This is Wayne Weber with Nature Vancouver's Rare Bird Alert for Saturday,
October 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.





OUT-OF-TOWN RARE BIRD ALERT for a BLUE-GRAY GNATCATCHER at Swan Lake in
Saanich from October 1 to 6; for a NORTHERN HAWK OWL in East Sooke Park,
west of Victoria, on October 6; and a male BLACK-THROATED BLUE WARBLER at
Goat Lake, near Powell River, also on October 6. In the last few days, all
the good birds seem to be outside the Vancouver area!





Sightings for Friday, October 5th



Two NORTHERN SHRIKES, the first of the fall, were seen on the Port Coquitlam
side of Colony Farm Regional Park.





Sightings for Thursday, October 4th



Birds noted along Boundary Bay near 96th Street included an AMERICAN
GOLDEN-PLOVER, 2 RED KNOTS, and "hundreds" of BARN SWALLOWS.





Sightings for Wednesday, October 3rd



The LONG-BILLED CURLEW was seen again at Blackie Spit in Surrey.



Late migrants at Camosun Bog in Vancouver included a WARBLING VIREO, a
WESTERN TANAGER, and 2 TOWNSEND'S WARBLERS.





Sightings for Tuesday, October 2nd



At least 8000 SNOW GEESE had arrived on Westham Island in Delta, about 7 to
10 days earlier than usual.





Sightings for Monday, October 1st



At least 6 PARASITIC JAEGERS were seen, harassing BONAPARTE'S GULLS off the
south jetty of Iona Island in Richmond.



Ten SANDHILL CRANES were reported from Brunswick Point in Delta.





Sightings for Sunday, September 30th



Another ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was spotted along Ferry Road in Delta, and there
were two WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS at Camosun Bog in Vancouver.





Sightings for Saturday, September 29th



An early ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was noted along Highway 99 near the Serpentine
River in Surrey.



Another WHITE-THROATED SPARROW turned up at Camosun Bog in the Dunbar area
of Vancouver.





Sightings for Thursday, September 27th



Sixty SURFBIRDS at the tip of the Iona Island south jetty was a high number.



An AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER, a RED KNOT, and 3 LAPLAND LONGSPURS were seen at
or near the foot of 104th Street on Boundary Bay in Delta.



Late migrants at Beach Grove Park in Delta included a BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK,
a MACGILLIVRAY'S WARBLER, and a WESTERN TANAGER.





Sightings for Wednesday, September 26th



The WHITE-THROATED SPARROW near the entrance to the Maplewood Conservation
Area was still being reported.





Sightings for Tuesday, September 25th



Another LAPLAND LONGSPUR, this one on the Iona Island south jetty, was seen
and photographed.





Sightings for Monday, September 24th



A GRAY CATBIRD seen at Grant Narrow, at the south end of Pitt Lake, was
extremely late.



At Lighthouse Marine Park on Point Roberts, WA, 6 MARBLED MURRELETS was a
good number.





Sightings for Sunday, September 23rd



Eight LAPLAND LONGSPURS, the first of the fall, were seen near the foot of
104th Street in Delta.



At Iona Island in Richmond, 15 SURFBIRDS, a BLACK OYSTERCATCHER, and 2
LAPLAND LONGSPURS were seen along the South Jetty, as well as a SOLITARY
SANDPIPER in the sewage ponds.





Sightings for Saturday, September 22nd



Two more WHITE-THROATED SPARROWS were reported-- one at Cecil Green Park on
the University of BC campus, and another one not far away at Jericho Park in
Vancouver.



At Piper Spit on Burnaby Lake, the two GREEN HERONS were seen again, and a
SOLITARY SANDPIPER was seen briefly.



Birds of note along Boundary Bay between 96th and 104th Street included 2
AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVERS, 6 RED KNOTS, and 50 AMERICAN PIPITS.





Sightings for Friday, September 21st



A WHITE-THROATED SPARROW at the Maplewood Conservation Area in North
Vancouver was the first one reported this fall.





Sightings for Thursday, September 20th



Thirty SNOW GEESE at Brunswick Point, near the west end of River Road in
Delta, were the first of the fall, and unusually early.





Sightings for Wednesday, September 19th



Six RED KNOTS were seen near the foot of 104th Street on Boundary Bay, and
10 HORNED LARKS were in a field nearby.





Sightings for Tuesday, September 18th



Two GREEN HERONS were seen along the Piper Road spit near the Nature House
on the north side of Burnaby Lake.





Sightings for Friday, September 14th



Two BUFF-BREASTED SANDPIPERS were seen in Delta along the Boundary Bay
shoreline west of 96th Street.





Sightings for Wednesday, September 12th



In the Pitt Meadows area, a GRAY CATBIRD was seen near the bend on Rannie
Road, and 3 MUTE SWANS were on the south end of Pitt Lake.





Sightings for Tuesday, September 11th



A LONG-BILLED CURLEW and 3 MARBLED GODWITS were seen at Blackie Spit in
Surrey, where these two species have wintered for several years.



Birds of interest seen along Boundary Bay between 96th and 104th Streets in
Delta included a WHIMBREL and 6 EURASIAN WIGEON.







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