feeder on
Champlain Drive in Vancouver; a HARRIS'S SPARROW on No. 6 Road in Richmond;
and other species including ANCIENT MURRELET, GLAUCOUS GULL, and NORTHERN
WATERTHRUSH in various localities.



The SAGE THRASHER was still present along the Boundary Bay dike just east of
the foot of 64th Street in Delta.





Sightings for Saturday, December 15th



The SAGE THRASHER was still near the foot of 64th Street in Delta, and a
drake MALLARD x GADWALL was seen at Iona Island in Richmond.



At Squamish, north of Vancouver on Highway 99, the annual Christmas Bird
Count recorded 74 species, including several WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS, 9
GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE, 582 BALD EAGLES (a low count for Squamish), and
45 AMERICAN DIPPERS.





Sightings for Friday, December 14th



The SAGE THRASHER and 2 BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS were seen just east of the foot of
64th Street in Delta.



In Burnaby, several COMMON REDPOLLS were noted near the foot of Piper Road
on the north side of the lake.



At Whistler, north of Vancouver on Highway 99, the Christmas Bird Count
tallied 51 species, including a WHITE-WINGED SCOTER on Green Lake and a
count-week SNOWY OWL.





Sightings for Thursday, December 13th



The SAGE THRASHER continued near the foot of 64th Street in Delta, and at
least 23 SNOWY OWLS were counted along the Boundary Bay dyke between 64th
and 72nd Streets. Elsewhere in Delta, at the Reifel Bird Sanctuary, an
immature NORTHERN GOSHAWK, 5 EVENING GROSBEAKS, and at least 3 COMMON
REDPOLLS were seen.



A TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE was photographed along the west dike of Lulu Island
in Richmond.





Sightings for Wednesday, December 12th



The SAGE THRASHER was seen again by several observers along the Boundary Bay
dike just east of the foot of 64th Street in Delta.



A BARN SWALLOW, an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, and a TURKEY VULTURE, all out of
season, were reported from Iona Island in Richmond.





Sightings for Monday, December 10th



The SAGE THRASHER near the foot of 64th Street in Delta was seen and
photographed by numerous observers as it foraged along the dike road. Also
seen nearby were a BOHEMIAN WAXWING, two SNOWY OWLS, and an ORANGE-CROWNED
WARBLER, and at least 12 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS.



In the Squamish area north of Vancouver, a GRAY-CROWNED ROSY FINCH was seen
at the mouth of the Squamish River.





Sightings for Sunday, December 9th



A SAGE THRASHER, the first sighting for several years in the Vancouver area,
was seen by at least 4 observers along the Boundary Bay dike in Delta, about
100 metres east of the foot of 64th Street.





Sightings for Saturday, December 8th



Fifteen WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS were seen along the Conifer Loop trail on
the north side of Burnaby Lake in Burnaby, and another 8 in Maple Ridge
Park, near 232nd Street and 132nd Avenue in Maple Ridge.



Also of note was an out-of-season WILSON'S WARBLER at Cecil Green Park on
the University of BC campus in Vancouver.





Sightings for Friday, December 7th



Noteworthy sightings included a TOWNSEND'S WARBLER near the Commercial Drive
Skytrain station in Vancouver; a BOHEMIAN WAXWING near Burnaby Mountain in
Burnaby; 15 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE on fields near the west end of
Burnaby Lake in Burnaby; and a HORNED LARK on the south side of the
Tsawwassen ferry jetty in Delta.





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.





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