This is Wayne Weber with Nature Vancouver's Rare Bird Alert for Monday, May
28th, 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 3 BREWER`S SPARROWS between May 21 and 24 at Cecil Green
Park (Vancouver), Ferguson Road (Sea Island), and Iona Island, although all
of them have probably left by now.



OUT-OF-TOWN RARE BIRD ALERT for a SNOWY EGRET at Panama Flats near Victoria,
BC from May 25 to 28, and for 4 BLACK-NECKED STILTS at Maber Flats in
Central Saanich, also near Victoria, from April 25th through late May. The
stilts appear to be trying to breed at this locality.





Sightings for Monday, May 28th



A CHIPPING SPARROW seen in the 14900 block of 24th Avenue in Surrey was one
of several reports of this locally-rare species this spring.



In Vancouver, a LAZULI BUNTING was photographed in a yard near Hastings
Park.





Sightings for Sunday, May 27th



An out-of-town report of a BLACK-THROATED SPARROW at Yale was a very rare
species for the province.



At the Reifel Bird Sanctuary, the STILT SANDPIPER and SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER
were still present and photographed by many, as was a single female WILSON`S
PHALAROPE and 20 BLUE-WINGED TEAL.



A winter-plumage YELLOW-BILLED LOON, accompanied by a breeding-plumage
COMMON LOON, was studied in Drayton Harbor from near the end of Semiahmoo
Spit in Blaine, WA.





Sightings for Saturday, May 26th



At the Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta, a REEVE (female RUFF) was seen and
well photographed in the West Field shorebird flats. Also present were a
STILT SANDPIPER, a SEMIPALMATED SANDPIPER, 4 WILSON`S PHALAROPES, 12
BLUE-WINGED TEAL, and 6 SANDHILL CRANES including the usual nesting pair.





Sightings for Friday, May 25th



A SNOWY EGRET, an extremely rare species in BC, was seen by many birders at
Panama Flats near Victoria, BC.





Sightings for Thursday, May 24th



Another BREWER`S SPARROW, the third one of the week, was reported from the
Iona Island sewage ponds, and this one remained for a few hours and was well
photographed.



Yet another WESTERN KINGBIRD turned up near the University of BC
Anthropology Museum in Vancouver.



Birds seen in the Pitt Wildlife Management Area, mainly near Grant Narrows,
included 2 EASTERN KINGBIRDS, 2 GRAY CATBIRDS, 2 CHIPPING SPARROWS, 5
BULLOCK`S ORIOLES, and a MUTE SWAN with 6 cygnets in the Katzie Marsh.





Sightings for Wednesday, May 23rd



Another WESTERN KINGBIRD was seen at the Maplewood Conservation Area in
North Vancouver.



In the Brunswick Point area of Delta, a high count of 231 CASPIAN TERNS was
made.



At Whistler, 2 SABINE`S GULLS seen well at the mouth of Fitzsimmons Creek on
Green Lake were said to be the first ever for Whistler.





Sightings for Tuesday, May 22nd



A singing WILLOW FLYCATCHER in the Pitt Wildlife Management Area was the
first credible report of this species for the year.



Noteworthy reports from Iona Island included 3 BANK SWALLOWS, the first of
the year, 5 WILSON`S PHALAROPES; a DUSKY FLYCATCHER; and an out-of-place
LAZULI BUNTING.

Also at Iona, a late LAPLAND LONGSPUR was photographed on the south jetty.





A breeding-plumage PACIFIC GOLDEN-PLOVER near the foot of 88th Street on
Boundary Bay was the FOY report. Also seen nearby were 18 RED KNOTS and 15
WHIMBRELS.





Sightings for Monday, May 21st



There were two reports of BREWER`S SPARROW, a species with fewer than 10
reported sightings from the Vancouver area. One was seen on Sea Island in
Richmond, along Ferguson Road near the horse farm, and another one at Cecil
Green Park on the University of BC campus in Vancouver.



The first BLACK SWIFTS of the year were reported-- 16 in south Surrey,
another 16 in North Delta, and about 30 over Iona Island in Richmond.





Sightings for Sunday, May 20th



In the Pitt Meadows area, 3 EASTERN KINGBIRDS and a GRAY CATBIRD were the
first reports of the year for those species.



A SAY`S PHOEBE and a YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD at Colony Farm Regional Park in
Port Coquitlam were noteworthy.



Birds of interest at Iona Island in Richmond included a WESTERN KINGBIRD, a
very late WHITE-THROATED SPARROW, a remarkable count of 140 PECTORAL
SANDPIPERS in the sewage ponds, and 4 PARASITIC JAEGERS off the south jetty.







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