This is Wayne Weber with Nature Vancouver's Rare Bird Alert for Thursday,
May 2nd, 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 a DICKCISSEL, the first ever for Vancouver, present
along Chisholm Street in Delta (Ladner) from at least April 20th to 23rd.
The bird was reportedly seen nearby up to April 28th in a private yard where
it was not accessible to birders. RBA also for a PALM WARBLER at the
Richmond Nature Park in Richmond on April 21st and 22nd.





Sightings for Thursday, May 2nd



Two BLUE-WINGED TEAL and a HOUSE WREN, both FOY sightings, were at the
Reifel Bird Sanctuary in Delta. Meanwhile, 10 BLACK TURNSTONES on the
Tsawwassen ferry jetty in Delta were getting close to the late spring
departure date for that species.



The WHITE-THROATED SPARROW was still being seen in the nursery area at the
Maplewood Conservation Area in North Vancouver.





Sightings for Wednesday, May 1st



A flock of 21 WHIMBRELS were feeding on the "Hazelmere polo field" on 8th
Avenue just east of 176th Street (Highway 15) in Surrey, which had been
freshly plowed but still seemed attractive to the birds.



Another WHITE-THROATED SPARROW was seen near the base of the Grant Narrows
"nature dyke" at the south end of Pitt Lake.



The FOY WARBLING VIREO was seen in trees in John Hendry Park in Vancouver.





Sightings for Tuesday, April 30th



The FOY BLACK-HEADED GROSBEAK appeared in a backyard in Langley, and single
NASHVILLE WARBLERS were reported from Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver and
from the Maplewood Conservation Area in North Vancouver.





Sightings for Monday, April 29th



A WHITE-THROATED SPARROW was seen again at the Maplewood Conservation Area
in North Vancouver, this time in the nursery area near the entrance.





Sightings for Sunday, April 28th



A CALLIOPE HUMMINGBIRD and a NASHVILLE WARBLER at Queen Elizabeth Park in
Vancouver were both rare migrants for our area. Another NASHVILLE WARBLER
turned up at Cecil Green Park on the University of BC campus in Vancouver.





Sightings for Saturday, April 27th



Two WESTERN TANAGERS at the Maplewood Conservation Area in North Vancouver
were unusually early. Also there were 5 BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLERS and at
least 100 YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS.



Twenty WHIMBRELS were seen just outside our area at Blaine, WA.



The late ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was seen again on Ferguson Road, Sea Island, and
2 SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS at nearby Iona Island were the FOY report.





Sightings for Friday, April 26th



A COMMON REDPOLL on the Port Coquitlam side of Colony Farm Regional Park was
extremely late, but not quite a record late date.





Sightings for Wednesday, April 24th



The FOY YELLOW-HEADED BLACKBIRD at the outer ponds on Iona Island in
Richmond was later than usual, and a late ROUGH-LEGGED HAWK was seen along
Ferguson Road on nearby Sea Island.





Sightings for Tuesday, April 23rd



The DICKCISSEL in Ladner was seen again by a few observers, but proved hard
to find.





Sightings for Monday, April 22nd



The DICKCISSEL in Delta, near Georgia and Chisholm, was seen by many
observers, but often yielded only brief sightings.



The PALM WARBLER at the Richmond Nature Park in Richmond was seen again by
several birders.





Sightings for Sunday, April 21st



The DICKCISSEL in Delta could not be found in the morning but was relocated
in the afternoon, this time near Georgia and Chisholm Streets.



A PALM WARBLER was found with many other warblers near the east entrance to
the Richmond Nature Park in Richmond.



A HORNED LARK, a rare transient, was seen on the mudflats at the Maplewood
Conservation Area in North Vancouver.





Sightings for Saturday, April 20th



A female DICKCISSEL, the first ever for Vancouver, was found and
photographed in Delta near the intersection of Chisholm and Elliott Streets.



In the Pitt Meadows area, an AMERICAN BITTERN was near the parking lot at
Grant Narrows, and 2 TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRES were seen along Rannie Road just
south of Koerner Road (the southern boundary of the wildlife area).





Sightings for Friday, April 19th



Another WHITE-THROATED SPARROW showed up at the Maplewood Conservation area,
and a GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GOOSE, present for awhile, was reported from
Stanley Park, west of Lost Lagoon, in Vancouver.





Sightings for Thursday, April 18th



A CHIPPING SPARROW, the FOY report, appeared at the Maplewood Conservation
Area in North Vancouver.



A HERMIT THRUSH was found at Queen Elizabeth Park in Vancouver.





Sightings for Tuesday, April 16th



The first BLACK-THROATED GRAY WARBLER of the spring was noted at the
Maplewood Conservation Area in North Vancouver, as were an AMERICAN PIPIT
and 24 EVENING GROSBEAKS.



A soaring GOLDEN EAGLE was watched by two observers near the Swan-e-set golf
course in Pitt Meadows.



At least 3 HERMIT THRUSHES were at Iona Island in Richmond along with a
number of other migrants.



Two MOUNTAIN BLUEBIRDS appeared on the airport fence along Ferguson Road on
Sea Island, Richmond.





Sightings for Monday, April 15th



Another TOWNSEND'S SOLITAIRE was seen, this one near Kaslo and Oxford on the
east side of Vancouver.



A huge flock of at least 4000 BONAPARTE'S GULLS was milling on the waters of
Semiahmoo Bay, a short distance west of the White Rock Pier in White Rock.





Sightings for Sunday, April 14th



Two SORAS were still at the pond on the Port Coquitlam side of Colony Farm
Park, and a migrant HERMIT THRUSH was noted nearby.



Seven GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE were at the west end of Burnaby Lake in
Burnaby, where they have been for a while.



At least 2500 BRANT were in a couple of large flocks on Roberts Bank in
Delta, between the ferry jetty and the coal port jetty.







For a summary of extremely rare bird sightings throughout British Columbia,
check "British Columbia Bird Alert" 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