This is Wayne Weber with Nature Vancouver's Rare Bird Alert for Sunday,
October 21st, 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 ALERTS for a TROPICAL KINGBIRD at Blackie Spit, Surrey on October
20th; a BROWN PELICAN in Squamish the same day; a CLARK'S GREBE in White
Rock from October 11 to 15, possibly still present; and two RUSTY BLACKBIRDS
at Burnaby Lake from October 7 to 11.



OUT-OF-TOWN RARE BIRD ALERT for a WILSON'S PLOVER near Grayland, WA and a
COMMON EIDER in Westport, WA, both present through October 21st. For further
details on these, check the TWEETERS e-mail group.





Sightings for Sunday, October 21st



A LONG-BILLED CURLEW and 2 MARBLED GODWITS were at Blackie Spit in Surrey,
where these two species have wintered regularly for the last few years.



Three late BARN SWALLOWS were seen at the foot of 96th Street in Delta.





Sightings for Saturday, October 20th



A TROPICAL KINGBIRD was seen by many birders and photographed at Blackie
Spit in Surrey, but could not be found the following day.



A BROWN PELICAN seen near the Squamish Yacht Club in Squamish was highly
unusual.



A BLUE JAY was heard calling at Grant Narrows in Pitt Meadows, but was not
seen.





Sightings for Friday, October 19th



A flock of 24 BRANT in Boundary Bay Regional Park, Delta, near the Beach
Grove lagoon, were the first of the fall.



A MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRD and 5 HORNED LARKS were seen along the Boundary Bay dyke
near 96th Street in Delta.





Sightings for Thursday, October 18th



A BLUE JAY seen along Camosun Street in Vancouver, near the Queen Elizabeth
School, was the first of the fall for this locally-rare species.





Sightings for Wednesday, October 17th



Another ROCK SANDPIPER turned up at the tip of the Iona Island south jetty
in Richmond.

Also there was one PARASITIC JAEGER.



Birds seen near the base of the Roberts Bank jetty in Delta included two
SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPERS, 4 RED KNOTS, and 3 late CASPIAN TERNS.



Birds of interest noted at Point Roberts, WA included 3 BLACK SCOTERS, 3
BRANDT'S CORMORANTS, a late TURKEY VULTURE, 25 RED CROSSBILLS, and 12
EVENING GROSBEAKS.





Sightings for Tuesday, October 16th



A flock of 38 SANDHILL CRANES, one of the largest ever seen in the Vancouver
area, were in a field south of 3150 River Road in Delta, near Brunswick
Point.



A ROCK SANDPIPER, the first of the fall, was found near the end of the
Tsawwassen ferry jetty in Delta.





Sightings for Monday, October 15th



A very late VESPER SPARROW was seen on the Port Coquitlam side of Colony
Farm Regional Park.



The CLARK'S GREBE at the White Rock pier was seen again, and photographed
this time.





Sightings for Sunday, October 14th



A NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH was reported along the east dyke at the Reifel Bird
Sanctuary in Delta. Also seen here were a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW and a
NORTHERN SHRIKE.



A RED KNOT, 19 HORNED LARKS, and 2 LAPLAND LONGSPURS were noted near the
foot of 96th Street on Boundary Bay in Delta.



A late WILSON'S WARBLER was seen at Camosun Bog in Vancouver.





Sightings for Saturday, October 13th



Another WHITE-THROATED SPARROW was reported from the Reifel Bird Sanctuary
in Delta.





Sightings for Thursday, October 11th



A CLARK'S GREBE was seen well by two observers off the White Rock pier in
White Rock-- probably the same bird reported on October 8th nearby in
Blaine, WA.



The two RUSTY BLACKBIRDS at the foot of Piper Road on Burnaby Lake were last
reported on this date.





Sightings for Tuesday, October 9th



The two RUSTY BLACKBIRDS were still at Burnaby Lake in Burnaby.



Two NORTHERN SHRIKES were present at Boundary Bay Regional Park in Delta.





Sightings for Monday, October 8th



Two (2) RUSTY BLACKBIRDS were seen and photographed by many observers at the
Piper Road spit on Burnaby Lake. A WHITE-THROATED SPARROW was also seen on a
nearby trail.



A LAPLAND LONGSPUR was seen partway out the Iona Island south jetty in
Richmond.





Sightings for Sunday, October 7th



A RUSTY BLACKBIRD was seen and photographed at close range along the
boardwalk at the foot of Piper Road on the north side of Burnaby Lake,
Burnaby.



At Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver, a WHITE-THROATED SPARROW and at least
12 HERMIT THRUSHES were seen.





Sightings for Saturday, October 6th



At last 10 PARASITIC JAEGERS were seen off the Iona Island south jetty in
Richmond, harassing a flock of 1700 or more BONAPARTE'S GULLS.





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.







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